HIPS

material

High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) is a modified polystyrene resin enhanced with rubber particles to improve impact resistance while maintaining good processability and dimensional stability.

In Simple Terms

HIPS is regular polystyrene plastic that's been toughened with rubber additives to make it less brittle. This modification gives it better impact strength than standard polystyrene while keeping its easy processing characteristics and good surface finish.

Why It Matters

HIPS offers an excellent balance of cost, processability, and performance for applications requiring moderate impact resistance. It's widely traded as a commodity resin and serves as a cost-effective alternative to engineering plastics in many applications.

Technical Details

HIPS is produced by grafting styrene onto polybutadiene rubber during polymerization, creating a two-phase structure with dispersed rubber particles (typically 5-15% by weight). The rubber domains provide energy absorption during impact, while the continuous polystyrene matrix maintains stiffness and processability. Typical properties include impact strength of 100-400 J/m and melt flow rates of 1-25 g/10min.

Real-World Examples

Appliance housing procurement

A manufacturer sources HIPS resin with 8-12 MFR for injection molding refrigerator door liners, requiring impact resistance for daily use and good dimensional stability

Packaging grade selection

A processor evaluates HIPS grades for disposable food containers, comparing impact strength and thermoforming characteristics across different suppliers' offerings

Quality control testing

Incoming HIPS lots are tested for Izod impact strength per ASTM D256 to ensure consistency with previous shipments and meet application requirements