Liquid silicone rubber molding is one of the most widely-used industrial techniques in the production of consumer goods, medical products and devices, automotive parts and so much more.
Due to the growth and wide usage of this manufacturing procedure, there have been plenty of myths and misconceptions surrounding liquid silicone rubber molding, a fact which has limited a lot of business from fully utilizing the manufacturing procedure.
To counter this and provide you with the correct information, we are going to delve a little bit deeper with some truths that will debunk some of these myths and misconceptions. By doing this, we will be showing you why liquid silicone rubber molding should be incorporated into your manufacturing process.
LSR baby nipple moulds
Myths on liquid silicone rubber molding
For beginners or new users of this production technique, some of the most misconstrued statement about LSR include:
- It has limited capabilities: Contrary to the truth, LSR is a wide category that encompasses different materials and processes. Injection-molded parts are done easily and simply, but they can also be technically and dimensionally complex partly thanks to the elasticity of the materials which provides for thick-thin-thick part/product wall thickness plus extreme and precise undercuts
- The tooling process is expensive: LSR s one of the most-effective procedures especially when high volumes are involved due to its fast and quick cycle times plus high cavitation. With LST there will be minimal material waste or the total cost for secondary operations
- LSR requires frequent replacement of tools as well as long lead times: LSR molds can indeed take some time to build as they need to be accurate and precise to thousands of a millimeter rather than hundreds.
What this essentially means is that there will be plenty of optimizing loops and repeat tool adjustments. But one the mold has been certified and qualified and the production runs are stable, it will provide molds in more than 10-million shots.
Facts about LSR
Now that we’ve tackled all the rumors, myths, and misconceptions, let’s now get to the truth and facts of liquid silicone injection molding.
- LSR injection molding provides you with a versatile and suitable solution when it comes to the manufacture of parts and products that would have been otherwise impossible using conventional plastic designs.
- LSR is economical and cost-effective when it comes to both short-run production cycle as well as large-scale applications
- LSR projects can run economic-wise for a long time boosting the overall success of your production process.
Some of the key benefits of liquid silicone rubber molding include:
- Automated processes
- Automated demolding systems
- Short cycle time
- Flash less’ technology (zero burrs)
- Direct injection minimizing wastage
- Repeatability
- Batch stability
Liquid silicone rubber molding is a safe and efficient process of creating parts and prototypes before proceeding to mass production. Now that we have a proper understanding of the use, benefits, and facts we can now fully take advantage of the manufacturing technique to take out businesses to the next level.