Silicone mold, also known as vacuum mold, refers to using the original template to make a silicone mold in a vacuum state, and pouring it with PU, silicone, nylon ABS and other materials in a vacuum state, so as to clone the original model. The replica of the same model, the restoration rate reaches 99.8%.
The production cost of the silicone mold is low, no mold opening is required, the production cycle is short, and the service life is about 15-25 times. It is suitable for small batch customization. So what is the silicone mold? What are the applications and features?
01
Silicone molding process
Silicone composite mold materials include: ABS, PC, PP, PMMA, PVC, rubber, high temperature resistant materials and other materials.
1. Prototype manufacturing: According to 3D drawings, prototypes are manufactured by CNC machining, SLA laser rapid prototyping or 3D printing.
2. Pouring the silicone mold: After the prototype is manufactured, the mold base is made, the prototype is fixed, and the silicone is poured. After 8 hours of drying, the mold is opened to take out the prototype, and the silicone mold is completed.
3. Injection molding: inject the liquid plastic material into the silicone mold, cure it for 30-60 minutes in an incubator at 60°-70°, and then release the mold, if necessary, in an incubator at 70°-80° A secondary cure of 2-3 hours is carried out. Under normal circumstances, the service life of the silicone mold is 15-20 times.
02
What are the applications of silicone molds?
1. Plastic prototype: its raw material is plastic, mainly the prototype of some plastic products, such as televisions, monitors, telephones and so on. The most common photosensitive resin in 3D prototype proofing is plastic prototype.
2. Silicone lamination prototype: its raw material is silicone, which is mainly used to display the shape of product design, such as automobiles, mobile phones, toys, handicrafts, daily necessities, etc.
03
Advantages and Features of Silicone Overmolding
1. The advantages of vacuum complex molding have its advantages compared with other hand crafts, and have the following characteristics: no mold opening, low processing cost, short production cycle, high simulation degree, suitable for small batch production and other characteristics. Favored by the high-tech industry, the silicone compound mold can speed up the research and development progress and avoid unnecessary waste of funds and time costs during the research and development period.
2. The characteristics of small batches of silicone moulding prototypes
1) The silicone mold does not deform or shrink; it is resistant to high temperature and can be used repeatedly after the mold is formed; it provides convenience for product imitation;
2) Silicone molds are cheap and have a short manufacturing cycle, which can prevent unnecessary loss before opening the mold.
Post time: Sep-28-2022
