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Uses of Glazing Gaskets in Construction

Every construction engineer or project manager knows that the materials used in construction play important roles in building projects. One important material is the glazing gasket used for the windows of the building. Glazing gaskets are essential in making the windows more stable and secure, while helping to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the building.

Glazing gaskets become most effective in building construction when they are made from plastic materials, which can make a good compromise between quality performance and economy. Plastic provides the elasticity, flexibility and durability ideal for manufacturing good quality window seals and glazing gaskets. Glazing gaskets can only be beneficial as a construction material if it is made from the best quality plastic materials. These may be thermoplastic rubber and extruded or co-extruded polymers.

Weather Protection

Glazing gaskets are mainly used to protect the building from heavy downpours, strong winds and thermal changes. Good quality window seals can effectively seal the interior to prevent rain and runoff water from infiltrating the building. Glazing gaskets made from rigid or flexible PVC seamlessly attach to the window glass to seal the opening.

Glass Protection

Glazing gaskets are also very useful in protecting against thermal stresses resulting from major and sudden changes in the temperature. The plastic material in glazing gaskets protects the glass from breaking due to thermal changes. The physical properties of extruded plastics make them a perfect glass protection.

The glass is provided with a flexible cushion, floating between the gaskets, to protect it from the damaging outside forces. Plastic glazing gaskets are also the better alternative to wood or metal frames that used to be the preferred materials for holding and protecting the glass.

Air Quality Regulation

Glazing gaskets not only protect the building interior from strong winds and rain. They are also important in maintaining good air quality in the rooms. This is especially beneficial in air-conditioned units of the buildings. Because indoor air is properly sealed, energy consumption is kept to a minimum as it becomes much easier to keep the room temperature as comfortable as possible.

Useful glazing gaskets provide many benefits to the building construction. Plastic seals not only offer essential functions, but they manage to do so without a hefty price tag. Production of window seals made from flexible or rigid PVC, thermoplastics and extruded plastics is relatively low compared to other traditional window seal materials.

Raw materials used in plastic glazing gaskets are also comparatively low.

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TPV for Window Seals

Innovation has helped industries come up with amazing new products and materials that perform better to give the benefits to the user. One such material and product is TPV, which Lloyds Pacific Plastics supplies for glazing gaskets for windows.

TPV is a high performance thermoplastic rubber favoured for its flexibility, strength and long-term performance. The thermoplastic rubber is used in many applications across many industries. In the field of building construction, it performs well as a window sealing material.

Physical Properties of TPV

TPV plastic rubber is often specified by architects and engineers to protect window glass and to provide weatherstripping for the building. TPV offers a low weight advantage that is lacking in thermoset rubber and other thermoplastic elastomer materials. The thermoplastic is also a recyclable material, making it an environmentally ideal material to use for many applications.

TPV benefits from the physical properties of vulcanised rubber, yet offers manufacturing ease typical of thermoplastics. Thermoplastic rubber provides top performance when used as window seals. TPV’s physical properties and manufacturing flexibility make it a favourite of building designers and engineers looking for a compromise between quality and economy.

The thermoplastic rubber, exhibits good impact strength and good tolerance of high temperatures reaching up to 135 degrees Celsius. Its physical properties make it a good substitute for EPDM. It has good liquid resistance, excellent electrical characteristics and resistance against environmental ageing.

Weatherstripping

Lloyds Pacific Plastics distributes TPV as a viable alternative to neoprene, silicone, EPDM and other thermoset rubbers. TPV has been proven to last longer when exposed to extreme weather. This is a challenge that window sealing materials have to contend with, especially with the rather erratic changes in weather patterns. This good performance in hot and cold temperatures making it a good alternative to other rubbers, which tend to give in when exposed to extreme temperatures.

TPV is perfect for providing excellent protection to the window glass, keeping it safe from damage due to thermal stresses and wind force. The company’s TPV glazing gaskets are ideal for use as static curtain walls, skylight glazing and sealing, dynamic sealing and for two-sided window units.

Because of its excellent physical properties, TPV can protect the interior of the building efficiently. Weatherstripping is essential to keep good air quality intact inside the building. At the same time, effective weather sealing will work to protect the building from heavy rainfall and runoff.

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Benefits of Using Co-Extruded Seals

Window seals need to be strong, sturdy, but at the same time flexible. Their main purpose is to seal off the interior to protect from strong winds and heavy downpours. Window seals also help in maintaining the good quality of the air inside. Window seals need to be made of high quality materials such as co-extruded plastic products for better results.

Co-extrusion is a variation of the extrusion process whereby raw thermoplastic materials are melted and formed into a continuous profile. In co-extrusion, two or more types of raw plastic materials are melted together to form the continuous profile. There are several advantages of using co-extruded plastics for window seals and gaskets.

Better Performance

With co-extruded window seals, the building gets to benefit from the best properties that the different raw materials provide. For instance, if can be made of thermoplastic rubber for more efficient weather-stripping. At the same time, the window seal may use rigid backing to provide a stronger base. With co-extruded plastic, the window seals exhibit excellent weatherability, flexibility in cold and hot temperature and minimal shrinkage.

Co-extruded window seals provide a captive wedge that does not fall out of the pocket. The captive wedge can be installed in place, so there is no need to install them from the outside using scaffolds. This can be quite a relief as the installation can be done and finished from the inside.

Co-extruded window seals provide excellent protection to the glass. They are flexible and sturdy at the same time.

Cost Effectiveness

Another benefit of using co-extruded window seals is the minimal cost involved. Production of co-extruded plastics takes less time and requires only minimal labour, so the costs are relatively lower. Most of the work is done in the manufacturing facility. Since work at manufacturing facilities is generally cheaper than site labour, the construction manager achieves substantial cost savings. Once the window seals are done, they are simple to attach and install, so actual work at the site is reduced significantly.

Production Efficiency

Production of co-extruded plastic window seals is generally simpler and easier than other types of window seals. In most cases, only one person is required to oversee the production process. Overall, work efficiency is excellent as the workload is considerably minimised at the work site.

Co-extrusion plastics provide excellent performance when used as window seals for buildings. They not only offer quality performance, but the added benefits are also worth the money spent.

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Co-extruded Plastic Products for Weather-stripping

Plastic extrusion is a reliable process for producing materials used in different industries. Extruded plastics are manufactured by melting raw thermoplastic materials and forming them into a continuous profile. Applications include pipes, wire insulation, plastic sheets and weather stripping.

Another good way of producing weather stripping products is through co-extrusion. Some custom plastic manufacturers use co-extruded plastic because of the added benefits that this type of plastic material provides.

Co-Extrusion Process

With co-extrusion, several layers of raw plastic materials are used to produce a continuous profile. The advantage of using this process is the resulting material exhibits the properties of the layers of raw plastic materials used.

The process is done by extruding several raw materials at the same time by using two or more extruding machines. The different extruded materials are then funnelled into a single extrusion head to form the material into the final product.

Co-Extruded Window Seals

Co-extrusion can result in materials that offer better performance than those that use the traditional extrusion process. The resulting product can exhibit two distinct properties on its two sides. For instance, manufacturers can come up with a profile that has weather-resistant additives on the outer side and additives for durability used on the inner portion of the profile. In this case, the plastic’s outer side, which is exposed to the sun and the elements, is made to be weather resistant. Its inner portion is made stronger for better structural reliability and impact resistance.

Lloyds Pacific Plastics offers window seals made from co-extruded materials. The company’s captive wedge products are made with co-extruded thermoplastics. On the outside is a thermoplastic rubber, but on the inside portion, the seal is made to have a rigid backing.

The co-extruded window seals have been proven to withstand weather changes efficiently. The material also exhibits excellent weatherability and reduced shrinkage.

The company’s co-extruded captive wedge is built to protect the glass. It also makes installation simpler and faster. Because the captive wedge can be installed in place, there is no need to fix the installation from the outside using a scaffold. Construction personnel can fix the installation from inside the building.

Labour costs are also significantly reduced because most of the work is done in the manufacturing facility. The additional installation needed to be done on site is minimal, so the man-hours are substantially minimised.

Pacific Plastics’ co-extruded plastic products are highly recommended in window seals for building construction. Reduced cost, easy installation and better performance are just some of the more obvious benefits one can get from these products.

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Advantages of PVC Over Other Plastics

A PVC pipe is a flexible form of pipe that is perfect for applications in which the use of rigid PVC is impractical. Flexible PVC extrusions are strong and long lasting, making them suitable for use in a component of water systems, and in running hook-ups to washing machines.

Here are several advantages to using flexible PVC pipes:

Easy Installation

Flexible PVC piping simplifies the installation of plumbing systems. The material can easily be routed in any direction without the use of multiple fittings, thereby simplifying plumbing layouts and cutting installation time and labour.

Flexible PVC piping can be used in areas where space is restricted and in situations where a rigid pipe is not ideal.

Ease of Cutting the Pipe

Special tools are not needed, since flexible PVC pipes can be cut in different sizes using a strong pair of shears or utility knife. Cutting flexible PVC piping is not as labour intensive as trimming a piece of rigid PVC, making it possible to complete the job faster and more efficiently.

Long Lasting

Flexible PVC pipes last longer because they are resistant to mildew and sunlight. Being resistant to mildew makes flexible PVC pipes suitable for use in water systems of all types. Though flexible PVC pipes can somewhat withstand sunlight, exposure to sunlight for long periods of time is not advisable.

Lower Cost

Flexible PVC piping is cheaper compared with other types of pipe. Cost is a major consideration if a plumbing job needs quality products, but the budget is limited.

Easy Storage

It is easy to store flexible PVC piping for future use. Since it is bendable, it is possible to coil any unused PVC pipe and place it in a storage container. The pipe can also be retrieved easily when it is time to use it. In contrast, rigid PVC can only be stored straight.

Flexible PVC piping has found its way in many applications in various types of industries because of the many advantages it offers. The material is available in hardware stores or home supply stores, and in building supply shops and online stores.

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Reliable Supplier of Custom Window Glazing

Lloyds Pacific Plastics has built a good reputation as a manufacturer and supplier of high quality products including flexible PVC, rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC), co-extruded plastic products, and nitrile products.

The company has been supplying custom plastic products, including custom gaskets, for all window shapes, styles and sizes for many decades. Through its in-house drafting service, development and manufacturing programme, the company encourages customers to offer design ideas so as to address potential problems during the design process.

The company’s custom glazing gaskets make it simple and easy to dry-mount glass in fixed or operable wood or metal frames. The gasket’s waterproofing capability is on a par with that of caulks and conventional glazing tapes, but the company’s gaskets protect the glass better and they do not adhere to the glass. The glass floats between two gaskets, thus considerably reducing the risk of glass breakage from atmospheric conditions such as thermal movement and wind stresses, as well as from mechanical shock.

PVC Products

The company never stops producing new glazing materials. The company has over 300 dies for rigid PVC plastic extrusion products. Already with 3000 dies in its portfolio, the company continues to make additions to its flexible PVC product range.

Santoprene

The company also supplies glazing gaskets made from thermoplastic rubber Santoprene. Santoprene offers both the characteristics of vulcanised rubber and the ease of processing of thermoplastics, allowing it to tolerate long-term exposure to various weather conditions without displaying noticeable wear and tear. Santoprene glazing gaskets provide long life and hard-wearing characteristics, making them ideal for commercial building applications.

Co-Extruded Products

The company uses the extrusion process to manufacture its products. Extrusion is a high volume production technique that involves melting raw plastic material and forming it into a continuous profile. The company’s co-extruded seals are produced using thermoplastic rubber with a rigid backing, resulting in a product with increased durability and minimal shrinkage. These seals are offered at reduced rates because the manufacturing process cuts labour costs. The company caters to a range of customers in many industries including building and construction, marine, window and doors, and mining markets.

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Advantages of Using Plastic Rubber in Construction

Thermoplastics are found in many applications in many industries because of their versatility, durability and other physical properties. These physical properties are further improved when the thermoplastics are manufactured so as to obtain the physical attributes of rubber materials. Many everyday materials are made from thermoplastic rubber, especially in applications where insulation is needed.

Plastic Rubber as Glazing Gaskets

In the construction industry, thermoplastic rubber is used for weather stripping windows and doors. One good example of excellent thermoplastic rubber used in building construction projects is Santoprene, which boasts excellent durability and flexibility. Thermoplastic rubber is highly recommended as glazing gaskets for its ability to last long in harsh climate and extreme hot and cold temperatures.

When glazing gaskets are exposed to the natural elements, there is that danger of it shrinking and deteriorating after a few years. Designers and engineers often prefer specifying top quality materials such as thermoplastic rubber to make sure the glazing gaskets will be able to withstand thermal pressure.

Thermoplastic rubber can act as highly efficient weather stripping material that will keep the building safe from rainwater seepage even during very strong storms. The inside portion of the building also benefits from thermoplastic glazing gaskets as the air quality is kept intact, particularly when air conditioning or heating is used inside the room.

Physical Properties

Thermoplastic rubber is preferred for its hard-wearing properties and abrasive resistance. Thermoplastic rubber manufacturers produce this material in much the same way as a regular thermoplastic, using blow moulding techniques, teleforming or injection moulding. Just like thermoplastics, it can be recycled and formed into new products. This differentiates it from thermoset rubbers like neoprene and EPDM, which completely break down when heated.

Thermoplastic rubber combines in one material the beneficial physical attributes of plastics and rubber. The material’s ability to resist weather changes and extremes makes it a better option over rubber.

Cost Advantages

One of thermoplastic rubber’s benefits to building construction is the low cost associated with its production. Just like thermoplastics, rubber plastic is inexpensive to produce and it provides the qualities required in protecting window glass and keeping the building air-tight.

Thermoplastic rubber is ideal for use in static curtain walls, dynamic weather-stripping and any other commercial building window applications as it can provide high quality sealing properties to the windows. Thermoplastic rubber can endure decades of constant exposure to heat and cold weather.

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Flexible PVC from Pacific Plastics

PVC or polyvinyl chloride is one of the most prominent plastic materials around. Owing to its durability and production low cost, PVC has been the widely produced and used in applications such as in construction. PVC can either be flexible or rigid, with each finding suitable applications in window seals and gaskets.

Flexible PVC extrusions are different from rigid PVC in terms of density, with flexible PVC being the less dense between the two. Flexible PVC is excellent to use in windows where a flexible seal is required. Pacific Plastics provides the construction industry glazing and captive channels and wedges for windows using flexible PVC.

Channels and Wedges

Pacific Plastics produces captive and glazing wedges and channels in more than 1200 dies. More dies are being added every week to its existing offering. The company’s channels and wedges are designed for various glazing applications. Clients can choose from general purpose channels and wedges, or they can request for custom designed versions of the glazing materials.

The company’s flexible PVC glazing materials come with a seven-year guarantee. The company is also known for consistently producing high quality flexible PVC based channels and wedges for years. They provide excellent back-up service and on-site compounding, which ensures that quality check is in place in the production of the plastic material. Production lead times are relatively short, thanks to flexible schedules and good amounts of stock.

Benefits to Building

The company’s flexible PVC window glazing products provide many benefits to the building as a whole. The effectiveness of the flexible PVC material to weatherproof windows allows for better protection to the building interior during strong storms and winds.

The glass windows get ample protection and support from extreme weather conditions and thermal stresses. Flexible PVC is ideal for such use because of its excellent durability, elasticity and other mechanical properties. The plastic materials is also recommended for glazing applications as they tend to last longer even when exposed to highs and lows in temperature.

Aside from protecting the window glass, flexible PVC is also effective in keeping water runoff from rain get inside the interior of the building. Flexible PVC is ideal as weatherproofing material that also maintains the good air quality inside the room. This results in more efficient energy use as air conditioning or heating is not wasted because of leaks in the seals.

Flexible PVC is a very good material to consider when installing windows in any type of building. The material’s excellent physical properties as well as its low production costs are its main selling points.

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Overview of Rigid PVC

Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is a widely used plastic material, commonly used in construction and even everyday items used in the home. Rigid PVC is a type of PVC that is also seeing broad applications in construction projects. The properties of rigid PVC make it a practical and ideal material to use in applications such as in window seals and gaskets.

Rigid PVC is highly recommended for construction applications as it has been proven to be better in performance than conventional materials such as metal or wood. The versatility of rigid PVC, together with the cost benefits that it provides construction businesses, make it a widely specified material in various construction projects.

Production

PVC is produced through polymerisation of vinyl chloride. A bigger percentage of PVC is produced by suspension polymerisation, while a smaller percentage is produced through emulsion polymerisation and bulk polymerisation.

Additives, such as heat stabilisers, UV stabilisers, lubricants and plasticisers, are then incorporated into PVC before they can be turned into different plastic products. PVC can either be flexible or rigid PVC.

Properties

Rigid PVC and flexible PVC are differentiated by the properties they possess. Both PVC types have their own qualities that make them more ideal in certain applications. Rigid PVC is generally denser than flexible PVC and it also has better thermal conductivity and compression strength.

Rigid PVC boasts good mechanical and structural strength as well as high chemical and biological resistance. Its workability and flexibility in use also makes it a good material to use in building construction.

Applications in Window Seals

Rigid PVC is very much favoured in many construction applications, thanks to its relatively low production cost and versatility. Among its many applications is its inclusion in plumbing pipes for its high resistance to corrosion. Rigid PVC is also a prime material used for window seals and glazing. Rigid PVC can come in various colours and can even be a great substitute for wooden frames in windows when they come in a wood finish.

As window seals, rigid PVC provides ample support to window glass to minimise the chances of breakage. Rigid PVC window seals are also very effective in weather-stripping the windows.

With the use of rigid PVC window seals, rain and runoff is effectively kept away from the interiors. It is also effective in maintaining the air quality of the interiors as the air is kept intact with the window seals.

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TPV: Applications in Window Construction

In weather-stripping windows, thermoplastics have been proven to be the best material to use. One product that stands out is TPV. This thermoplastic rubber exhibits excellent properties that are truly ideal for use in window seals.

TPV provides construction project managers the option to adopt quality without crippling the budget for window seals and gaskets.

Production

TPV is a thermoplastic elastomer made by cross-linking EPDM rubber and polypropylene. The material can be produced in the same way as other plastics are made by plastic manufacturers.

The material can be blow moulded, injection moulded or it can be teleformed. TPV is produced using the same tools used to form other thermoplastic materials. Since TPV is a thermoplastic material, it can be recycled once it has reached the end of its life span.

Properties

TPV combines durability and flexibility that make it ideal for use in window construction. TPV elastomer has the same properties found in natural rubber materials. However, it is regarded to be much better to use in window sealing because it lasts longer than rubber.

TPV has also been found to be very resilient when subjected to extremely hot or cold temperatures. The material has also been seen to perform as well as EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) when it comes to electrical properties and resistance against environmental aging. Just like EPDM, TPV is also highly liquid resistant.

TPV is also as good as neoprene when it comes to chemical resistance. Similar to neoprene, it is highly resistant to different chemicals, including alcohols, ketones, esters and other solvents.

Clazing Gaskets

TPV is ideal to use as glazing gaskets for windows because of its low production and installation cost and the properties it contains. TPV provides project managers a more cost-efficient option of adopting high quality in window sealing.

EPDM and neoprene are both thermoset rubbers, which are more costly to produce. TPV has been tested and has been proven to be a better alternative to those thermoset rubbers.

TPV elastomer is in high demand for weather stripping because of its durability and low cost. When used as window seals, TPV rubber is very effective in protecting the window glass from outside forces.

The thermoplastic material is also very effective protecting the interiors from rainfall runoff by tightly sealing the edges of the windows. Air quality inside is also kept intact with the help of proper sealing, courtesy of TPV-made glazing gaskets.

TPV is a very good material to use for window installation. The material’s low production cost and its high quality are the top reasons why project managers are choosing TPV over other rubber materials. If you want to learn more about TPV applications, click here.