TPEs gain ground in coffee-making equipment

For many societies, drinking coffee has become a way of life. Coffee completes a morning ritual and caps an after-dinner habit as part of a daily routine.

Having become a generational obsession that shows no signs of waning, the coffee drinking culture is, thus, here to stay. As tastes have changed, so have coffee brewing methods, which have progressed from the simple boiling of ground coffee in pots and drip or filtered brewing to more mechanical methods such as espresso machines, siphons, French presses, and more current methods.

Today’s coffee making equipment comes in a range of sizes, colors, and mechanisms to suit both personal and commercial needs, with preferences influenced by design and functionality.

To meet these preferences, advanced materials such as thermoplastic elastomers are commonly used in coffee-making equipment.

Full-bodied material advantages

KRAIBURG TPE, a global TPE manufacturer of a wide range of thermoplastic elastomer products and custom solutions for multiple industries, offers the THERMOLAST® K FC/AD/PA and FC/CS series of compounds for applications in coffee making equipment.

To ensure safety of use, the TPE compounds adhere to international food laws such as the EU No. 10/2011 and US FDA CFR Title 21.

Plus, all the TPE series compounds can be colored in a variety of ways to achieve different color effects to allow for versatility in coffee making equipment.

KRAIBURG TPE’s compounds also contribute to the design and functionality of coffee brewing equipment in a number of ways, including simplifying product design via component reduction and combining their part functionalities.

Furthermore, the TPE compound’s soft-touch feature gives a distinctive soft and dry surface with great haptic and anti-slip properties, making it appropriate for use on handles, push buttons, and coffee cup banderoles, to improve hand grips.

KRAIBURG TPE’s compounds can also be used to produce the base of a coffee machine, to help reduce noise and squeaking during the brewing process.

Better characteristics with THERMOLAST® K series

For coffee makers that require PA adhesion, the THERMOLAST® K FC/AD/PA series is the answer. The compounds have excellent adhesion to PA6, PA6.6 (up to 50% glass fiber content), and PA12.

Other features of the THERMOLAST® K FC/AD/PA series are the hardness range from 40 to 80 Shore A and excellent abrasion resistance. The series is appropriate for use on handles and grips, as well as flexible connectors for coffee makers.

Meanwhile, KRAIBURG TPE’s THERMOLAST® K FC/CS series provides outstanding PP adhesion and short-term steam resistance.

The FC/CS series is designed to meet the material requirements of higher compression sets. It can be used as seals on coffee cups and tumblers, flexible connections, closures, and lids.