Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) offers superior processability, appearance, low creep, excellent dimensional stability, and high impact strength.
ABS grades are hygroscopic and drying is required before processing. Suggested drying conditions are 80 C 90 C [176 F 195 F] for a minimum of 2 hours. The material moisture content must be less than 0.1%.
200 C 280 C [392 F 536 F]; Aim: 230 C [446 F]
25 C 80 C [77 F 176 F]. Mold temperatures control the gloss properties; lower mold temperatures produce lower gloss levels.
50 100 MPa
Moderate High
A combination of three monomers: acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene, produce ABS. Each of the monomers imparts different properties: hardness, chemical and heat resistance from acrylonitrile; processability, gloss, and strength from styrene; and toughness and impact resistance from butadiene. Morphologically, ABS is an amorphous material.
The polymerization of the three monomers produces a terpolymer which has two phases: a continuous phase of styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) and a dispersed phase of polybutadiene rubber. The ratios of the monomers and molecular structure of the two phases affect the properties of ABS. A good deal of flexibility exists in product design. Consequently, there are hundreds of grades available in the market. Commercially available grades offer different characteristics such as medium to high impact, low to high surface gloss, and high heat distortion.