Aug 6 2008
WACKER SILICONES will launch an innovative silicone rubber compound that simplifies the production of vacuum bags for large molded parts. This new product expands the well estab-lished ELASTOSIL® C 150 silicone rubber’s application range in almost every imaginable way, thus opening up numerous new possibilities for composite manufacturing. COMPOSITES EUROPE takes place this year from September 23 – 25, 2008, in Essen, Germany.
WACKER is offering the composites industry a novel silicone rubber – ELASTOSIL® C 1200 – for the production of dimensionally accurate, reusable vacuum bags. (Photo: Wacker Chemie AG)
The introduction of reusable vacuum bags marked an optimization milestone for composite production. As a result, composite parts can be manufactured in series more easily, quickly and cost-effectively than was possible with conventional film technology.
The innovative method is based on ELASTOSIL® C 150 from WACKER SILICONES. This two-part platinum-curing silicone rubber features low viscosity and cures at room temperature within a few minutes without shrinking. ELASTOSIL® C 150’s short pot life had confined its use to molded parts with a maximum size of one to two square meters.
At COMPOSITES EUROPE, WACKER SILICONES will present an important advance in manufacturing large molded parts via this proven technology. Molded parts of almost any conceivable dimen-sions can be conveniently produced in series using the new ELASTOSIL® C 1200. This is made possible by the greatly extended pot life of around 20 minutes and a special shear-thinning silicone elastomer formulation. This property causes the normally stiff composition to liquefy under the shearing effect of brushing or spraying. As a result, ELASTOSIL® C 1200 can be applied to vertical surfaces without dripping.
ELASTOSIL® C 1200 now makes possible the production of custom-made vacuum bags, usable, for example, in boat building, racing cars and wind power generators. The efficiency of this process allows significant costs savings to be made.
COMPOSITES EUROPE will offer a Product Demonstration-Area, where WACKER SILICONES experts will demonstrate how easy it is to produce vacuum bags using the new process. More details are available at booth No.10-11/552.
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