How to choose Cable for overmold-TPE cable VS TPU Cable
Selecting the correct jacket polymer for injection overmoulding is critical to preventing insulation melt-through and joint de-lamination in medical cable assemblies. As an ISO 13485 certified factory, Shen Zhen Yong Qiang Fu Industry Co.,Ltd. provides this comprehensive TPE vs. TPU overmoulding engineering comparison. Our specialized bulk raw lines (Model: OM-Flex) are specifically cross-linked and thermally stabilized to handle high-pressure connector overmoulding tooling, ensuring absolute mechanical bonding and seal integrity.
Then how to decide to choose TPU cable or TPE cable for your project?and how to judge which is TPU and which is TPE
To tell apart TPU cable and TPE cable can start from the main features of TPU and TPE and differences between them:
TPE Cable
TPE(Thermoplastic Elastomer) is a Thermoplastic Elastomer (Thermoplastic Elastomer) material with high strength, high elasticity, injection molding, wide range of applications, environmental protection, non-toxic and safe, and excellent colorability. So TPE cable is an ideal option for medical interconnection.
Unlike Most thermosets elastomers, TPE is thermoplastic, need NO extra curing or vulcanization and can be directly used to extrude or injection overmould. TPE has good recovery ability after repeated stretching, it is an ideal material choice for items which value appearance much.
TPE can be used as insulation and Jacket
A major disadvantage of TPE is its relatively high material cost, especially when utilized for internal core insulation, as there are many more cost-effective alternative polymers available on the market.
TPU Cable
TPU (Thermoplastic Urethane) is a type of TPE with more improved properties,such as elasticity, transparency, oil resistance and abrasion resistance. TPU is a kind of polymer material composed of diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), macromolecular polyol and chain extender. TPU Cable are used a lot in medical interconnection
The shortcoming of TPE is that TPU feels harder and its hardness range is narrow compared with other plastic materials. This feature also make The TPU cable torsion resistant anti-knotted compared with PVC, TPE, especially when the cable diameter is small, this advantage become obvious. TPU burns with a pungent smell, so do not burn it inside a house
As a medical tpu cable manufacturer,we manufacture TPU cable much more than TPE cable for reusable medial accessories.
Differences between TPE Cable and TPU Cable
The difference between TPE cable and TPU cable can be made from physical features and chemical features
Physical performance difference
Hardness
TPU hardness typically ranges from 35 to 90A Shore (50 to 80D). In standard cable extrusion fields, the most common TPU jacket hardness profiles range from 75A to 85A; variants softer than 75A are rarely specified in practice. Processing an ultra-soft TPU is exceptionally difficult during the extrusion phase, leading to volatile outer diameter control and a higher factory scrap rate, which ultimately increases the overall average cost. Furthermore, the raw ultra-soft TPU resin itself commands a premium price.
Specific Gravity/density
In some application, the TPE cable is needed to submerge or floating on water ( floating cables for example), it is critical to choose the right density TPE materials.
The regular specific gravity of TPE ranges from 0.5 g/cm³ to 2.0 g/ cm³. Foamed TPE specific gravity is extremely low，is an ideal material to make floating cables or Low Capacitance cable
TPU density range is smaller than TPE, it usually range from 1.06 g/cm³-1.25 g/cm³;foamed TPU is not used as regular as foamed TPE
So TPU cables applications are not as wide as TPE cable. TPU cable is used a lot in medical field.
Mechanical strength
TPU cable has better mechanical strength than TPE cable, in term of abrasion resistance, resilience and wear resistance.
Temperature resistance
They are temperature sensitive materials
TPE Temperature resistance (-30 ℃ ~140 ℃) and Melt Temperature 220℃ – 240℃
TPU Temperature resistance (-40 ℃ ~100 ℃) and Melt Temperature 185 ℃- 220℃
These temperature range is ONLY for reference, different brands TPE/TPU or with different compound or processing will result in different features
Generally speaking, melt temperature of TPE is higher than TPU
This feature is very important for plastic injection molding:
For example, if you want to overmold a connector jacket for a TPU Cable with TPE, you will find that the TPE jacket cannot melt with the TPU cable, in this situation, if the cable need to be waterproof, TPE is not a good partner for TPU cable.
If you want to over mold for an ABS material connector, you will face a problem that the ABS connector shrink during the injection, in this application, PP connector is better than ABS.
So when you decide to choose TPU cable or TPE cable for Injection over molding purpose, it is better to have a comprehensive consideration.
Chemical performance difference
Resistance to oil
TPU has higher chemical resistance than TPE in many aspects, such as oil resistance, grease resistance.
Burning smell
TPE has a pleasant smell, however TPU has a pungent smell when burning
💡 How Shen Zhen Yong Qiang Fu Industry Co.,Ltd. Resolves Cable Overmoulding Bottlenecks:
During the connector high-temperature injection process, generic bulk cables often experience inner core shifting or outer sleeve separation. Our specialized OM-Flex raw cable configurations bypass these processing failures:
* Molecular Interface Bonding: We coat our raw TPU and TPE jackets with proprietary thermal-coupling agents, guaranteeing an absolute fusion bond with the injected overmold resin to achieve IP67/IP68 waterproof sealing.
* High-Heat Dielectric Shields: Internal conductors are wrapped in low-dielectric fluoropolymers (PTFE/FEP) capable of withstanding instant 260°C injection thermal spikes without attenuation drift.
* Automated Production Ready: Supplied on wholesale master spools with ultra-tight outer diameter tolerances (±0.05mm), ensuring a perfect mechanical fit inside your injection mold cavities to eliminate flash/burrs.
Tips for decision on choosing TPE cable or TPU cable
Generally speaking, when you are decide to use TPE cable or TPU cable, the application is the prior factor need to consider, especially for Industry application, the physical properties, chemical properties, even biological properties, processing and prices are factors must be considered
For daily use or commercial use, the general feeling of TPU cable is higher than TPE cable (if the hardness is the same. It may help business attract more user and bring good economic effect.
🛑 Stop Wasting Engineering Cycles on Loose Cable Overmoulding Failures.
Partner Direct with an Agile, ISO 13485 Certified Medical Component Extrusion Factory.
Don’t let injection molding defects bottleneck your medical hardware launch timeline. Fill out our specification checklist below, define your target connector resin material, and request a Free Engineering Consultation and custom OM-Flex sample reels from Shen Zhen Yong Qiang Fu Industry Co.,Ltd. today!