As we have explored the use of silicone in our previous articles, let us have an insight into the further details about silicone rubber. It is the most demanded material in various industries. It is because it has got different qualities and durability. In today’s article our readers will get to know about silicone rubber and the benefits getting out of its use.
Silicone rubbers are the compounds made with the combination of different kinds of rubber with the addition of pure silica content. It gets the advantage of qualities possessed by both silicone and rubber.
Most of the industries like electrical, automobiles, food, medical, electronics, household appliances prefer silicone rubber as the part of their manufacturing process.
The present era demands more of silicone rubber. It has replaced the traditional manufacturing process and functioning. You may have a question, why did this happen?
The answer is very simple. The silicone rubber has got many advantages. These are as follows.
Does not burn easily:
As per the comparison, the organic rubber is less capable of handling heat than the silicone rubber. There is no change in the properties of silicone rubber though they reach to the temperature of 150 C. It does not get flame easily and it withstand the fire at higher temperature. There is the least chance of it getting burnt but once it catches fire, it keeps on burning. It is a safer option to use silicone rubber than using organic rubber.
High tear strength:
The silicone rubber is the most durable material used in different industries. Its tensile strength is 15kgf/cm. It is used to manufacture complicated mouldings. The use of silicone rubber is seen in the huge moulding processes.
Resistant to fatigue:
Silicone rubber with fatigue resistance is used in transport vehicle and automation machines. The original form of silicone rubber is not fatigue resistant but it is made eight to twenty times better that it becomes durable and long lasting.
Compression strength over a wide range of temperature:
When silicone rubber is used for packing or vulcanizing agent, it must go under different sets of compression pressure. It should possess the recovering capacity. The compression of silicone rubber goes from -60 c to 250 c. The compression process is very crucial so pre care and post care of compression is necessary.
Can manage the problem of oil solvent and chemicals:
The machines and manufacturing processes cannot go without oil and chemicals so it becomes priority to take care that these oil and chemical does not damage the process or a product. Silicone rubber is again a good resistance to oil solvent and chemicals.
Resistance to water absorption:
It does not take in water as it has a good water resistance capacity. The material covered with silicone rubber will not get wet even if is immersed in water. The same quality is difficult to get in organic rubber.
Weathering resistance:
Normal organic rubbers cannot withstand the long-term exposure to sun rays and weather but on the other side of the coin, silicone rubber can complete this task very well. It is capable to tackle high voltage of electricity.
Electrical properties:
Silicone rubber has got a property of insulation. It is used in contact points of keyboards, around heaters as a protective cover. It can resist electricity at high voltage.
Electrical and thermal conductivity:
Incorporated carbon is used in silicone rubber which makes silicone rubber electrical resistant. The thermal capacity of silicone rubber is 0.5 e+3 cal.cm.sec. C. It solves the purpose of heat sheet or heat rollers.
Cold resistance
Along with all the qualities, this is the unique quality of silicone rubber. It has got high level of cold resistance. The brittle point of organic rubber is -20 C to -30 C where as in the case of silicone rubber, the brittle point is -60 C to -70 C.
Take Away:
Let us revise the benefits of using silicone rubber over the regular rubber. It is the most demanded product by many industries like food, medical, electronics, automobile, household appliances. It has got an advantage of various properties which do not exist in organic rubbers. Now a days, it has taken a prominent place in the industries because of its outstanding benefits like heat and cold resistance, resistant to oil and chemical products, steam resistance, electrical and thermal conductivity. The silicone rubber has a tremendous capacity to undergo pressure over a wide range of temperature.
We hope that this article must have taken you on the right path where you can get the right information about silicone rubber and its advantages.
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