Sanbo uses modified thermoplastic rubber to trial-produce new artificial leather

On December 28, 2014, in the workshop of Zhejiang Sanbo Polymer Co., Ltd., amidst the sound of roaring machines, several workers put the black elastomer particles flowing out of the production line into bags. Zhou Zanqi, deputy general manager of Sanbo Polymer Co., Ltd., grabbed a handful of particles and told reporters: "These particle materials are used to process electric vehicle charging piles."

As the first national high-tech enterprise in China to carry out research on the improvement and processing of thermoplastic elastomers, Sanbo has been focusing on the development and research of new materials, new processes, new technologies and new products in the thermoplastic elastomer industry. In recent years, new energy electric vehicles have attracted many consumers, especially young people, for their energy-saving, low-carbon, safety and convenience features. For this reason, Sanbo has set its sights on the new energy electric vehicle industry.

"The new energy electric vehicle industry has a broad prospect. We cooperate with the spare parts suppliers of well-known domestic new energy electric vehicle factories to develop new materials for charging piles and car interior cables." Zhou Zanqi said. New energy electric vehicles need fast charging, and the current is relatively high during charging, and new materials need to be resistant to oil and high temperature. After repeated tests, the new elastomer material used to process electric vehicle charging piles was finally successfully trial-produced, and mass production began in September this year.

Since the production process of the new material is more complicated than that of the original elastomer material, the daily output of each original production equipment is only about 500 kg, which is only about 1/10 of other products. For this reason, Sanbo Company has purchased two new production equipments, one of which has been installed and is being debugged. After using the new equipment, the production capacity will be greatly improved to meet the current demand. Zhou Zanqi told reporters that if it is produced normally, the output value of new materials for electric vehicles is expected to reach hundreds of millions of yuan next year.

In another workshop, a large-scale production equipment attracted the reporter's attention. According to reports, this is an artificial leather sample machine customized by Sanbo Company. Artificial leather is used in various footwear, furniture, clothing, and car interiors, but because the previous processing technology of artificial leather is to use adhesives to bond PVC resin and base fabric together, it is not environmentally friendly, and it will cause irritation in the sun. Nasal odor, harmful to human health, so its application is limited. However, Sanbo Company uses modified thermoplastic rubber new materials, and utilizes the hot-melt properties of thermoplastic rubber to directly cover and adhere to the base fabric, and then make artificial leather through two extrusion processes. Zhou Zanqi told reporters: "This new type of artificial leather has no adhesives, no odor, is very environmentally friendly, and has excellent aging resistance."

According to the requirements of new technology, Sanbo Company customized this sample machine. Several workers are carefully adjusting the distance between the rollers. "The thickness of the artificial leather should be controlled at about 0.1 mm. If it is too thick, the materials used are too wasteful and the cost is too high." According to reports, according to the current environmental protection and performance requirements, the new artificial leather has more With a market demand of tens of billions, the company will usher in a new round of huge development after the prototype machine is commissioned and put into normal production.

With the continuous development of high-end new materials, the continuous application of new processes, and the continuous expansion of new fields, Sanbo Company has embarked on a road of healthy development.