Silicone
Silicone Materials for Custom Molded Parts
Discuss silicone candidates for your component geometry and operating conditions. Flexibility, temperature exposure, contact media and assembly requirements guide the review.
01 / Silicone
Identify the silicone material and finished part
Send the existing grade or material requirement and a drawing of the component. State the polymer designation, such as VMQ, where specified, and whether the requested process uses liquid silicone rubber. Include the supplied form and intended use: a molded seal, gasket or sheet enquiry needs its own geometry and manufacturing review.
02 / Silicone
Define appearance and dimensions on the same sample
For colored, translucent or clear parts, use an identified material and sample geometry. A request for a clear part should first identify the material; transparency alone does not define the polymer or a tested optical performance.
| Requirement | What to agree |
|---|---|
| Geometry | Drawing revision, thickness, profile, functional dimensions and support |
| Molding details | Parting line, flash, edges, surface finish and insert interfaces |
| Material | Grade or compound, cure system and relevant preparation |
| Color | Color reference, physical sample, viewing light and comparison method |
| Clarity | Sample thickness, viewing conditions and haze or transmission method if required |
| Part state | Finishing, post-curing, conditioning, cleaning and packaging |
| Decision | Appearance reference, dimensional report and functional criteria |
03 / Silicone
Describe dry heat, hot water and steam separately
State temperature, pressure where relevant, contact time, cleaning and startup or shutdown conditions for the actual medium. Include assembly stress and the customer’s contact-specific requirements. Compare the identified grade and part under that exposure; a dry-heat report does not establish every hot-water or steam requirement.
04 / Silicone
Separate recovery, retained force and assembly sealing
For a static gasket, define compression, joint geometry, temperature, duration and recovery conditions. Compression set describes a recovery result; retained-force evaluation and assembly leakage are separate tasks. Agree which results the application needs and identify the specimen or part used in each.
05 / Silicone
Specify electrical requirements at the correct level
If the specification calls for an electrically functional silicone material, provide the required material measurement and any assembly shielding task separately. Include fixture, frequency range, contact compression, interfaces and evaluation after exposure where relevant. Confirm the candidate material and supply route against the specification before treating a property target as an available product.
06 / Silicone
Agree processing, samples and repeat supply
Define any post-curing or volatile-control objective with the identified compound, part state and acceptance method. Record the finishing and conditioning used for approved samples. Send the quantity and required reports so molding, packaging, lot identification and change review can be agreed for the project.
From your requirements to a component review
Review a Silicone Application
Send your drawing or describe the application. Include service conditions, material requirements and quantity.