A wide range of silicones of varying degrees of hardness makes it possible to produce a huge number of different products from it, both for household and industrial purposes.
The properties of this material have a very wide range, ranging from hardness, excellent elongation coefficient, and ending with tensile strength, much higher than any rubber.
It is not highly technologically advanced, but requires quite serious equipment, so few people invest in the custom production of silicone products. Meanwhile, the price of some things, such as a silicone phone case, far exceeds its cost, even taking into account the profit, it is difficult to say what this is due to, but such a trend exists.
But the demand for production of silicone products does not weaken even in the presence of a clearly inflated price. We produce silicone products individually and in small series, and keep the price of small-scale products almost at the level of serial ones. The same applies to plaster figures, where our offer will certainly be most profitable for you.
We we make products from silicone various degrees of hardness ranging from 10A to 50A Shore.
There are always basic colors in which silicone can be painted, including transparent silicones.
There are certified food and household silicones, based on a platinum catalyst, odorless and without harmful impurities.
There are also cheaper, industrial silicones that are perfect for various technical products, gaskets and seals.
It’s quite a broad-profile occupation and here’s what we can offer you first:
Silicone molds for casting waxes are perfect for casting soap or candles, due to their properties, the wax mold is so durable that with careful use, up to 1000 or more casts can be removed from it.
Silicone gaskets and seals are the best solution for frequently disassembled mechanisms that require complete tightness and durability.
Due to the properties of silicone, the seal will keep its shape for a very long time. In this case, the shape of the seal can be very diverse.
Food grade silicone molds, solution for confectionery production. Certified, food-grade silicone is suitable for chocolate molding, with a high degree of detailing and precision of the product. Silicone molds are also good for making lollipops of various shapes and sizes. They are also great for ice.
Technical silicone molds are a solution for small businesses and simply enterprising people. Such forms are suitable for the production of decorative concrete, gypsum and any other building mixtures. Or for making 3D walls and ceilings.
In construction, molds are often used to produce various products and products. The most basic of them are polyurethane and silicone. It is possible to pour not only gypsum and concrete into them, they are also used to make artificial stone. All this can be done with your own hands. Even if it seems that you need to have some knowledge, this is a misconception. This article will tell you in detail how to make a polyurethane mold, a mold for pouring plaster, silicone, a mold for pouring plaster, concrete. He will also teach you how to make your own matrix for producing molds from silicone or polyurethane. The most important thing is to understand how to build, according to the rules, a practical template for a matrix that is suitable for materials such as polyurethane, molded plastic and silicone.
Unnatural stone, at the present time, is a good, profitable business. To open your own business, with the prospect of further growth, you do not need a lot of cash investment. Unnatural stone can be easily made with your own hands using all technologies. But first, it is important to have a room with a suitable temperature so that work can be carried out year-round.
The production of unnatural stone requires good, high-quality forms, which cannot be obtained without a matrix. The manufacture of a matrix sample must be approached very responsibly, because the strength of the final product depends on it.
Some people consider the process of making artificial decorative stone at home impossible. But thanks to desire and desire, everything becomes possible. It is better to have good quality materials and combine them with some additives. For example, the setting time of silicone and its fluidity can be adjusted using catalysts.
It is quite achievable to produce a matrix for the production of silicone and polyurethane molds with your own hands, with the help of which the casting process itself will be possible. To make a matrix, you need to purchase or find a sample from which it will be possible to copy or produce forms identical to the presented model.
If it comes to non-natural stone, then in these circumstances the sample must be of perfect geometric shape, without cracks and possible deformed corners. Most often, a variety of raw materials are used to produce polyurethane forms, to create non-natural stone or a sample for the production of stone forms. For example, plaster, drywall or foam. Sometimes they come to the method of copying from non-natural or gypsum stone, but the ideal option is considered to be a sample made from natural stone.
To do this, take a natural stone, cut it into thin plates (about 1 cm) and glue it together with glue. The stone must acquire an impeccable geometry in all respects. If there are uneven sides or protrusions, then a grinder and a machine will come to the rescue, which will level or remove all unnecessary parts. The finished stone with any irregularities removed is ready for gluing.
Stage 2. Production of a matrix for creating molds from polyurethane or silicone, formoplast, liquid plastic
The created model needs to be glued onto some kind of base in order to make a matrix from it. An excellent option would be to use chipboard as a stand. The finished model must be glued to the chipboard using silicone sealant. But this can only be done on the glossy side of the stand.
For gluing, silicone sealant is taken and applied to the back side of the prepared model. All edges and corners are thoroughly covered. When turning the stone over, press it firmly against the chipboard tray. Next, use a spatula to carefully go over the joints, making sure that all air bubbles disappear. There is no need for excess air when filling with polyurethane or silicone. After covering, the workpiece should be left until completely dry. After this, it is time to build the sides for the matrix. The height of the walls must exceed the height of the glued stone. The material for this can be plastic, steel or duralumin corners. At a distance of approximately 1.5 cm from the finished model, the corners need to be screwed to the chipboard around the entire perimeter using screws.
It is important, after screwing, to carefully go through all joints and corners with silicone sealant, once again double-checking the reliability and tightness of the structure. Otherwise, fluid polyurethane or silicone, which has the ability to penetrate even the smallest cracks, will leak out of the matrix. In order for all the material to dry thoroughly, it is better to leave the matrix to dry (about 12 hours). It is recommended to use silicone sealant for aquariums. Its main feature is the elimination of shrinkage or cracks that often appear after drying. A matrix treated with such a sealant will last for many years without problems.
After making sure that the almost finished matrix is completely dry, the next step is to lubricate it with a specialized separator. This mixture can be purchased at any construction stores. Almost all of it has a wax base, and differs only in the manufacturers. The best separator is English. After application, it dries completely, dissipates, and after just a few hours, polyurethane, formoplast, gypsum or silicone can be poured into the prepared matrix. Any compositions used to create forms are suitable.
Stage 3. The rule for pouring polyurethane into the matrix when making a polyurethane mold
Firstly, you should decide on the choice of the substance itself. For example, if we are talking about non-natural stone, then it would be correct to make molds from polyurethane. And so, it is allowed to fill with any material adapted for such work. Large factories and enterprises use specialized equipment that makes the task easier. But you can fill the mold with your own labor. How to do this correctly?
There are unnatural stones with different numbers of angles. This stone looks beautiful and is very popular. For him, polyurethane form is the best option. It is convenient and practical, easy to clean and will not create any unwanted errors. The pouring process is a delicate matter and here you need a table or some other object that will be clearly level. Ready-made silicone or polyurethane (manufacturers themselves write how to prepare it on the packaging of the material) should be poured in in a slow stream, avoiding the ingress and formation of air bubbles. In this case, it is important to tilt the matrix slightly to one side.
When the solution reaches the bottom wall of the matrix, the entire structure can be lowered and the pouring of material can continue. Left for a day, the matrix will harden and take a suitable shape.
Once completely dry, the matrix is ready for disassembly. It is too early to use it for the production of artificial stone. For better fixation, it is advisable to leave the product in a warm place for some time. This is necessary so that the form has no unevenness on the walls or surface. This is especially true for polyurethane, since this material has memory and, if you bend it and leave it like that for a short time, it will remain that way. By standing in a warm room, such forms will have a longer service life, regardless of what solution they will be filled with.
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Silicone molds have recently become extremely popular. They are made very simply. If desired, you can even make them yourself. Their service life is very long compared, for example, with gypsum. However, of course, a high-quality mold can only be made from a material with good performance characteristics. What qualities should liquid silicone for molds have and what should you pay attention to when purchasing it?
Types of silicone and master models
Of course, when purchasing material for making molds, you should first of all pay attention to its technical characteristics. Today, only two main types of silicone are produced: coating and filling.
For both materials, master models made of metal and wood, as well as plastic, cardboard, or even just paper can be used in the manufacture of forms.
Coating silicone
This variety is very suitable for making molds. This is a very viscous silicone, applied to the master model with a special brush. An example of such a material is the heat-resistant auto sealant ABRO
Potting silicone
It is also a good material for making molds. When using it, the master model is installed in the flask and poured from above. Liquid silicone for molds of this variety consists of two components: a hardener and a base. Before pouring, they are thoroughly mixed and then placed in a vacuum chamber to remove air bubbles. A very popular material of this type is, for example, Pentelast-708S.
Elongation factor
What characteristics can be considered the most important when choosing a material such as liquid silicone? In principle, almost any variety of it is suitable for making molds. However, it is still worth paying attention to some indicators when purchasing. The most important parameter characterizing the quality of silicone is the elongation coefficient. For modern materials this figure ranges from about 200-1300%. The higher this number, the more the hardened silicone can stretch and the greater the number of castings a mold made from it can withstand.
In practice, 700-800 percent one- or two-component liquid silicone is usually used. It is usually ideal for mold production. Products made from material with this elongation coefficient can easily withstand up to 80 castings. This figure may be smaller or larger, depending on the complexity of the master model configuration.
Silicone viscosity
This is also an important indicator that has a huge impact on the quality of the finished form. Pouring liquid silicone for molds has a very low viscosity. During operation, it easily fills the smallest recesses of the master model. Therefore, it is advisable to use it for the manufacture of molds of very complex configurations.
Viscosity is measured in CPS. For potting materials this figure usually does not exceed 3000 CPS. For comparison: water has a viscosity of 0 CPS, sunflower oil - 500, honey - 10,000.
Other indicators
In addition to viscosity and elongation coefficient, when choosing silicone you should pay attention to:
Work time. The higher this indicator, the longer the material retains its viscosity.
Polymerization time. This characteristic is also quite important. It shows how long it takes for the poured form to reach the stated elongation factor.
Two-component liquid silicone for mold making usually takes longer to harden and polymerize than it is viscous. This can be attributed to the advantages of the material. After all, when working with it, the master does not need to rush anywhere.
How to use
Liquid silicone is used to make molds as follows.
The master model is fixed to the stand with a drop of superglue and coated with a special release agent. At home, this could be, for example, Vaseline or machine oil.
The stand with the model is fixed in the flask. The latter can be made from almost any material: wood, plasticine, plastic, etc. Disposable flasks are made of paper. Its height should be twice that of the future form. The fact is that during the vacuumization process, silicone foams very much. One of the walls of the flask must be removable.
The evacuated compound is poured into the flask in a thin stream. This is necessary to ensure that as little air as possible gets into the liquid material.
The flask is placed in a vacuum installation for 1-2 minutes. Repeated processing is necessary in order to remove absolutely all the air from the silicone that got into it during pouring.
The form hardens in about 5-6 hours. The final polymerization occurs after a day or three. At the final stage, the mold is removed from the flask and cut in half. After this, the master model is removed from it.
Viscous silicone molds
In this case, a slightly different technology is used. A mold is not used in the manufacture of silicone molds. The master model is simply coated with the material using a special brush in several layers (2-3 mm each) with intermediate drying for 2-3 hours.
Liquid silicone for molds: price
The advantages of this material include not only the ease of making molds. It has earned great popularity due to its low cost. The price of high-quality silicone can range from only 450-750 rubles.
In specialized stores or on the Internet, you should look for silicone intended specifically for making molds. The fact is that today a variety of types of this material are produced. For example, liquid fishing silicone is sold. It is used to lubricate braided threads on fishing gear, which extends their service life and increases casting distance. Such silicone, of course, is not suitable for making molds.
How to make at home
In order to make liquid silicone for molds with your own hands, you need to buy ethyl alcohol and liquid glass. You will also need a plastic bottle and a wooden stick. Since silicone components are quite caustic materials, you should wear thick rubber gloves on your hands. The manufacturing procedure itself is as follows:
Liquid glass and ethyl alcohol are poured into a plastic bottle in equal parts.
The mixture is thoroughly mixed with a wooden stick.
After it thickens, you need to remove it from the bottle and knead it thoroughly with your hands.
Silicone prepared in this way resembles plastic, sticky rubber and can be made into any shape.
Silicone molds for the oven
Of course, environmentally unsafe materials cannot be used to make such castings. In this case, liquid silicone for molds is made a little differently:
Three tablespoons of potato starch are poured into a yogurt cup.
Pour silicone sealant there in the same quantity.
Mix everything for ten minutes.
From silicone prepared in this way, you can easily make a simple baking dish. Before pouring the dough, it must be coated with vegetable oil.
Using silicone molds
So, liquid silicone is often used to make molds. The use of products made from “starch” material allows you to bake original pastries, cakes, etc. But how are molds made from ordinary silicone used? Most often they are used to make beautiful products from various kinds of two-component fillings. Any large items are usually not made using silicone molds. Therefore, ordinary medical syringes are used to mix the components of the fillings at home. Next, they are tinted with a drop of dye and poured into the mold through the injection hole stretched by a spacer.
One of the differences between polyurethane for molds and silicone is that everything sticks tightly to polyurethane, so careful comprehensive lubrication is necessary. Whereas practically nothing sticks to it and you can either use nothing at all or use wax lubricants, soap solution, or Vaseline. When working with silicone for molds, it is recommended to lubricate porous models (gypsum, clay, etc.).
Stages of work:
- We make formwork around the model. It can be made from any hard material: fiberglass, planks, remnants of chipboard, children's Lego. Or choose a ready-made container of suitable size.
- We connect all the formwork parts, sealing all the cracks with hot melt glue.
- We take sculptural plasticine (children's plasticine is not suitable), put it almost halfway into the container. The surface of the plasticine should be smooth, without cracks. Place the model in plasticine.
- We make holes in the plasticine with a pencil - “locks” so that the 2 parts of the mold fit into one another, and there is no displacement of them when casting the model.
- Now we calculate the required amount of silicone or polyurethane. We fill in any bulk material (cereals, salt) and measure it in a measuring container.
- Lubricate the surface of the model with a release agent (you can use wax or soap solution). For silicone molds, you cannot use silicone grease, silicone will stick to silicone!
- Mix the calculated amount of part A of the base and hardener.
- We wait for curing and remove the plasticine.
- Again, lubricate the surface of the mold, including the locks. And we prepare the molding material. Pour in and wait for complete curing.
- We separate the 2 parts of the form and take out the master model. The form is ready. To replicate, securely fasten the two parts of the mold and fill in the selected model material.
Manufacturing technology of 2-component silicone or polyurethane molds
There are many similarities when making a flexible silicone or polyurethane mold. This video shows step by step the technology for creating a simple two-part mold. This video is a translation with comments from the English version from TAP Plastics.
Here, 2-component polyurethane was used to make the molds. One of the differences between polyurethane for molds and silicone is that everything sticks tightly to polyurethane, so careful comprehensive lubrication is necessary. Whereas practically nothing sticks to silicone and you can either use nothing at all or use wax lubricants, soap solution, or Vaseline. When working with silicone, it is recommended to lubricate porous models (plaster, clay, etc.).
Stages of work:
- We make formwork around the model. It can be made from any hard material: fiberglass, planks, remnants of chipboard, children's Lego. Or choose a ready-made container of suitable size.
- We connect all the formwork parts, sealing all the cracks with hot melt glue.
- We take sculptural plasticine (children's plasticine is not suitable), put it almost halfway into the container. The surface of the plasticine should be smooth, without cracks. Place the model in plasticine.
- We make holes in the plasticine with a pencil - “locks”, so that the 2 parts of the mold fit into one another, and there is no displacement of them when casting the model.
- Now we calculate the required amount of silicone or polyurethane. We fill in any bulk material (cereals, salt) and measure it in a measuring container.
- Lubricate the surface of the model with a release agent (you can use wax or soap solution). For silicone molds, you cannot use silicone grease, silicone will stick to silicone!
- Mix the calculated amount of part A of the base and hardener.
- We wait for curing and remove the plasticine.
- Again, lubricate the surface of the mold, including the locks. And we prepare the molding material. Pour in and wait for complete curing.
- We separate the 2 parts of the form and take out the master model. The form is ready.
- To replicate, securely fasten the two parts of the mold and fill in the selected model material.
Manufacturing technology of two-part silicone or polyurethane molds
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