What kinds of ABS plastic sheets MDE offers?

Featured ABS Plastic Sheets Products

What is ABS plastic sheet?

Definition of ABS Thermoform Plastic Sheets

ABS plastic sheet is one of the most popular used engineering or industrial plastic material, with density of 1.07 g/cm3, HS code 390330. Plastic ABS sheeting is extruded with thermoplastic polymer, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin. There are several types of ABS resin, injection grade and extrusions grade. The latter one is manufactured into ABS plastic board. ABS is amorphous, and ABS plastic sheet does not have a fixed actual melting point.

Features of ABS plastic sheets

ABS plastic sheets, extruded with different ABS base resin and additives, demonstrate different physical and chemical features. Some has high impact strength, suitable for making luggage covers. Some has high rigidity, making it a a good plating material for refrigerator.

With flame retardant additives, ABS plastic sheeting has fire-retardant properties, ranging from V-2 to V-0. ABS sheet can also be UV resistant to a certain degree, which can prevent it from aging outdoor.

ABS plastic sheet material data / technical data sheet

ABS plastic sheet properties are usually tested by ASTM standards, in terms of tensile strength, tensile elongation, flexural strength, flexural modulus, Izod impact strength, hardness, vicat softening temperature, Heat deflection temperature, flammability ratings and so on.

ABS styrene plastic sheet production and customization

ABS plastic sheets extrusion

ABS sheet or rolls are manufactured through extrusion machine. Melting and softening ABS resin and additives are pressed through two rollers and cooled down afterwards. At the end of the extruder, ABS plastic sheet will be cut to size with the cutter equipped. There would be a small tolerance during this process of cutting. For minimum tolerance, CNC or laser cutting is required.

The space between two rollers decide the thickness of the sheets. And the width of the roller limit the width of the sheeting. The thickness can range from 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2; 1mm, 2mm, or customized. Large and thick ABS plastic sheet, or small thin ABS plastic stripes are all possible.

ABS styrene plastic flat sheet plate surface options

The surface effect of the rollers will determine the surface of the sheets. With different rollers, we can produce different surface effect, like gloss, smooth, matte, textured and so on.

High gloss surface ABS sheets has mirror effect smooth beautiful surface, which are often used to manufacture machine cover and housing. Gloss ABS sheet are often covered with PE film to protect its surface from scratches while in production, storage, transportation and usage. Some PE protective film is high-temperature resistant. This will also provide protection during thermoforming abs plastic sheets.

Matte finish or frosted finish abs styrene plastic flat sheet plate, which reduce light reflect, provides a nice touch-feeling and elegant appearance.  

There are various types of textured finish ABS plastic panel sheet, which can meets people’s different demands. There are small scale texture, like doted texture, big scale texture, like hair-cell texture, or special texture, like leather-feel texture. To get custom texture, it is necessary to build custom rollers with desired textured surface. The roller is expensive and costly. Customized textures usually require high production order quantity.

To get more diversified texture or pattern surface, graphic-printed PC or PVC film is often laminated on the surface of ABS plastic sheeting, during extrusion. We can often see wood grain ABS plastic sheet. Wood grain graphic is printed on PVC or PC surface and co-extruded with ABS sheet. Through this way, we can get a plenty of beautiful design surface on ABS sheet at a relative low cost. Carbon fiber effect or carbon fiber simulated decorative ABS plastic sheets is a good example of this tech.

ABS plastic sheets color customization

The original color of ABS resin is translucent ivory and white. ABS plastic sheet color matching is realized through adding pigments. Black, white, or grey color is quite common. Other colors such as red, yellow, blue, can be matched in accordance with Pantone code card. Color matching is not 100% perfect, for plastic sheet extrusion. Minimum difference should be taken into consideration. Few factories produce transparent or clear ABS plastic sheet. If using clear plastic sheet, clients usually choose acrylic or PC sheet.

ABS double color plastic sheets can be manufactured through co-extrusion. In this way, we can get one ABS plastic sheet, with two different colors on each surface of the sheet.

Recycled ABS plastic sheet

ABS plastics have a good recycling capacity. Although virgin grade plastic sheet has better mechanical properties, recycled ABS panel is better than many other types of plastics. This is both eco-friendly and cost-effective for some average standard applications.

ABS plastic sheet machining and molding

Most ABS plastic panel is machinable. It has great mechanical properties, suitable for forming, cutting, die cut, drilling, chroming, and welding. ABS plastic sheet fabrication is more easy and accurate compared with other materials, such as wood, metal or stone.

Thermoforming ABS plastic sheeting

Molding, bending or curving ABS plastic sheet is processed through heating the sheet at a operational temperature, and vacuum formed and shape based on a desired tooling mold. It is fast and low cost. Most manufacturers produce ABS thermoform plastic sheets. Vacuum forming ABS plastic sheet can be customized for sizes, colors and physical properties.

ABS sheet cutting

ABS sheet can be cut to desired size and shape, through laser cutting, sawing, CNC milling, routing and engraving. It would not be accurate cutting, if using knife. Besides, we can punch through a thin ABS plastic sheet with stamping machine, to get holes or desired outlines. Laser cutting will leave black edges, while CNC cutting will leave sharp edges. Secondary polishing sometimes is required.

ABS plastic sheet gluing and bonding

There is a special ABS glue, one-component solvent-based, with vinyl polymer as the base material. It is convenient to use, non-toxic, rapid to position. It has high bonding strength. After fully solidified, the bonding is waterproof, heat-resistant, cold-resistant, oil-resistant and corrosion-resistant.

Painting and printing on ABS plastic sheet

ABS plastic sheet has a good adhesion to paints. Screen printing or UV digital inkjet printing can be applied on ABS sheet surface. The paint is not easy to peel off.

Applications of ABS plastic sheets

ABS sheet has a plenty of applications in various industries, such as automobile, agriculture, marine, display, aerospace, refrigerator, electronics, food and beverage, construction and medical.

For automobile and vehicle:

ABS plastic sheet and board can be molded into ATV and UTV body kits, golf carts exterior covers, shuttle bus interiors, dashboard, after market engineer decorative cover, sweeping vehicle outer covers, and automotive trim, door panel.

Medical equipment:

A lot of large medical equipment housings, parts and covers, are constructed with ABS plastic sheets through vacuform, press forming and machining. ABS has excellent mechanical and aesthetic features. They are used for dental chair cover, MRI housing, hospital bed panel, trolley tray, , beauty machine cover, and so on.

For agriculture industry:

ABS plastic sheets are stain, bacteria and chemical resistant, making it suitable for agricultural operations. They are built as tractors interior and exterior parts, lawn machine components, and so on.

Q&A about ABS plastic sheet