Several liquid silicone molding key tips are available for manufacturers to follow during the manufacturing process for projects requiring high volume, efficiency, and tolerance. The most critical phase of silicone part production is choosing the best liquid silicone rubber material and fabrication technique.

Additional factors that need to be considered include quantities, lead times, budgets, design elements, potential design changes, market success, and a host of other factors.

Traditional silicone rubber is giving way to liquid silicone rubber as the material of choice for expanding applications. It has a foothold in many industries thanks to its excellent physiological characteristics—for example, the production of complex geometries, high thermal stability, and shorter cycle times.

Molding with liquid silicone is distinct from molding with thermoplastics. While the molding and solidification processes for thermoplastics take 10 to 90 seconds or longer, their cycle time only takes 3 to 10 seconds. Liquid silicone molding has a few distinctive characteristics, including:

Shapes with complex shapes: Because liquid silicone has a low viscosity, it can easily flow into complicated, thin features.

Automation: It is simple to convert liquid silicone molding into an automated method with fewer requirements for the workforce.

Safety improvement: Operators can remove silicone parts from the mold using a robot, chute, or conveyor.

Simple preparation: The base rubber preparation does not involve milling or mixing.

The automotive, building, medical, electrical, and electronic industries depend on liquid silicone. The only limitation is that liquid silicone molding requires professional machinery, production development, expertise, and intricate tooling design.

Tips for a Successful Silicone Injection Molding Project

Create a Budget Plan

The most critical stage of product development is the budget plan. The budget must be aligned with the strategic and long-term goals of the business to be effective. Outsourcing the project to an established silicone molding business is also a practical option.

Following your estimate of the overall budget, you should focus on the following three things:

Upfront Cost: There are two things to consider here: molding and product design. The former covers all the preparation before creating the product for sale. The latter is about silicone parts production costs, including raw materials, equipment, tooling, packaging, shipping, and delivery.

Production Setup: This item includes the cost of production run preparation, such as wastage in the testing and refining process. We should be ready to produce 10,000 or more units to mass-produce.

Production Cost: This includes the silicone component cost, the assembly cost, and quality control.

Budget plans estimate product development costs based on prior experience; these estimates may be overestimated or underestimated because of total expenses. Consequently, it would be best if you worked with silicone molding companies with excellent track records to prevent significant budget changes.

Material Selection

The two-part compound materials used in liquid silicone molding technology are compound A with catalyst and compound B with cross-liker. The raw liquid silicone can be transformed into products with mechanical stability using the cross-linker. In addition, to improve appearance and machine performance, we can add color and additives to the liquid silicone material, making it a ready-to-use compound.

Both liquid silicone compounds A and B appear translucent or just a little opaque. The cross-linking reaction starts at room temperature using the typical platinum curing agent catalyst. Additionally, compound A includes inhibitors to impede the curing process below a specific temperature. Once a certain temperature is reached, cross-linking will happen quickly and freely.

Different LSR Types and Grades

There are different grades and types of liquid silicone that product developers and designers can choose from:

Different LSR can render the desired surface texture of a product, like dry, rubber, wet, and slippery.

Standard LSR materials have a durometer range of 20 to 80.

Since it only has basic physical properties, general-purpose liquid silicone rubber is only suitable for everyday applications. Therefore, fillers and additives are added to increase LSR's resistance to heat, oil, and other solvents and to strengthen raw and cured liquid silicone properties. In addition, phenyl units can be added to mixture compounds to extend the low-temperature capabilities of LSR.

To further strengthen the silicone network, pyrogenic or precipitated silica and carbon black can be used. A stabilizer, a non-reinforcing filler, is added to the mixture at the end to increase heat resistance and resistance to various media.

Designers place a high value on the aesthetics of finished silicone components, and the three chemical components: pigments, carrier resins, and dispersants, are a common addition to LSR coloring compounds.

The mixture must evenly distribute each of these ingredients. Usually, we add color to static or dynamic mixing equipment first. Then, the pigment, which can be either paste or liquid, is specially formulated by measuring equipment for a specific percentage of the silicone mixture to achieve the desired color.

Conclusion

Contacting a silicone injection molding company like Nice Rapid can help ensure your success. We have the experience and expertise to guide you through each step of the process so that you can avoid common mistakes and produce high-quality molds quickly and efficiently. Don't hesitate to contact us today for more information about silicone injection molding.