Apr 19 2010
Sarlink TPV has announced that a new application is available utilizing their TPVs; law enforcement handcuffs. These 'Cobra Cuffs' are produced by Milspec Inc., among others specialized in applications for US military & law enforcement agencies. The company, based in Asheville NC, has recently chosen Sarlink TPV as their product supplier for the base material of the handcuffs they produce.
TPV instead of metal handcuffs
The 'Cobra Cuffs' can replace metal cuffs which are originally used in law enforcement. The great advantage lies in the fact that it allows officers to carry several pairs for mass arrest or crowd control situations, because these handcuffs can be fully folded and their weight is just a fraction of the original metal cuffs. Also the metal cuffs need to be cleaned after an arrest whereas the handcuffs made of TPV are disposable, without harming the environment because they are fully recyclable.
Color coding for criminal charges
All Sarlink TPVs are based on dynamically vulcanized rubber in a polypropylene matrix, thus combining superb elastic properties with the processing ease of thermoplastics. The specific Sarlink TPV grade which is used for the Milspec 'Cobra Cuffs' is Sarlink 3100 with 45 shore D in natural color. This grade is characterized by its flexibility and high tensile strength of 250 pounds, combined with good abrasion resistance and colorability. Because this grade is available in natural color, the handcuffs can be produced in multiple colors; black, orange, yellow, red, pink and blue. This makes color coding possible, enhancing safety and processing detainees according to criminal charges.
Innumerable applications
Sarlink's North American Distribution Manager, Brian Gumbko, about the new application: "Sarlink TPVs are currently used in many applications such as wire and cable, pipe seals and under the hood. This new handcuffs application proves that Sarlink TPVs are suitable for innumerable applications in various industries. We are delighted to have partnered with Milspec Inc. for this application. Our key message is that there are plenty of applications that have great potential for improvement, in both design and functionality if they were to be converted to Sarlink TPV and we are making continued and continuous investments in our products and our resources to help make this happen."
Milspec Cobra Cuffs' CEO Jim Reaves adds to this: "Using Sarlink in our Cobra Cuffs Restraint application gave us the strength we needed along with the flexibility required so that the product could be folded. We could find no other product that offered this balance of properties and could also be processed in a complex tool. The Sarlink material allowed us to provide a product that is virtually unbreakable and quickly becoming the premier disposable restraint in the market today."