Jun. 09, 2025
Silicones are a family of high-performance materials whose unique molecular structure means they can come in many forms, including liquids, solids, semi-viscous pastes, oils, greases and rubber. We use this versatile rubber material in various settings, from visual, highly aesthetic components to food-grade kitchen utensils. In this article, Martin’s Rubber explains the advantages and disadvantages of silicone rubber.
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Silicone is a remarkable material. This semi-organic synthetic rubber (not to be confused with the chemical element silicon) consists of a chain of silicon and oxygen atoms, as opposed to the carbon and hydrogen atoms prevalent in most other types of rubber.
This molecular structure is a mixed blessing in terms of silicone’s properties.
On the one hand, this backbone of siloxane bonds gives silicone its low thermal conductivity, resulting in an extremely heat-resistant and thermally stable material. On the other hand, whilst stable and flexible, silicone’s chain is weak, which means it tears easily.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of silicone rubber in greater detail.
Silicone rubber offers many benefits over other rubber compounds. Used across a wide range of applications, here are some advantages of choosing silicone rubber.
One of the main benefits of silicone rubber is its heat resistance. It offers outstanding high-temperature resistance, with some compounds able to withstand temperatures up to 305°C. Silicone’s thermal stability means it retains its structure and properties over a wide temperature range. This also extends to low temperatures, which means this synthetic rubber can maintain flexibility even at -100°C.
Have you ever wondered why so many kitchen utensils are made of silicone? Well, that’s because another advantage of silicone rubber is its non-porous nature. This makes it resistant to bacterial build-up, making silicone particularly useful in food and beverage applications, where food-grade compounds can provide total peace of mind. Silicone is also non-toxic, water-repellent and recyclable at specialised plants.
While silicone is the go-to choice for applications needing a heat-resistant and hygienic rubber material, there are some drawbacks to choosing silicone rubber for some applications.
One of the major disadvantages of silicone rubber is its poor tear strength. This can be improved by adding other ingredients, but it doesn’t naturally offer strength or abrasion resistance. Hence, the application needs to be carefully assessed to determine the suitability of silicone as a solution.
Another disadvantage of silicone elastomers is that, as a premium product, they can come with a premium price tag, similar to some other rubber materials. However, this initial outlay is often offset by improvements in uptime and quality control. Again, speaking to a specialist like Martin’s Rubber will enable you to gain a clearer understanding of silicone’s ROI with regard to your specific application.
Are you interested in learning more about silicone casting service? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
Like all materials, there are pros and cons of silicone rubber. Despite some of its more impressive qualities, it isn’t suitable for every application. As a leading rubber manufacturer, Martins Rubber is the place to go for rubber engineering services. Trust us to find the best rubber solution for your application.
The urethane casting manufacturing process is a fast, inexpensive, way to produce high-quality low volume production parts, and every industry that uses plastic parts should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of urethane casting. At ARRK North America, Inc., you can count on a trusted group of engineers and technicians with many years of experience in manufacturing urethane cast parts.
You can gain a head start with urethane casting services at ARRK, we provide a perfect way to work through iterations that best suit rapidly changing market demands in various industries including medical, consumer electronics, robotics, automotive, and defense. Plus, in case you need to scale up your production to even larger quantities, you will be able to continue working with us for your additional product development stages.
It is a go-to-manufacturing method using an array of materials for low volume production of parts from rigid to elastomeric, colored to transparent. ARRK’s urethane casting process can provide detailed plastic and rubber parts to your specifications including lenses, living hinges, seals, keypads, and more. Urethane castings can be colored or tinted to a wide range of color options matching PMS – Pantone, Federal Standard, RAL, or even provided color samples.
Parts can have a smooth finish, high polish, or desired textured finish. Here at ARRK we have the ability to provide parts with multiple finishes such as a polished surface in one area with the remaining surfaces textured. Parts can be over-molded, contain inserts molded in, and have secondary process treatments like painting and silkscreen. Cast urethane gives you access to high quality, low volume reproductions of “production-like parts” in a variety of materials.
The urethane casting process is a fast way into the market because silicone molds used to make the parts are created very quickly. Ideal for low-quantity production with a low cost tooling investment. With this quick turnaround time, urethane cast parts can provide a company the speed to the market advantage they need for testing product design, customer responses, or market acceptance of a new product.
While a silicone mold wears out quickly it is vastly more cost-effective for very low volume and prototype plastic parts with production level quality and surface finishes.
If you go to another company that doesn’t handle intricate features and detailed finishing, it could cost you more money and time to get your project to market.
We highly recommend working with an experienced team to have your back on production, especially due to the following disadvantages with other urethane casting companies.
ARRK North America, Inc.’s 70 years of experience guarantees you will avoid any disadvantages and only experience the advantages of urethane casting.
Choosing between injection molding and urethane casting manufacturing depends on your production volume and the needs of the product to meet expectations.
The company is the world’s best stamping sheet metal supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
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