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| May 26th, 2010 |
To date, Kuraray Co. Ltd. has developed and marketed the SEPTON™ V Series, the SEPTON™ Q Series and the SEPTON™ K Series within its SEPTON™ and HYBRAR™ families of high-performance, highly functional thermoplastic elastomer products. Now the Company has developed the SEPTON™ J Series, a new thermoplastic elastomer with superior compression set, excellent buffering and vibration dampening capabilities, and superb polymer processing that is particularly suitable for the design of extremely soft gel materials. |
| Like a number of other plastic products, SEPTON™ and HYBRAR™ hydrogenated styrenic thermoplastic elastomers can be easily molded. Moreover, they are characterized by rubber-like elasticity and are widely replacing vulcanized rubber as a soft molding material. Currently, annual demand for hydrogenated styrenic thermoplastic elastomers in the global market amounts to 120,000 tons and is expanding by approximately 10% per year (Kuraray estimate). |
| The SEPTON™ J Series is a newly developed thermoplastic elastomer resulting from the further enhancement of Kuraray’s accumulated polymer design and synthesis technologies. SEPTON™ J Series was designed to achieve the optimal balance between the aforementioned physical properties and processability in a more flexible, low-hardness compound. It retains superb mechanical performance, including low density , good compression set, high-strength and tear resistance, and the low-temperature performance of existing SEPTON™ products. In addition, SEPTON™ J Series possesses better shock absorption and vibration dampening performance than conventional low-hardness compounds. Because of these unique properties—as a soft, low-hardness gel and as a material that achieves distinctive and superior performance—applications for the SEPTON™ J Series are expected to expand into such high-value-added high-performance applications as medical and nursing care products, personal comfort goods, sporting goods, industrial components, and electrical and electronic components. |
| In order to gain a direct understanding of markets needs, Kuraray conducted limited marketing to key customers and end-users in Japan, the United States, Europe and Asia to establish benefits in potential new applications. As marketing evaluations showed promise, global marketing and sales activities increased to accelerate a broader market rollout. |
| While maintaining closer customer contact, Kuraray will roll out SEPTON™ J Series products and applications, and develop the material as a new core product series in pursuit of higher performance, higher functionality, and product differentiation, and thereby leading to elastomer business expansion. |
The SEPTON™ J Series
Developed by leveraging Kuraray’s accumulated polymer design and synthesis technologies, the SEPTON™ J Series is an innovative, high-performance thermoplastic elastomer. With a soft molding material that incorporates hydrogenated styrenic thermoplastic elastomers and extremely low-hardness gel material, it is possible to implement compound designs to obtain material that is innovative and has superior performance.
- High plasticity
- High strength and superior mechanical performance including compression set and tear resistance
- High molten liquidity; excellent for polymer processing.
- Superior shock-absorption and vibration dampening performance
- Exquisite soft feel
- Excellent low-temperature properties
- Low density / weight savings vs. many other materials
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SEPTON™ J Series Representative Compound Properties
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Compound 1 (Approximate hardness 0 <Type A>) |
Compound2 (Approximate hardness 15 <Type A>) |
| Using SEPTON™ J Series |
Using existing SEPTON™ product |
Using SEPTON™ J Series |
Using existing SEPTON™ product |
| Hardness |
Type A |
0 |
0 |
14 |
15 |
| Type C |
8 |
15 |
43 |
45 |
Compression set
40℃
70℃ |
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| (%) |
9 |
10 |
11 |
15 |
| (%) |
59 |
51 |
28 |
27 |
Impact resilience
rate |
(%) |
36 |
71 |
36 |
57 |
Melt flow rate
160℃,21N
160℃,21N |
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| (g/10 min) |
34 |
3 |
no data |
no data |
| (g/10 min) |
no data |
76 |
3 |
1 |
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| (Tested by KURARAY CO.,LTD.) |
SEPTON™ J Series Potential Applications
- Personal care and comfort goods
• Cushioning material for beds, pillows, etc., shoe insole, computer keyboard and mouse pads, floor mats
• Toys
- Medical care products
• Artificial leg and protector cushioning material, pad components
- Sporting goods
• Shock absorbers, bicycle seat pads and protectors
- Industrial components
• Cushioning and sealing material
• Vibration damping
• Robot components
- Electric and electronic components
• Office equipment, flat panel displays (FPDs), mobile phones and components for digital devices
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