Any product or piece of technology that is surrounded by a lot of buzz, usually has more than a few myths to coincide with that popularity. In the world of manufacturing, designers and engineers have taken a liking to this relatively new material. The result is a drastic rise in popularity for liquid injection molding across various industries and applications. But along with this meteoric rise in utilization, there have come a few myths that need to be debunked.
Myth #1: Liquid Silicone Isn’t As Effective as Gum-Stock.
Before there was liquid injection, there was gum-stock. And with any new method, there will always be folks who prefer the old-fashioned way. Gum-stock, also called high-consistency rubber is a type of silicone that has the consistency of a thick putty or dough. It is often used in compression molding by placing the silicone into an open-air molding press to form products. Although gum-stock is still able to produce results, it is limited in terms of design and customization. Furthermore, it can also be more expensive and time consuming compared to liquid silicone injection.
Myth #2: Liquid Silicone Requires a Long Time to Manufacture.
With liquid silicone injection, you won’t believe how fast you can bring your products to life. Rapid prototyping is a process that allows businesses to create a prototype that is greater than 95% of the final product. It takes much shorter lead time (2-3 weeks) and offers you a fully-functional sample that you can use in a variety of ways. This process gives your team the opportunity to test out different features for your product including color combinations, overall form and function, and eliminate any costly steps or materials that are unnecessary. Try doing that with gum-stock!
Myth #3: Liquid Silicone is Only Used in Select Industries.
One of the greatest attributes of liquid injection is its versatility across a variety of applications. Since the material itself is so design friendly, engineers are really only limited by their imaginations. Silicone is both temperature and moisture resistant, but it is able to take many different forms; a feature which has made the element very attractive to different industries. From the medical field to the military, to automotive applications, aerospace, and more, liquid injection molding has got you covered!
Silicone Technology Corp. is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia. We use a unique liquid injection molding process with Dow and GE Silicones. This combination of technology and quality offers you a competitive domestic supplier of custom keypads and other silicone rubber products. If you want to find out more about what makes SiTECH different from our competitors, give us a call today at 757-887-8488.
