PVC, silica gel and TPE-which is the best choice for sex toys ?

As sex toys are direct contact with human sexual organs, for the protection of the body, it is more important to Pursuit real sexual experience, These requir the raw material of sex toys must be very soft and healthy for body.the most common soft raw material including: PVC, silica gel and TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer). different uses of sex toys,different hardness of the raw material. some dildos and vibrators for woman usually using the soft material of 5-20 shore A and the processing is injection molding.But some Male Masturbators usually using the ultra soft TPE material of below 0 shore A(such as:000 or even 00000) and the processing are injection molding and pouring. The pouring is usually used for the large size male sex toys.Let's talk about the Advantages and disadvantages of PVC, silica gel and TPE for sex toys.

Look at PVC first. PVC is a polyvinyl chloride resin,we can let the hardness of PVC drop to very sofe by adding a large number of plasticizer (usually phthalate plasticizer DOP) even 0 shore A.The advantage of PVC: low price, Bright color, can be rapid injection molding processing.The disavantage: bad smell, the most important is that plasticizer is poisonous. Although PVC is not directly contact with the human oral airway, people always worry about the safety.Some high-end sex toys always using more More environmentally friendly materials but not PVC. What is more,for some sex toys of blow 0 shore A, PVC is difficult to reach the ultra soft touching.

Look at the silica gel. Chemical element of silica gel is a silicon and oxygen, does not contain benzene toxic molecular structure, crosslinking agent of silica gel usually uses the environmental protection of varieties. Therefore, silica gel is a very environmentally friendly soft material. For a long time, silica gel is the most common soft material used in the dult products. The hardness of silica gel for adult products can be adjusted in 0~20 shore A. The disadvantage of silica gel:high price, long molding cycle, and the raw material can not be recycled.

Finally look at TPE/TPR. soft material TPE for sex toys is based on SEBS , we usually use the environmentally-friendly operating oil as a modifier to adjust the viscosity and hardness of SEBS. The formulation system is relatively simple because it is a super soft material for use in sex toys. TPE is a environmentally-friendly soft material and its constituent components-SEBS and operating oil do not contain plasticizers which can pass the detection of o-phenylenediamine 16p, nonyl phenol (NP), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs. The hardness of TPE can be adjusted to be softer than silica gel so TPE is the ideal raw material for sex toys. some TPE sex toys may be a little sticky feeling, there will be a certain smell because of the oil, we can add some Smoothing Agent and flavor to improve the properties. The advanatge of TPE: moderate price, Recycling materials, safety.

In general,if you really care about the price and have few requirements for the raw material,PVC is a choice for you.If you care about the experience and the environmental protection,silica gel and TPE are better than PVC. However,the price of silica gel is higher than TPE.As far as I'm concerned,i think TPE is the best choice for sex toys.

Read more about the TPE for sex toys : http://www.gainshinetpe.com/products/tpe-for-sex-toys

Just one step to distinguish TPR, Silica gel and PVC

TPR, Silica gel and PVC,they resemble each other both in appearance and touch.It is so hard to distinguish for someone who is not familiar with these. Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR) Compounds that are available for a wide-range of applications. These compounds are formulated using Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) .But TPR is not silica gel,they are different material.Now i tell you just one way to distinguish TPR, Silica gel and PVC.  

If you want to distinguish these three materials,you just need one Lighter.You just need to burn it by lighter.Then,pay attention to the color of flame and the smell of burning.

TPR: burning phenomena-The main body color of the flame is yellow, and the root of the flame is blue. Smoking smell:lighter or thicker smoke,fragrant smell.

Silica gel: burning phenomena - The main body color of the flame is bright white. The smoke and the smell of burning are light, and there is a clear white ash residue after combustion.

PVC : burning phenomena - The main body color of the flame is yellow,and the root of the flame is green.smoking smell:black and Dense smoke,bad smell (the smell of chlorine).

Do you know high temperature resistant properties of all kinds of thermoplastic elastomer TPE ?

For plastics and hard rubber,we usually use HDT Tester (VEKA temperature) to determine the High temperature tolerance.there are two calibrated parameters:one is Heat deflection temperature,the other is Vicat softening temperature. Classically, Heat deflection temperature is lower than Vicat softening temperature.

But for thermoplastic elastomer(TPE) industry,because of many kinds of TPE,many formulations,different adjustable hardness and property.there isn't any occupation standard to test the property of High temperature resistance.The following table, i make stocktaking of all types of thermoplastic elastomer TPE (including silica gel) for the high temperature resistance.

In the table, Silica gel has excellent high temperature resistance.However, silica gel is cross-linked elastomer which structure is different than thermoplastic elestomers(TPE) and thermoplastic elastomer TPE structure is different,I think the biggest difference is Silica gel can not be recycled but TPE can be.TPUE-SH in the table is a new products developed by our company in 2016 which is a thermoplastic elastomer has high temperature resistance.

TPUE-SH (thermoplastic elastomer) has excellent high temperature resistance(160-200℃), can be processing directly by injection molding machine. Because it is thermoplastic material, it can be completely recycled. TPUE-SH has excellent resilience,Good resistance to permanent deformation, texture smooth surface, excellent scratch resistant performance.what is more,TPUE-SH can be adhesion to ABS, PC, PC+ABS (overmolding) and replace silica gel/rubber.which also can be used in seals,push-button and some soft plastics has high requirment on high temperature resistance.