Unlocking Innovation: The Power of the Co-extrusion Process

The Co-extrusion Process

Grit Müller 03.09.2025 ■ 8 min read

L'essentiel en bref

  • Co-extrusion combines different materials from various extruders in one extrusion head to form one unit.
  • The multilayered structure enables the specific advantages of these materials to be combined.
  • Co-extrusion is particularly suitable for mass production of plastic films and sheets, hoses, or seals, for example.

What is co-extrusion?

During co-extrusion, various plastics from different extruders or cylinders are joined together. The source materials are not mixed but bonded together in several layers by heating.

What are the advantages of co-extrusion?

Using TPEs in co-extrusion processes allows a variety of possible hybrid combinations for a whole range of applications and functional integrations. The combination of different materials in one component makes it possible to combine their specific advantages within a multilayered structure. 

This makes co-extrusion particularly suitable for the production of packaging or coatings in the form of sheets, hoses, tubes, or cables, for example. This particularly applies to use in proven processes in which the combined materials can be produced in large quantities or in bulk at high processing speeds.

Which basic combinations of (TPE) materials can be produced particularly well by means of co-extrusion?
 

  • TPE seals are extruded onto hard plastics (e.g. for window frames)
  • Production of 1K-TPE extruded tubes such as those used for medical and hygienic purposes.
  • Combinations of fabrics and soft TPEs

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Examples of product applications

 

Plastic window frame

  • A TPE sealing rib is applied over a hard PVC core.
     

Shower hose

  • The material used for the inner hose complies with even the highest requirements for relevant drinking water regulations. On the other hand, the outer hose, which is laminated with a metal fabric, offers a resistant outer skin.


Food wrapping foils

  • Plastic wraps used for packing food are made of various co-extruded layers, each with different functions. The two outer layers are frequently designed as protective layers with relevant food contact approvals. Other layers, by contrast, act as odor barriers or prevent oxygen from penetrating to the respective foodstuff and reducing its shelf life, for example.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • What are the final products for which co-extrusion processes are particularly suitable during production?

    1

    Co-extrusion is mainly used to manufacture products or product components with a structure that has an invariable cross-section. On that basis, co-extrusion is often the most economically efficient way of combining the performance advantages of various components.

WHITEPAPER: Processing of thermoplastic elastomers - injection molding and extrusion

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Grit Müller
KRAIBURG TPE Dipl.-Ing. Kunststofftechnik (FH)

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