"Thanks to our extensive portfolio of suitable types of Elastollan, we were able to find the perfect combination of materials to make the Evo Tube," said Sascha Mattfeld, from TPU Sales at BASF.
The TPU from BASF is said to be resistant to abrasion and wear making it long-lasting, it is also claimed to withstand a high level of continuous load and, despite its reduced wall thickness, maintain a constant air pressure over long periods. Furthermore the tube, valve base and valve stem are all made from materials based on Elastollan, simplifying the production process and allowing the product to be easily recycled.
"Our close partnership with BASF was focused and constructive in every way: we received intensive support and advice and were supplied with sample components throughout the whole period of the project," added Marcus Lambertz, the Evo Tube product manager at Schwalbe. "We are already working on developing more versions based on the same material."
The TPU from BASF also has a range of possible applications in other industries and sectors, for example in the automotive industry or in mechanical engineering and medical engineering. The synthetic material can also be processed in various different ways, including injection moulding, extrusion or blow moulding.
