Overview
- Silicone
rubber molding is a perfect solution to fill the gap between oneoff
rapid prototyping and prototype injection molding. Silicone molds
produce urethane castings that are used for functional testing, product
demonstration and even low volume manufacturing. From rigid and tough
to soft and flexible, quality parts can be made in less than a week at
a low cost.
- Silicone molds reproduce the tiniest of details thus the quality of the pattern is critical. With PolyJet™ technology, perfect patterns are
created and ready for mold-building immediately after they are cleaned.
The hours or days previously devoted to sanding, filling and priming
patterns is no longer needed. Consequently, PolyJet™ technology
expedites the silicone rubber molding process and reduces its cost.
- Rapid prototyping reignited the use of silicone molding. Prior to rapid prototyping, pattern creation took longer than building a rubber mold and casting parts. With rapid prototyping, silicone rubber molding is once again a competitive and attractive solution. PolyJet™ technology
further reduces the time, labor and cost of silicone molding, making
its use with urethane casting an ideal solution for prototype
development and low volume production.
- Silicone
molding offers lead times of three to seven days at just one-tenth (or
less) of the cost and time of an aluminum tool. Silicone molding is an
attractive alternative for producing many injection, compression and
rotationally molded plastic parts.
- Silicone molds are capable of reproducing extremely complex
geometries and very fine details. Due to the cycle time, cost per piece
and tool life, silicone molding is ideally suited for applications
producing 1 to 100 parts. However, since the tools are inexpensive and
quickly made, the creation of multiple silicone rubber molds to produce
larger numbers of parts is a viable option.
Silicone Rubber Materials
For rapid prototyping, the recommended type of silicone material is two component addition silicone rubbers that consist of:
- Vinyl base polymer
- SiH base hardener
- Platinum based catalyst
These silicone materials are translucent with very little shrinkage (<0.1%).
Type of chemical reaction: addition
Brands used by our experts:
The Silicone Molding Process
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