Types of Silicone Rubber Parts

Silicone rubber can be shaped and processed into many different types of parts. It is used in automotive applications, cooking, baking and food storage products, apparel including undergarments and sportswear and electronics.

It offers a wide range of properties like low rotation barriers, which allows it to be squeezed, stretched and bent without losing its shape. This material also has good electrical conductivity.

Seals

Silicone rubber seals, gaskets and O-rings are used in many industries – aerospace, automotive, medical and consumer products. A silicone rubber with the right characteristics can resist corrosion, oil and weathering and provide a reliable sealing surface. For example, in the aerospace industry silicone rubber is found in spacesuit fabrics and tools and as a component in aircraft vibration and noise reduction systems. It is also found in construction as an adhesive, sealant and coating.

Injection and transfer molding processes are commonly used to make silicone rubber components. These processing techniques involve a secondary raw material preparation process into preset forms that are then inserted into a closed mold and heated to melt the material. Then, a plunger is used to force the melted silicone into the mold cavity and the seal is held closed until it cools and cures.

The ability to withstand extreme temperatures is one of the most important properties of silicone rubber. It is able to maintain its physical and electrical properties in a wide range of temperatures without deforming or breaking down, unlike EPDM or other common synthetic rubbers.

In order to optimize the performance of a silicone rubber seal, the microscopic roughness of the metal surface is an important factor. This study utilizes FT-IR spectrometry to determine the influence of this roughness on static contact forces between silicone rubber and a steel surface.

Gaskets

Gaskets are flexible materials that seal the space between two surfaces. They can be made of any material, including a variety of different rubbers. They may also be molded or die cut. When a seal needs to be flexible, a silicone rubber is often used.

There are several types of silicone rubber gaskets, and each type has its own characteristics that make it preferential in certain settings. Silicone is a resilient, inert material that resists weather conditions, chemicals and acids. It is also known for its low compression set, so it can easily Silicone rubber parts conform to a surface. It is resistant to high temperatures and can withstand ozone, oxygen and sunlight.

Another type of silicone rubber is fluorosilicone, which has a higher temperature range and resistance to oily substances. It is more expensive than silicone, but it has additional characteristics that make it ideal for use in applications prone to degradation from UV light or harsh chemicals.

The gasket material that is selected will have a significant impact on the performance of the finished part. The higher the quality of the gasket, the better it will perform. This is particularly true for gaskets used in performance applications. High-performance gaskets are designed to dissipate heat quickly and will have a high-temperature range. This is why they are more expensive than those used in standard applications.

Electrical Contacts

Silicone rubber is a good electrical insulator that’s also resistant to temperatures and extreme environments. This material is flexible enough to resist heat and flame while maintaining its tensile strength, and it withstands ozone and UV damage, as well as chemicals.

It’s often used in automotive applications, cooking, baking and food storage products, apparel including undergarments, sportswear and footwear, electronics, home repair and hardware, medical devices and implants, and more. It can also be shaped and formed into tubing, gaskets, seals and more with processes such as injection molding and extrusion.

Silicone extrusion is a process that uses an HCR compound with catalysts to create a preform, which then goes into a machine that feeds it through a hardened steel die with a profile cutout pattern. This creates solid cord, strip or custom profiles of various sizes, which can then be joined to make hoses, O-rings and complex cross-sectional parts.

Other manufacturing methods may be used for silicone rubber components, depending on the specific product. Silicone rubber molded by injection molding is generally more durable, with faster cure cycles than gum base silicones. Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is injected into cavities and cured in an oven, and this type of molded silicone is also flame, ozone and weather resistant. It’s also hypoallergenic and permeable to gases, making it ideal for medical applications.

Components

Silicone rubber is able Silicone Rubber Parts – Supplier to withstand a wide range of temperature fluctuations, including exposure to the heat and pressure generated by electrical circuitry. In addition, the material doesn’t degrade when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays or ozone.

This versatility makes silicone rubber the material of choice for a broad range of technical components in the aerospace, automobile and electronic industries. Silicone components are made using a variety of processing techniques, such as compression and injection molding. Both of these methods require raw silicone to be pre-shaped into preset forms, or “preforms,” and then placed into a heated mold to form the final component.

Injection-molded silicone parts are typically crafted from liquid silicone rubber, or LSR. This two-component platinum cured rubber is reinforced with silica, and offers superior thermal stability and resistance to aging. Unlike high-consistency rubber (HCR), which has the consistency of clay, LSR is non-slumpy and pumps easily into an injection-molding machine.

Stockwell Elastomerics uses a liquid-injection-molding process with pliable LSR material to produce custom molded parts and gaskets in a wide array of shapes and sizes. Whether you’re looking for an intricately shaped part, a multi-part kit or 12” x 12” sheets, we can manufacture a solution to meet your needs. We also maintain strict industry tolerances when machining, cutting or joining silicone rubber components.