WACKER expands self-adhesive liquid silicone rubber

On July 29, 2022, the Munich-based chemical group WACKER will present the new ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 series at the 22nd International Plastics and Rubber Fair (K 2022). These self-adhesive liquid silicone rubber formulations crosslink extremely quickly and provide strong adhesion to unprepared polycarbonate thermoplastics. ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 has been specially developed for the two-component injection moulding process, enabling the high-volume production of composite parts in industries such as medical technology and automotive manufacturing. This year's International Plastics and Rubber Expo will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany from October 19th to 26th.

WACKER has further expanded its portfolio of self-adhesive liquid silicone rubbers with the ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 series, which specifically adheres to polycarbonate. The product creates chemical adhesion to the substrate during the crosslinking process, not to the mold of the injection molding machine. The Munich-based chemical group used a newly developed, patented self-adhesive technology for this purpose, which does not require the use of materials with a bisphenol A structure. By giving up such controversial substances, WACKER contributes to the promotion of labor safety and consumer protection.

All products in this new series are suitable for the two-component injection molding process. They do not contain substances that could form solid deposits in the mold during processing, ensuring uninterrupted operation of the injection molding machine.

Due to the fast cross-linking speed, these new liquid silicone rubber products can also greatly shorten the production cycle of injection molding, and can ensure the accuracy of the product when the workpiece geometry is complex, without the need for post-processing of the workpiece. Here ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 opens up avenues for further miniaturization of polycarbonate-silicon composite parts, creating more space for completely new product designs.

The ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 series has a Shore hardness of A20 to A70 and covers all the hardness required for the soft components of the composite material. The products are translucent and can be dyed at will, their cured products have excellent mechanical properties and can achieve very low compression set, ideal for sealing applications: moulded parts made of ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 After being squeezed back to the original state, the deformation that occurs is very small, so the sealing lip made of it can guarantee the perfect function for a long time.

The vulcanizates of ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 are biocompatible according to DIN ISO 10993 and the corresponding tests in USP Part 88 (Class VI). These new liquid silicones can also be repeatedly steam sterilized at 134 degrees Celsius without losing mechanical properties and adhesion to polycarbonate, so they can also be used to produce two-component parts for medical devices.

ELASTOSIL® LR 3078 is suitable for various industrial fields, ranging from automotive transparent covers, household appliance housing covers, to medical diagnostic systems, automatic drug delivery systems, minimally invasive diagnostics and surgical techniques.