Addition Curing System creates custom pourable silicone rubber.
Press Release Summary:
With ELASTOSIL® VARIO modular system, reactivity of silicone rubber compound and hardness of elastomer can be adjusted as desired. System consists of 4 modules: 2 base components and 2 catalyst components. From these modules, processor mixes 2 components of RTV-2 silicone rubber compound in quantities needed for curing. Mixing ratio for catalysts determines how reactive system is and how fast rubber cures. ELASTOSIL® VARIO is translucent and suitable for encapsulating, coating, and mold making.
Original Press Release:
WACKER Develops Modular System for Pourable Silicone Rubbers
Munich, – WACKER, the Munich-based chemical Group, has developed a modular system for pourable, addition-curing silicone rubber compounds. With this system, available under the ELASTOSIL® VARIO name, both the reactivity of the silicone rubber compound and the hardness of the elastomer can be adjusted as desired. Compounders and silicone processors can now produce tailor-made products in any desired quantity. ELASTOSIL® VARIO is suitable for encapsulating and coating, for making technical molded parts, and for mold making.
ELASTOSIL® VARIO falls into the category of addition-curing RTV-2 silicone rubber compounds. These consist of two components that enter into an addition reaction with each other at room temperature in the presence of a platinum catalyst. The ELASTOSIL® VARIO system consists of four modules: two different base components and two different catalyst components. The two base components can be blended together in any ratio, and so can the two catalysts.
From these modules, the processor mixes the two components of the RTV-2 silicone rubber compound in the quantities needed for curing. The mixing ratios for the base components and for the catalysts can be varied to match the silicone rubber system to the intended application. Accordingly, processors can produce tailored RTV-2Â silicone compounds just the way they need them. Such flexibility from only four system modules is unparalleled.
The mixing ratio for the two catalysts determines how reactive the system is and how fast the rubber cures. For instance, the pot life can be set to any value ranging from a few minutes to far in excess of two hours. Curing times range from 15 minutes to 7 hours. The hardness of the cured rubber is determined by the ratio in which the two base components are mixed, with attainable durometer hardness values spanning 15 to 40 Shore A. Irrespective of the mixing ratio for the base components, the tensile and tear strengths of the cured rubber remain consistently high.
Typical applications of ELASTOSIL® VARIO are encapsulation of electronic devices and circuits and coating of technical textiles and metal or plastic surfaces. The modular system also lends itself to the production of gaskets and of silicone mold parts, such as those used for making prototypes in medical technology. It can also be used to make all kinds of reproductions and molds.
ELASTOSIL® VARIO is translucent and can be pigmented in any color. The two self-mixed components can be processed in pressureless casting systems, either by hand or with the aid of two-component mixing and metering lines.
The new ELASTOSIL® VARIO additioncuring, silicone rubber from WACKER, the Munich-based chemical Group, can be used to make technical molded parts and molds. The product is supplied as a modular system. This allows the reactivity and hardness of the cured rubber to be adjusted as desired.
For further information, please contact:
Wacker Chemie AG
Media Relations & Information
Florian Degenhart
Tel. +49 89 6279-1601
Fax +49 89 6279-2877
florian.degenhart@wacker.com
The company in brief:
WACKER is a globally-active chemical company with some 16,300 employees and annual sales of around Euros4.63 billion (2012).
WACKER has a global network of 24 production sites, 22 technical competence centers and 53 sales offices.
WACKER SILICONES
Silicone fluids, emulsions, rubber and resins; silanes; pyrogenic silicas; thermoplastic silicone elastomers
WACKER POLYMERS
Polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate copolymers in the form of dispersible polymer powders, dispersions, solid resins and solutions used as binders for construction chemicals, paints and coatings, adhesives, plasters, textiles and nonwovens, as well as for polymeric materials based on renewable resources
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS
Biotech products such as cyclodextrins, cysteine and biologics, as well as fine chemicals and PVAc solid resins
WACKER POLYSILICON
Polysilicon for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries
Siltronic
Hyperpure silicon wafers and monocrystals for semiconductor components
