In the past few years, the trend of liquid silicone (LSR) replacing solid silicone (HTV) has been very evident, especially in three tracks where it is almost crushing:

Firstly, food grade and medical grade products. Liquid silicone has extremely high transparency, no odor, and no residual sulfurizing agents. It can pass FDA and ISO 10993 certification. Almost all products that come into direct contact with the human body, such as baby pacifiers, medical catheters, and implant tubes, are made of liquid silicone. Solid silicone has low transparency and the smell of vulcanizing agents, making it impossible to compete in these scenarios.

Secondly, large-scale automated production. Liquid silicone gel can be cured in a few seconds after mixing A/B gel using an injection molding machine. One worker only needs to look at one machine, saving manpower, electricity, and materials. The overall cost is about 40% lower than that of solid silicone gel. What about solid silicone gel? Ingredients, rubber mixing, cutting, material placement, mold closing, demolding, and trimming all rely on manual labor, and the yield rate is still unstable. With the increasing cost of labor, more and more factories are replacing their solid silicone production lines with liquid silicone injection molding machines.

Thirdly, high-precision complex structural components. Liquid silicone has good fluidity and can produce products with high three-dimensional levels. The parting line is well controlled, with no burrs and high dimensional accuracy. Solid silicone gel has burrs that need to be manually repaired, and there are so many rough edges that it can completely offset the low price advantage. In the fields of automotive parts, electronic buttons, and mobile phone buttons, liquid silicone has become mainstream.

Regarding liquid silicone rubber, please refer to our website for details: IOTA Liquid Silicone Rubber