Thermoplastic
Also known as: Thermoplastic, Heat-formable polymer
Material property of plastics that can be repeatedly melted and formed under heat — basis of many fibre and film systems.
Description
Thermoplastics are plastics that can be repeatedly softened when heated and solidified when cooled without changing their chemical structure. They contrast with thermosets, which cannot be melted again after initial curing.
In the textile industry, thermoplastic polymers form the basis of nearly all chemical fibres (polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, PVC, TPU) as well as many coatings, membranes and seam tapes. The thermal formability allows melt spinning, heat setting, embossing and welding — key advantages in manufacturing, garment making and recycling.
- Repeatedly meltable and formable
- Basis of most chemical fibres
- Enables welding, embossing and heat setting
- Well recyclable by re-melting
Recyclability makes thermoplastics the preferred raw material for circular textile concepts, e.g. mono-material constructions of 100 % polyester.
Properties
| Material class | Plastic category |
|---|---|
| Behaviour under heat | reversibly meltable |
| Typical examples | PES, PA, PP, PVC, TPU |
| Recyclability | good (recyclate possible) |
Related product categories
Sources & references
3- Wikipedia: Thermoplast Wikipedia — Freie Enzyklopädie https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoplast
- PlasticsEurope plasticseurope.org https://plasticseurope.org/
- Textile Exchange Textile Exchange https://textileexchange.org/
