How to choose ABS new material or recycled material for injection molding

author: Universe plastic

2024-06-12

What is ABS material

ABS material is a copolymer (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) produced by the copolymerization of three monomer materials: acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene. It is a common thermoplastic polymer. Because of its excellent comprehensive properties, it is widely used in injection molding to produce suitable plastic products in various fields. With the cost of raw materials and environmental protection needs, recycled ABS materials appear more frequently in injection molding projects, whether to choose new materials or recycled materials, I hope this article’s analysis of their characteristics will help you know how to choose.

ABS material properties

1. High mechanical strength: ABS has good rigidity and hardness, good impact resistance, and can withstand large mechanical stress.

2. Chemical corrosion resistance: It has good resistance to a variety of chemicals such as acids, alkalis, and salts.

3. Easy to process and mold: ABS material is easy to mold through injection molding, extrusion, blow molding and other processing techniques, and has low molding temperature and excellent processing performance.

4. Good dimensional stability: small dimensional changes when temperature and humidity change.

5. Good electrical properties: It has excellent electrical insulation properties and is suitable for use in electrical and electronic products.

6. Excellent appearance: The surface has good gloss and various colors, and can be further processed by spraying, electroplating and other methods.

Mechanical properties of ABS materials

Tensile Strength	30-60 MPa	Flexural Strength	50-100 MPa
Tensile Modulus	2-3 GPa	Flexural Modulus	2-3 GPa
Impact Strength, Izod Notched	10-100 kJ/m²	Hardness, Rockwell R	80-120
Elongation at Break	10-50%	Density	1.04-1.07 g/cm³
Heat Deflection Temperature	80-105°C	Glass Transition Temperature	100-110°C

Application of ABS materials

Automotive industry: instrument panels, center consoles, door panels, seat components, bumpers.

Electronic appliances: household appliance casings, refrigerator casings, washing machine casings, vacuum cleaner casings, TV casings, kitchen appliance casings, computer host casings, keyboards, mouse casings, mobile phone casings, headphones, game controllers.

Household items: plastic chairs, plastic lockers, plastic office furniture, plastic suitcases.

Toy manufacturing: Lego bricks, toy cars, dolls and construction models.

Building materials: pipes and fittings, drainage pipes, ventilation pipes, architectural decoration, partitions and floors.

Medical equipment: medical device housings, medical monitor housings, ventilator housings, disposable syringes, test tube racks and sterilization boxes.

Parameter comparison between new ABS and regenerated ABS

Property	New ABS Material	Recycled ABS Material
Mechanical strength	30-60 MPa	25-50 MPa
Impact strength	10-100 kJ/m²	5-80 kJ/m²
hardness	80-120	70-110
Tensile modulus	2-3 GPa	1.8-2.5 GPa
Elongation at break	10-50%	5-30%
density	1.04-1.07 g/cm³	1.03-1.06 g/cm³
Heat distortion temperature	80-105°C	75-100°C

The main differences between new materials and recycled materials

1. Mechanical:

The mechanical properties of the new material are better than those of the recycled material, especially in terms of tensile strength, flexural modulus and elongation at break. Recycled materials may suffer from degradation due to degradation and impurities during the recycling process.

2. Appearance quality:

New material products have smooth surfaces, uniform colors, and no obvious flaws. Recycled ABS materials may have problems such as uneven color and poor surface finish, and sometimes require additional surface treatment to improve the appearance.

3. Material cost and environmental protection:

The production process of new materials is complex and the purity of the materials is high, resulting in a much higher cost than recycled materials. Moreover, the new materials do not have environmental protection characteristics, and their production and use have a greater impact on the environment.

Conclusion

There are obvious differences between new ABS materials and recycled ABS materials in terms of performance, appearance, environmental protection and cost. The choice of material depends primarily on the needs of the specific application and cost considerations. New ABS materials are suitable for demanding applications, while recycled ABS materials have advantages in low-cost and environmentally friendly applications.

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