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Material Considerations

• Cost
• Chemical Resistance
• ESD Requirements
• UV Resistance
• Coatings applied to materials for ESD protection or de-nesting. (medical)
• Wash-ability
• Durability
• Heat Deflection

Common Materials For Shipping | Reusable Trays (Non ESD)

• High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS Tray Material used for shipping and reusable trays) Thin and heavy gauge options. Low cost material for shipping or reusable trays comparable in price to PVC Clear. Styrene is readily available in black and white. Styrene is more rigid than PVC with the possibility of cracking on corners with reuse. ESD options below.

  
  

• HDPE Tray Material (used for shipping trays in special applications and for automotive trays) Thin and Heavy Gauge options. Material is softer, has good impact strength, and excellent chemical resistance. It is also good for low temperature applications.Disadvantages include tendency to warp which make it difficult to use for trays that need to be flat for automation applications. Also very difficult to bond to HDPE.

  
  

• PVC (used primarily for small parts shipping trays)

  
  

Advantages: 1. Low cost 

                     2. Durable (longer lasting than styrene in comparable thickness) 

                     3. Clear 

                     4. Good chemical resistance(see chart)

                     5. Available in ESD with a anti-static non silicone coating (see ESD Options)

Disadvantages: 

     1. Generally has a denesting agent allowing trays to be separated when nested. This is an applied coating which often includes silicone 

   2. Due to silicone coating, may not be good option for medical applications depending on sensitivity of application

• PETG Material (used for shipping trays and reusable trays) Thin and Thick gauge options. PETG is a Clear Polyester. It has excellent strength for use in packaging trays and is a low outgasing material. Common applications include medical and optics. It may have a de-nesting agent similar to PVC which can be silicone. Also available with an Anti-Static Coating, Inherently Anti-Static, or Un-Coated.

  
  

• Polypropylene  (often used in medical trays for shipping or storage) Polypropylene has unique chemical resistance properties, and resists heat allowing it to go through some sterilization processes like autoclave. Often used in medical applications. PP is a softer material and also can be difficult to maintain flatness.

  
  

• Polycarbonate  (used in high heat applications and for lab trays) Polycarbonate is more expensive by a factor of 5 compared to the low cost packaging items. Key advantage to using polycarbonate is the higher heat deflection temperature (see below). Recommend testing in specific application.

ESD Tray Materials (Shipping & Reusable Trays)

• Anti-Static PVC (thin gauge) For shipping applications and not for long term use. Coating will become less effective with time and use. Surface Resistivity see data page BVDC-H1X. This is generally a thin gauge option in .030 starting thickness. Surface Resistivity of material 10e^9.

  
  

• Conductive Styrene Black (thin gauge) Stryene is Description: The material can be used for semi-reusable and reusable trays as ESD properties are set in the material. It is not a coated material. Surface resistivity 10e^4 to 10e^7. Black Conductive Styrene is generally a thin gauge option stocked in .030” starting thickness.

  
  

• PETG Anti-Static Material  (thin gauge) Description: For shipping applications and not for long term use. Coating will become less effective with time and use. Surface Resistivity see data page SC-E773. This is generally a thin gauge option in .030 starting thickness. Surface Resistivity of material 10e^9.

  
  

• ESD Material (heavy gauge for reusable material handling trays)

  
  

• HDPE Blue Ant-Static Material  (heavy gauge) Anti-static, generally blue, do not hold a charge for very long. A charge of 5000 volts is fully decayed in less than 2 seconds. This material requires a relative humidity of 15% or greater, so it won’t do the job in very dry atmospheres. The advantage of this material is that it does not slough conductive particles and is therefore usable in clean room situations. Trays meet minimum specifications per MILB-81705B. The base material, high density polyethylene, has high impact strength. Tested to less than 1012 ohms per square inch.

  
  

• HDPE Black Conductive (heavy gauge) Conductive containers are always black because the material contains carbon black. The carbon black allows the containers to conduct, and therefore if grounded, they will not create an ESD moment. The conductivity of the containers is a permanent part of the high density polyethylene material used to manufacture the containers.There is, however, a tendency for minute particles of the carbon black to slough. This trait may make the containers unacceptable in certain clean rooms. Surface tested to make sure that it is 105 or less ohms per square inch.

  
  

• Conductive ABS (heavy gauge) Used for long term ESD applications. Storage trays, etc. Expensive compared to conductive HIPS(above) and compared to standard ABS. See R63 Data Page.

  
  

• Inherently Static Disipative PETG Used for long term ESD Trays. Storage and Handling trays. Expensive compared to conductive HIPS(above) or compared to standard PETG. This material has a blueish tint.