Frequently Asked Questions

What does “durometer” mean?
Durometer is a measure of hardness — or resistance to indentation or penetration.
   
What is Shore hardness?
Shore durometers are used to measure hardness as degree of penetration in polymeric materials. The gels that GEL SMART produces are measured using the Shore A scale for flexible TPEs, the Shore 00 scale for ultra-soft gels, and the Shore D scale for certain T-GELS that are fairly rigid.

What are elastomers?
These are materials that resemble rubber, meaning they resume their original shape when a deforming force is removed.

What are thermoplastic elastomer polymers?
In general, TPEs are flexible materials that can be stretched repeatedly to at least twice their original lengths at room temperature and return to original length when stress is released. They combine the look, feel and elasticity of conventional thermoset rubbers and silicones with the processing efficiency of plastics. Having the meltability of plastics, they can be used for high-volume hot melt applications, injection molding and extrusion.

What are the benefits of using thermoplastic elastomer polymers (TPEs)?
The most advanced TPE technology is capable of providing materials in a wide range of hardness that are tough and durable with high tear strength. Excellent performance is available at very economical cost.

What does visco-elastic mean?
Visco-elastic materials exhibit the qualities of a viscous liquid and elastomeric solid. Behaving in a manner similar to honey, viscous liquids flowing from a container will pull partly back into the container when it is quickly tipped up. Visco-elastic polymers behave more like solids at low temperatures and at fast deformation speeds. They are more like liquids at high temperatures and slow deformation speeds. GEL SMART’s M-GEL mineral-oil gels are visco-elastic compounds.