Plastic extrusions can be produced in a number of different materials, shapes and designs.
Keller offers the following different profiles in standard commodity-grade extruded plastic profiles:
- Polyethylene Profiles
- Polyproplyene Profiles
- Polystyrene Profiles
- PVC Plastic Profiles
- Thermoplastic Elastomers
Polyethylene Profiles
Polyethylene is a fairly “old” material first developed in the 1930’s. Polyethylene is one of the lowest cost materials in Extruded Plastic Profiles and has some amazing properties. Polyethylene profiles have good impact strength from temperatures as low as -40° F and up to 176° F. Polyethylene profiles are considered to be fairly “flexible” and have excellent chemical resistance along with resistance to moisture absorption. Because of Polyethylene’s excellent chemical resistance, it is almost impossible to bond with adhesives. We do however have an Extruded Plastic Profile that we can recommend. Polyethylene extruded plastic profiles are easy to process and is a lightweight Extruded Plastic Profile (floats on water).
Polyethylene plastic will tolerate some outdoor exposure but is not considered a weatherable extruded plastic material. Polyethylene extruded plastic can be coextruded with some thermoplastic Elastomers (TPEs). Polyethylene will burn quite readily (similar to a candle). Polyethylene extruded plastic profiles have an upper service temperature of about 180° F depending on the grade.
Low Density Polyethylene: Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is translucent or opaque, is quite flexible and fairly tough extruded plastic profile. When colored, LDPE profiles have a glossy finish.
High Density Polyethylene: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) has increased tensile strength, is more rigid, has better chemical resistance, and can withstand higher temperatures than LDPE. When colored, HDPE profiles have an opaque and generally a fairly glossy finish.Polyethylene extruded plastic profiles
Polypropylene Profiles
Polypropylene Profiles Markets
Polypropylene was introduced in the 1950’s as an alternative to Polyethylene and is very popular today. Polypropylene extruded plastic profiles are very similar to Polyethylene extruded plastic profiles except this material is stiffer and its upper service temperature is about 200° to 220° F. Polypropylene is naturally translucent, and when colored produces extruded plastic profiles with a glossy finish.
Polypropylene extruded plastic profiles are easy to process, and have good chemical resistance along with fair impact strength. Polypropylene has very good resistance to repetitive stress so this material is often preferred in extruded plastic profile applications requiring hinging or bending motions. Polypropylene extruded plastic profiles do not like the cold — less than 32 ° F — though copolymers are available that will help with the impact strength at these temperatures. Polypropylene profiles or Extruded Plastic Profiles do not typically like the sun and the extruded plastic profile material is flammable.
Polystyrene Profiles
Polystyrene is another veteran material developed in the 1930’s. It is an inexpensive, versatile plastic that can be rigid or foamed (Styrofoam™). Polystyrene extruded plastic profiles can be clear, hard, water resistant and lightweight, but have limited flexibility. This material is not good for outdoor use because it degrades with exposure to light. Polystyrene extruded plastic profiles are easy and inexpensive to produce. Because Polystyrene extruded plastic can be transparent, it offers excellent colorability in plastic profiles.
Polystyrene or Extruded Plastic Profiles has outstanding electrical properties, good thermal and dimensional stability but poor resistance to solvents. Polystyrene does not like extreme temperatures, has a relatively low melting point, and will start to soften around 212 °F.
High Impact Polystyrene: A rubberized Polystyrene blend called High Impact Polystyrene or HIPS offers improved impact strength along with economical pricing.
PVC Profiles
PVC is one of the oldest thermoplastics and was first patented in the US in the late 1920’s. By itself, PVC is hard and brittle at room temperature, but PVC is compatible with many additives that lend it a wide range of performance characteristics that can meet diverse extruded PVC application needs. PVC can be made very rigid and strong for use in construction and pipes, or as flexible as needed for use in fabric and carpets.
PVC is extremely versatile with a wide variety of extruded PVC resin types. The process to manufacture extruded PVC is relatively inexpensive and easy. The extruded PVC profile has pretty good chemical resistance, water and weather resistance, offer fair thermal stability, have excellent electrical insulation properties, have fair heat resistance, and are inherently flame retardant because PVC is chlorinated. PVC extruded plastic profiles can be clear or colored and can have a high gloss or matte finish.
Flexible extruded PVC profile is an excellent material for the use in latex-free profiles. Flexible extruded PVC profile costs less by weight than rubber or TPEs and provides significantly greater clarity. Flexible extruded PVC profile is readily solvent-bonded, more kink resistant (in tubing) and exhibits less neck-down (width/breadth narrows) when stretched. Flexible extruded PVC profile is generally known to be the most cost-effective Extruded Plastic Profile, high-performance material used in Latex-free profiles.
While extruded PVC profile is considered a very good overall plastic material in terms of price and properties, it is currently receiving some negative publicity due to the presence of chlorine in its chemical makeup. With today’s concerns for the environment, some of our customers are choosing other “greener” materials to meet their application needs instead of extruded PVC. We have been working on alternatives to extruded PVC profiles for quite some time and have come up with a number of new materials that offer similar properties to PVC along with attractive pricing.
Thermoplastic Elastomers
Introduced in the 1960’s, Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE’s) are materials with rubberlike flexibility and extensibility — the ability to snap back quickly after being extended to twice their original length. Thermoplastic Elastomers have a wide range of hardnesses and can absorb vibrations (energy). There are many types of Thermoplastic Elastomers; we work mostly with the Styrenics, Thermoplastic Polyurethanes (TPUs) and Thermoplastic Olefins (TPOs).
Styrenic TPEs Styrenic TPEs offer the lowest durometer along with the highest elongation. They have fair outdoor weatherability, good low temperature performance, low tension set and good “rubberlike” feel. They can be coextruded with a number of other materials. Styrenic TPEs are used in a number of “Grip” applications including handlebar grips, toothbrushes, razors, golf clubs, and power tools.
Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Thermoplastic Polyurethane is an Elastomer that comes in a variety of formulations so it can provide a considerable number of physical properties combinations making it an extremely flexible material that is useful in many types of customer applications. Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) offers high resilience, resistance to impacts, and abrasions, and has good weatherability. TPU’s offer flexibility with a broad range of hardnesses (65 Shore A to 80 Shore D Durometer) and high elasticity — up to 750% elongation. TPU’s have good load bearing capabilities; are easy to process, can be sterilized, welded, colored, painted, and printed. Thermoplastic Polyurethane has good low temperature flexibility. Specialty grades can be transparent, flame retardant, and anti-static.
Thermoplastic Olefin (TPO) TPO is a Thermoplastic Elastomer used in glass sealing channels; garden and appliance hosing; tubing; electrical insulation, and roofing membranes. TPO’s are water resistant, have fair tensile strength, good elongation capabilities, excellent low temperature flexibility, good to excellent weathering capabilities and good colorability. UV resistant specialty grades are available making it an excellent material for outdoor use but be careful with solvents, and fuels — oils, gasoline, kerosene.
Extruding Plastic Profiles Overview
Extruded plastic profiles are any and all forms of plastic. They include different types of plastic made from different chemicals. Companies like ours use several extruded plastic molds to create other plastic products.
We offer a wide range of extruded plastic profiles to meet your needs. We also provide custom extruded plastic profiles if you don’t see what you’re looking for. At Keller Plastics, we have been plastics extrusion and plastic profile manufacturer experts for over 40 years. Order directly online from us, or call us to discuss custom profiles.
Extruded Plastic Profiles
Most extruded plastic products made by plastic injection molding follow the same production steps. Once you understand the process, you will know how your products are made.
Here are the general steps to an injection mold process for extruded plastic profiles from start to finish:
- Molten plastic is removed from the melting pot.
- The melted product is injected into an ejector mold.
- Injection molding tools for the custom product are created before moving the melted product into the injector.
- The product is slowly pushed through while being cooled slightly.
- The product comes out the other side of the machine onto a conveyer belt.
- In some cases, the extruded plastic product may be cut to size as it leaves the ejector or left inside the ejector and removed as a large piece.
- Ejector pins push the rough product out of the machine when the design calls for it.
- Extruded plastic tooling is applied after the rough product leaves the machine.
Stock Plastic Extrusions
We produce the most requested extruded plastic profiles in bulk in our available stock extruded plastic profiles. High volume production of these extruded plastic profiles allows us to meet supply and demand for these commonly requested products.
These products include edge trim, wood plastic composite WPC, and plastic U bend parts. Select the products you want and have them shipped directly to you. Multiple sizes and colors are available.
Custom Plastics Extrusions
Some customers may need extruded plastic profiles or custom plastic extrusions that can’t be found anywhere else. Send us a design based on your need, and our engineers will create a design for you. Then the design is sent to the plastics floor then a mock-up of your custom profile will be made.
It will then go through your approval before going into production. If you decline the initial model, it will be redesigned for you. A new prototype will be made for your approval before producing your ordered item.
Some examples of the custom products we have made are:
- Plastic tubing (both soft and hard tubing)
- WPC product for construction companies
There’s no limit to what we can do with customized extruded plastic profiles.
Special Products and Services
Besides customized profiles, we offer special extruded plastic profile products and services. Our in-house engineers offer injection molding tool designs for customers looking for customized profiles. This service helps customers get exactly the products they want without having to find their own design engineer. At Keller Plastics, we are committed to providing you with high-quality, reliable plastic extrusion services.
We offer a wide range of specialty services. These services include:
- Standard extruded plastic channel profiles
- Co-extruded plastic extrusion profiles that produce an inner core of plastic and an outside layer for the co-extruded plastic profile
- WPC profile extrusion machine that makes plastic look like wood
- Help finding an ABS plastic profile extruder machine market to buy machines and replace parts
Free Tooling For Plastic Extruded Profiles
Plastic tooling refines the products you buy. Plastic profile extruders can have aesthetic flaws like die lines. Tooling cleans up the product so it is ready for immediate use.
We offer free, in-house tooling on bulk orders. The machines we use include:
- Wood plastic composite profile extruding machine
- Wire EDM, which uses lasers to make even more precise cuts within a millimeter
These three machines do most of the work when we need to tool our products. Contact us if you would like to learn more about our services.
TheAdfirm.