High impact polystyrene (HIPS) is a versatile, resilient, and inexpensive plastic resin used in various industries. It can be molded, pressed, or delivered on sheets or rolls. HIPS is stronger than polystyrene and has resistance to shocks. It is used in commercial, industrial, and residential settings for various applications. HIPS is heat resistant, durable, and can be sterilized. It is polymerized from styrene and hardened with butadiene to form a copolymer. The vacuum forming process allows it to be shaped to suit its application.
High impact polystyrene, or HIPS, is a versatile plastic resin used in the manufacture of many products. Easy to manufacture, this resilient material is inexpensive to produce and offers applications across many industries. Its physical properties allow for flexible processing and surface applications such as paints and adhesives. The material can be used as a packaging filler, pressed into cardboard, molded into products, or delivered on sheets or rolls. Its characteristic dimensional stability allows it to be used in low strength constructions and its natural translucent form makes it suitable for food processing applications.
Stronger than polystyrene, this thermoplastic polymer material has many strengths. It gives characteristics of resistance to shocks, for example, in the construction of toys. With its combination of stable construction and easy coating, high impact polystyrene makes housings and covers easily mass-produced. This common material comes in many colors and looks. Some disadvantages include increased moisture absorption as well as reduced transparency and electrical properties.
Produced through a thermoforming process, impact resistant polystyrene products can be made with mechanical fixings or through the use of adhesives and solvents. The grades used for printing are found in processes including screen printing, flexography and offset lithography. In the home, it appears in ceiling tiles, insulation, and kitchen utensils. Commercial applications include retail displays, signs and banners. Provides a longer lasting alternative to poster paper for craft projects.
Other properties of high impact polystyrene include heat resistance and durability in temperatures well below freezing. It can be sterilized with ethylene oxide (ETO), or that of gamma rays or electrons, in accordance with government-approved food safety standards. HIPS does not emit harmful or corrosive fumes and is often available in recyclable grades.
Brittle and water-white, this thermoplastic is polymerized from styrene or phenylethylene and hardened with the addition of butadiene to form a copolymer. Butadiene is a colorless, flammable gas used in the manufacture of synthetic rubbers; it is highly reactive and polymerizes easily. This styrene-butadeine copolymer is used to make resins for paint, rubber and high impact plastics.
The vacuum forming manufacturing process allows this material to be shaped to suit its application. Multiple grades of high impact polystyrene serve different purposes. The material can be formed into films as thin as 0.029 inch (about 0.074 cm) and less. The textures possible with this versatile material are as varied as its available colours. As a material used in commercial, industrial and residential settings, HIPS offers familiar and innovative new uses.
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