In House Mold Design& Manufacturing
Our in house tooling experts will work closely with you to bring your silicone product to market as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible
SILICONE MOLDING PRODUCTION PROCESS
By offering the complete product development cycle under one roof- from designing parts & building molds to launching into full-blown production- you will reduce the risks of working with multiple vendors, improve time to market & lower costs.
1. Choose the right silicone material and durometer
The silicone molding production process begins with silicone raw material selection. Silicone rubber materials are formulated to meet different application needs, so they are divided into Different Options. Choosing the right silicone material when manufacturing a new silicone product is vital for its success. By understanding our client’s needs properly, we will recommend the best silicone material. Based on product structure/function, application environment, performance, safety test requirement,s and customer’s budget, the most feasible material will be selected.
2. Silicone material compounding and blending
Silicone raw material itself is milk-white or transparent gum-like component with no any elasticity and strength. In order to improve the characteristics of raw silicone material and to have the desired colour, silicone material will be compounded with many ingredients such as vulcanizing agent, reinforcing filler, accelerator, colorant, etc. Silicone compounding is the complex technology of selecting and blending silicone with other ingredients. The proper mixture is crucial to the success of silicone molding production.
3. Cutting / Blanking
Silicone material after blending will be collected in large rolls covered with film to prevent dust or dirt. It then will be cut into slices by an automatic cut machine. The slices’ length and width will be controlled according to the silicone part’s weight to be molded. Silicone blanking makes it easier for our molding operators to weight the material during silicone molding production.
4. Weight and place the silicone material onto preheated tool mold
Molding operators should be able to cut slices into small pieces and weight accurately, then place them quickly onto the tool mold in right place. Material weight is crucial, as too much material will lead to silicone parts size increase, and lack of material will cause small size or missing part. HB Silicone offers standardization training to each molding operator, all our molding staffs have at least 3 years of work experience in silicone molding production. Their years of experience allow them to solve any manufacturing problems in silicone molding, and ensure reliable and high-quality outcomes.
5. Silicone part vulcanization molding
Silicone material will be fully cured under high temperature and pressure from vulcanizing molding machine, then the silicone parts are formed. Our molding department is equiped with 8 high precision automatic vacuum vulcanizing machines which can be used to craft more high performance silicone parts. Our sophisticated molding machines, coupled with our skilled operators, provide the capacity and flexibility to mould high-quality, high-volume silicone parts in short peroid.
6. Demolding
When the silicone is fully cured, the vulcanizing molding machine will release the pressure automatically, tool mold will come out and open for molding operators to remove the molded silicone parts. The raw material will be placed again for the next round of vulcanization.
7. Deflash
Silicone Flash – Is a thin flap of material at the parting line where the mold splits. Due to the low viscosity of silicone material and high molding pressure during heating and curing, The pressurized silicone material will flow to every spaces of tool mold. Flash can be minimized with favorable designs and better tooling and accurate material weight during vulcanizer molding production. Flash will be removed mainly by hands, cryogenics deflashing can also be applicated for some cases. Note that on all silicone parts, there will always be a flash line with a small amount of silicone flash (less than 0.3mm) remaining, we call it parting line. For some products which have value much on outlook, the parting line may affact, so please inform us in advance, our engineer will design the mold layout in a better way during programming.
Ready to Customize your silicone project?
HT Silicon’s full-service model means we can take your product through the entire manufacturing process. From design to packing, we offer multiple services to streamline the custom silicone production process.
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