What is silicone?
Silicone is a polymer made up of silicon, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Silicone is made into an elastomer, a silicone rubber, which has unique properties due to its rubbery shape. Silicone is made into an elomer, a silicone rubber, which has unique properties due to its rubbery shape.
Silicone is transformed into an elastomer, silicone rubber, which has unique properties due to its rubbery form. Silicone rubbers are used in a wide range of applications and industries, including automotive, food and kitchenware, and electronics.
Silicone rubbers are also commonly used in clothing and footwear. The subdivision of different types of silicone rubbers is often based on specific properties such as Shore hardness scale, viscosity, applications, colour or even food safety.
Characteristics of silicone
Silicone, and more specifically silicone rubbers, have a number of unique properties which make them useful in a wide range of applications.
- Self-levelling on practically any surface
- Polyaddition silicone is shrink-proof and takes on all the details
- Perfectly usable for making elastic block moulds
- UV-resistant
- Colourfast
- Permanently elastic
- Does not require air to dry
Silicone rubbers come in various types. The best known is the one-component silicone rubber. There are also rubbers made from two components. So you will always find the perfect rubber for your project.
If you intend to cast tin or lead, for example, you should use silicone rubbers that can withstand high temperatures for a short time. The single component silicone rubbers are usually used as a joint sealant or to seal seams and joints.
The range of rubbers consisting mainly of two components includes several variants of polycondensation-cured rubbers. For example, there are silicone rubbers suitable for food industry applications, such as chocolate and marzipan processing or moulding.
In addition, casting rubbers can be thickened to make them suitable for spatula applications. This is particularly useful for the manufacture of peeling templates.
Working with silicone
When working with silicone and the various additives, it is best to use personal protective equipment such as suitable protective clothing and gloves.
Call to actionSummary
Advantages
- Self-dissolving
- Food-safe
- UV-resistant
- Colourfast
- Permanently elastic
- Can be coloured with pigments
Disadvantages
- Silicone only adheres to silicone
- More expensive compared to latex
- Sometimes slight shrinkage
- Cannot be glued