Thermoplastic Elastomers

Date, Time & Instructors

The date and times for this seminar are Monday, June 1 & Tuesday, June 2 (2 days) from 8:30am-5:00pm (This includes breaks. Light breakfast, lunch and snack will be provided with no additional charge during breaks). 

This seminar is co-taught by Joey Mead and Jinde Zhang.

Overview

This seminar provides a comprehensive review of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) technology, focusing on both fundamental material science and engineering applications. Classroom lectures examine the physical and chemical nature of the various classes of TPEs, with emphasis on mechanical and rheological properties relevant to product design and manufacturing.

Hands-on two-shot TPE overmolding workshops supplement the classroom material, giving participants direct experience with machine operation and practical molding techniques. Machine start-up, operation, and shutdown procedures are demonstrated, and molding trials are conducted to illustrate the relationships between processing variables and final part quality.Audience

Audience

This course is appropriate for sales managers, account managers, sales and applications engineers, new product development specialists, product marketing professionals, product designers and engineers, industrial designers and industrial engineers, mechanical engineers, materials purchasing managers, manufacturing personnel and technicians, plant managers, production supervisors, quality assurance and quality control personnel, and anyone involved in silicone part or mold procurement.

Content

1. Understand the Differences Between Thermoset and Thermoplastic Elastomers

• Molecular structure and crosslinking mechanisms
• Reversible vs. irreversible network formation
• Processing implications (curing vs. melt processing)
• Recyclability and reprocessability
• Typical applications and performance limitations

2. Identify and Compare the Different Classes of TPEs

• Overview of major TPE families:
• TPE-S (styrenic block copolymers)
• TPU (thermoplastic polyurethanes)
• TPE-E (copolyester elastomers)
• TPE-A (polyamide elastomers)
• TPV (thermoplastic vulcanizates)
• Chemical structure and phase morphology
• Typical processing windows and temperature limits
• Cost and performance positioning

3. Recognize Structure–Property Relationships in TPEs

• Hard and soft phase composition
• Domain size, distribution, and morphology
• Effect of molecular weight and block architecture
• Influence of fillers, oils, and additives
• Relationship between structure and elasticity, strength, and durability

4. Evaluate Trade-Offs Between Different TPE Classes

• Mechanical performance vs. cost
• Chemical, UV, and environmental resistance
• Thermal stability and long-term aging
• Processability and cycle time considerations
• Bonding and compatibility in two-shot overmolding

5. Understand Mechanical Properties of Elastomers and TPE Behavior

• Tensile strength, elongation, and modulus
• Hardness (Shore A / Shore D) and resilience
• Compression set and creep behavior
• Abrasion, tear, and fatigue resistance
• Comparison of elastic recovery across TPE classes

6. Recognize the Effect of Phase Behavior on Mechanical Properties and Rheology

• Phase separation and interfacial adhesion
• Viscoelastic behavior and time–temperature dependence
• Melt flow behavior and shear sensitivity
• Impact of phase morphology on processing stability
• Implications for mold filling, surface finish, and part consistency

Workshops

The hands-on two-shot TPE overmolding workshop will guide participants through complete process execution, including material preparation, mold installation, machine setup, and controlled start-up procedures. Attendees will run molding trials to systematically adjust key processing parameters such as melt temperature, mold temperature, injection speed, holding pressure, cooling time, and shot sequencing to evaluate their effects on adhesion strength, surface quality, dimensional stability, flash formation, and cycle time. Participants will conduct adhesion and defect analysis, troubleshoot common issues such as delamination, short shots, sink marks, and TPE degradation, and implement corrective actions based on root-cause analysis. The workshop concludes with proper purge and shutdown procedures, documentation of optimized processing windows, and development of best-practice recommendations for industrial two-shot overmolding operations.

About the Instructors

Joey L. Mead received her S.B. in chemistry from MIT (1981) and her Ph.D. in Polymers from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering from MIT (1986). She worked for over 10 years as a Materials Engineer for the Army Research Laboratory in Watertown, MA. She is a Distinguished University Professor, David and Frances Pernick Nanotechnology Professor in the Department of Plastics Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She is also the Director of the NSF I/UCRC SHAP3D and Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing of Polymers and Soft Materials (AMPS) at UMass Lowell. She was previously the Deputy Director of the NSF Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing. She received the George Stafford Whitby Award for Distinguished Teaching & Research in 2018 from the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society and became a NextFlex Fellow in 2021. Her research interests include nanomanufacturing and nanoscale patterning of polymeric materials, structure-properties of polymers, elastomers, and thermoplastic elastomers. She has over 200 publications and 10 book chapters.

Jinde Zhang received his S.B. in applied chemistry from Xidian University (2007), M.S. in polymer chemistry and physics from University of Science and Technology of China (2011) and his Ph.D. in Plastics Engineering from University of Massachusetts Lowell (2016). He is currently Assistant Research Professor in Plastics Engineering Department at UMass Lowell. His research interests include:

• Study of bio-inspired surfaces with special wetting behavior including superhydrophobicity, superomnipobicity, superhydrophilicity, etc.
• Fabrication of polymeric film with functional surface properties via roll-to-roll processing
• Polymer nanocomposites fabrication, such as CNTs/polyolefin, carbon blacks/polyolefin, metal power/polyolefin, graphite/polyolefin, etc.
• Textile-based flexible electronics bio-inspired surface science and engineering He has over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Additional Notes

Email notifications

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Location

This is an in-person seminar held at UMass Lowell's North Campus in Lowell, Massachusetts.