Cellular Urethane
The benefits to using a cellular urethane include:

• Excellent resistance to compression set, which enables durable, long-term performance for gasketing, sealing and cushioning. 
• Low outgassing, non-fogging, and contains no plasticizers or residual chemicals to contaminate the device.  Urethane will not become brittle and is non-corrosive to metal. 
• Flame retardant without the use of additives.  Materials can be found to meet flammability requirements of UL HBF and MVSS 302 
• Engineered urethane formulations offer a wide modulus range for design versatility requirements 
• Excellent performance over broad temperature ranges (-40 - 90 degrees C)  Good chemical resistance
• Easy to fabricate, die cuts cleanly and readily accepts adhesive without surface preparation.

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EPDM/Caulking Sponge
The benefits of EPDM/Caulking Sponge include:

• Flexibility in a wide variety of variety of temperatures (from 40 degrees F to 175 degrees F) enabling it to be installed year round.
• Non-crystalline material and contains no plasticizers that can migrate and lead to premature membrane failure causing brittleness with aging.
• Foam of EPDM synthetic rubber mixture with semi-closed cells can be formulated in a variety of combinations with other polymer modifiers.

• Easy to fabricate, die cuts cleanly and readily accepts adhesive without surface preparation.

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Polyurethane
The benefits of Polyurethane include:

• Wide range of flexibility and rigidity
• Used for insulation
• Thermoplastic polyurethane are commonly used in medical devices
• Flexible polyurethane is sometimes used in automotive interiors
• Polyurethanes lend themselves well to die cutting

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Butyl
The benefits of Butyl include:

• A “two-in-one” foam that combines extruded PVC with a butyl covering to provide an aggressive seal and fills small voids
• Low permeability to gasses and moisture
• Inert to chemicals
• Resistant to heat, ozone and UV light
• This material is popular as “body mounts” in automotive applications

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XLPE or Cross-linked polyethylene
The benefits of XLPE include:

• Closed-cell, inert, stable and lightweight
• Easy to die cut
• Cost-effective solution to many cushioning and sealing needs
• Improved barrier qualities: thermal insulation and water permeation
• Low outgassing if punctured and compressed (the gas given off is air)
• Will not promote the growth of bacteria or fungus
• Exposure of XLPE to salt water will have little, if any, effect on its properties

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Neoprene
The benefits of Neoprene include:

• Chemical inertness makes it viable for industrial applications such as gaskets or car fan belts
• A good base for rubber based adhesives
• Widely used for noise isolation

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PVC
The benefits of PVC include:

• Widely used in the medical industry as materials for orthopedic and prosthetic softgoods, custom orthotics, padding and other biomechanical supports
• For the automotive industry, PVC is used in steering wheels, soft touch dash board panels, door panels and roof liners. 

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Polyolefin
The benefits of Polyolefin include:

• Offers increased softness
• Lends well to die cutting
• Cost-effective solution to many foam and cushioning needs
• Closed-cell structure affords improved water resistance, stability and inertness

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Silicone
The benefits of Silicone Sponge include:

• Maintains its flexibility across a very wide temperature range
• A good electrical insulator

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• Commonly used in the appliance, automotive, construction, consumer goods, electrical, fluid delivery and medical industries
• Offers chemical resistance equivalent to that of Neoprene’s (a wide variety)
• Will swell in aromatic and halogenated organic solvents
• High polar fluids have little effect upon Santoprene

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Silicone
The benefits of Silicone include:

• Wide temperature range (-100 to 550 degrees fahrenheit)
• Good chemical and moisture resistance
• Good durability and compression capabilities
• Material is commonly made into gaskets, stoppers, shielding, cushioning, shims and insulation for the industrial markets
• Common solution to demanding applications involving heat, chemicals, compression and stability
• Durability and dimensional stability are excellent

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• Tough and impact resistant
• Good for small appliance housing

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HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)
The benefits of HDPE include:

• Comes in a variety of thicknesses, formats, translucencies and weights
• Known for its high impact strength, electrical insulation, flexibility, flame retardency, weather resistancy
• Has a very low coefficient of friction and wear resistancy
• Most commonly used at PDCI Medical for the customized die-cut card within SurgPack (TM)
• Easy to die cut, score and print
• Virgin and regrind grades both available
• A common “in stock” item for PDCI Medical

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Polycarbonate
The benefits of Polycarbonate include:

• Excellent clarity and impact strength over a wide temperature range
• Can be used for indoor and outdoor applications
• Is rated for flammability
• Comes in a variety of thicknesses and translucencies

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Polyimide/Polyamide
The benefits of Polyimide include:

• A wide range of temperatures
• Contains its tensile strength, shape and stiffness
• Common applications include gasketing and heat sinks for electronics, thermal fixtures, valve seats and wear pads
• Reinforced with 30% glass for superior strength
• Commonly used in severe weather applications

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Polypropylene
The benefits of Polypropylene include:

• Low-cost
• Non-toxic
• Hard, smooth surface prevents bacteria build-up
• Chemically resistant
• Also comes flame-retardant, if specified
• Can be used interchangeably with HDPE in some applications

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Polystyrene
The benefits of Polystyrene include:

• Easy to die cut
• Low cost plastic
• Good stiffness-strength balance
• Commonly used as adhesive “backing cards” for the diagnostic research tests
• Good for small appliance housing

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Polysulfone
The benefits of Polysulfone include:

• Excellent resistance to chemicals, hot water and steam
• A favorite in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and food-service applications
• Is rated for flammability

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PVC
The benefits of PVC include:

• Good chemical and corrosion resistance

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• More versatile than rubber-based systems
• Is UV stable with higher temperature performance
• Good-to-excellent chemical resistance
• Acrylics go through a 24 hour cure cycle or “wet-out” period where over time, the bond continues to improve. 
• Offers a longer shelf life than rubber adhesives

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Rubber adhesives
The benefits of rubber-based adhesives include:

• Typically offers the most aggressive adhesion in the shortest amount of time
• Best used in ambient, indoor applications due to susceptibility to UV and elevated temperatures
• Will work with a variety of substrates and satisfy most adhesion requirements

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Butyl adhesives
The benefits of butyl-based adhesives include:

• Works best with wood or metal surfaces

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Transfer adhesives
The benefits of transfer adhesives include:

• Minimal thickness due to lack of supportive carrier material
• Superior conformability to irregular surfaces for applications such as test strips, surgical drapes and medical packaging
• If desired, these tapes can be pattern-coated for ease of slitting and processing

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Double coated adhesives
The benefits of double coated adhesives include:

• Utilizes a double coated carrier (typically made out of film, tissue, non-woven, foam) which offers ease of handling and slitting
• Can serve to reduce overlamination on porous materials
• Ability to use different adhesives on each side (i.e. permanent and removable on same structure for suture clip holders and instrument holding devices)

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Hydrocolloids
The benefits of hydrocolloids include:

• Ideal for ostomy and wound care applications
• Conformable and comfortable
• Low adhesion rate makes hydrocolloid optimal for skin-contact applications

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Hydrogels
The benefits of hydrogels include:

• Jelly-like substance can be used as a conductive medium for defibrillators
• Hydrogels can be custom formulated to be used in conjunction with medications and analgesic materials
• Excellent cooling mechanism for burn wounds

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• Material of choice for electrical insulation to isolate electrical currents from metal enclosures
• Excellent electric tracking resistance
• Superior heat resistance
• Common applications vary from electrical appliances/instruments, automotive washers, electrical insulation and devices, gaskets, circuit breakers and bushings for motor contacts and lightning arresters.

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Glass Filled Fibers
The benefits of glass-filled fibers include:

• Used to increase stiffness
• Can be used with a toughener to equalize the elongation and impact strength that is lost when glass-filling occurs.

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Vulcanized Fibre
The benefits of vulcanized fibre include:

• Hard, chemically pure cellulose product containing no resins or bonding agents
• Commonly used as washers, insulating plates, switch and appliance insultation, gaskets, electric motor insulation, circuit breakers, automobile parts, patterns and many other application
• High mechanical strength
• Light-weight
• Resistance to wide range of temperatures
• Good arc resistance, electrical properties
• Great for die-cutting
• UL recognized
• Special grades: bright white, flame retardant and homogeneous        

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• Commonly used for vibration absorption, noise reduction, bearing strength, sealing, wicking and many other applications.

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Non-woven
The benefits of non-wovens include:

• Flat and porous
• Good for applications where absorbency is required
• Good resilience, stretch, softness, strength, flame retardancy, washability, cushioning, filtering, bacterial barrer and sterility.
• Mimics the appearance, texture and strength of a woven fabric and can be as bulky as the thickest paddings.
• Can be used alone as components of health care, engineering, industrial and consumer goods

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Shoddy pads
The benefits of shoddy pad include:

• Used in the automotive industry as floor carpet or insulation for interior trim on the dash liner, door panels, trunk, etc.

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