ERJ spotlights rubber-related technologies lined up for K2022, the world’s largest plastics & rubber trade fair, 19-26 Oct in Dusseldorf

Munich, Germany - Wacker Chemie AG will be premiering a new liquid silicone rubber (LSR) product series at K 2022, specifically developed for adhesion to thermoplastic polycarbonate.

The Elastosil LR 3078 self-adhesive grades cure "extremely fast" and establish a firm bond with the thermoplastic polycarbonate without the need to pretreat its surface, according to Wacker.

The material has been designed for two-component injection moulding and enables cost-effective large-scale production of multicomponent parts for application in medical and the automotive industries.

According to the German supplier, the grades in this series are formulated in such a way that, as they cure, chemical adhesion builds up to the substrate, but not to the injection moulding tool.

To achieve this, Wacker said it uses a “newly developed and patented self-adhesive technology that does not contain any bisphenol A structures."

Furthermore, Wacker said the grades do not contain any substances that could result in solid deposits forming in the mould during processing, thereby avoiding interruptions in production.

Due to its fast curing, the material also provides “very short” injection moulding cycle times.

In addition, according to Wacker, devices with “complicated geometric shapes” can be produced “with high precision and without the need for secondary finishing.”

The feature could open the way for further miniaturisation of polycarbonate-silicone hybrid parts and for new product designs.