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Properties in Balance

Choosing the correct material may involve tradeoffs in performance, as illustrated in the following chart.

The key is to determine and prioritize your part’s most critical performance characteristics.

An improvement in…Usually improves…But sacrifices…
Abrasion resistanceHardness/ElongationResilience
Impact resistanceElongationModulus
Creep resistanceResilienceFlex resistance
Oil resistanceTear resistanceLow temperature flex
ResilienceCreep resistanceTear resistance
Tensile strengthModulusElongation
Vibration dampingImpact resistanceStructural integrity

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