COBA Automotive are at the forefront in developing TPV (Thermoplastic Vulcanizates) profile technology to replace rubber profile in a wide range of applications.
TPVs are high-performance elastomers that offer manufacturing flexibility, ease of processing, and long-term durability.
By delivering consistent performance across automotive, industrial, and demanding customer applications, TPV offers potential advantages such as reduced system costs and significant weight savings when compared to traditional materials like thermoset rubber (EPDM).
As a thermoplastic, TPV is fully recyclable, contributing to sustainability and environmental goals. Waste and scrap material can also be reprocessed and reintegrated into production, reducing overall material waste.
While EPDM requires a longer and more complex production process, including extrusion, curing, and post-processing, TPV simplifies manufacturing with fewer steps. This results in shorter lead times, less energy consumption, and increased efficiency.
Example part: Waist Belt Seals
Weight Saving Per Year*
*Typical savings based upon four 1000mm seals per vehicle. Volume car production of 100,000 units year, over a vehicle production lifecycle of 7 years.
Due to the properties of TPV materials, profile cross sections can often be made thinner, giving additional weight savings whilst still meeting the same performance specifications. Tight tolerances and specifications can also be offered.
We are proud to have developed the first exterior TPV seal pack in Europe for use on a moving sunroof application. The innovative 11-component TPV seal packs are now in full production, and feature on the new Toyota Corolla.
These types of sunroof seals have historically been made from EPDM rubber. Working closely with our Tier 1 automotive customer, we ran multiple FEA and CAD simulations and conducted material trials to create a functional seal pack, that was in turn accepted by the OEM.
The TPV parts developed and supplied by COBA were over 20% lighter by material SG compared to EPDM rubber. Further weight-saving benefits were also created as a result of re-designing the seal cross sections, made possible by using TPV. This supports the drive towards reducing vehicle CO₂ emissions, weight reduction and electrification. TPV is also fully recyclable, supporting sustainability and environmental initiatives.
By using less material and removing weight by design, we were able to pass on cost savings to our customer.
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