High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS)

HIPS has excellent dimensional stability and is easy to fabricate – it can be guillotine cut, die-cut, punched, and also painted and glued, properties that make it a popular option for machining pre-production prototypes. Natural (translucent white) HIPS is FDA compliant for use in food processing applications. HIPS is made from a combination of two monomers, polystyrene, and polybutadiene so it is a rubber modified version of General Purpose Polystyrene. The characteristics of HIPS are lightweight, impact resistance, and ease of processing, durable  making it an ideal choice for many applications. With more rubber content, the material can easily undergo manufacturing processes such as vacuum forming, and easily bends and molds whilst retaining its durability. Its properties do not weaken once re-molded either; making it very reliable.