As we all know, silicone rubber raw material can be divided into liquid silicone rubber and high-consistency silicone rubber according to its physical state. These two types of silicone rubber are quite different in terms of characteristics and use processes. The following is a detailed comparison of various aspects to popularize the difference between liquid silicone and high-consistency silicone rubber.
1. Appearance Characteristics
Liquid silicone is a viscous liquid with certain fluidity before curing, there are two kinds of silicone with addition (platinum-cured) and condensation (tin-cured), currently the market is mostly two-component silicone rubber, there are also a few single-component silicone. According to the curing method is divided into room temperature vulcanization silicone (RTV silicone) and high-temperature vulcanizing silicone (HTV silicone). RTV silicone can be cured after mixing with AB, if it is a single component silicone, it is cured by attracting air and moisture, and HTV silicone is mostly injection molded with an injection molding machine.
High-consistency silicone rubber (HCR silicone) is similar to chewing gum before molding, and does not have liquidity. It needs to be molded or extruded at a certain high temperature by adding a vulcanizing agent during molding. When demolding, it is similar to a plastic product, and the mold needs to be cleaned. It has the characteristics of high-temperature resistance, cold resistance, solvent resistance, resistance to mechanical properties, anti-adhesive, electrical insulation, chemical industry, etc. It is a saturated polymer elastic material.
2. Application Areas
RTV liquid silicone is generally used for the production of silicone molds, silicone molds made of rtv silicone has a huge advantage over steel molds in terms of production power and production cost. They have been widely used in toy and gift work, medical care, electronics, and machinery. Character reproduction, home building decoration work, unsaturated resin handicraft work, simulation of animal and plant sculpture, Buddha carving handicraft and other work mold making; HCR silicone is generally used in medicine, food, baby products, diving supplies, and electrical Insulation accessories and cable accessories can directly contact food and human bodies.
3. Cost Comparison
Liquid silicone has good stability, environmental protection and low pollution, and the price of raw materials will be higher than that of hcr silicone.
Summary: As for the selection of liquid silicone and hcr silicone raw materials, we must first determine the product, secondly determine the performance of the product, and what production process should be selected. If the production is more complex or a small number of molds, use rtv liquid silicone to make It is more efficient to use hcr silicone for simple and thousands of molds. Hcr silica gel is needed during the operation and must be molded by machine. RTV liquid silicone can be DIY handmade and molded at room temperature.