With more than 300 participants, the LSR-seminars, to which Engel, Dow Corning, and Elmet issued invitations in mid-December and which were held in Shanghai and Dongguan, were a huge success. Intelligent system solutions that process liquid silicone rubber (LSR) for the highest efficiency and lowest unit costs, were the focus of lectures and live demonstration. "The demand for high-end solutions to process LSR is rapidly increasing in China", according to Gero Willmeroth, Head of Sales and Service at Engel Machinery Shanghai. "It is even essential for mass products to adapt production lines individually to the products, the quantities, and the materials. This is the only way to competitively produce over the long term." Engel and its system partners provide turnkey systems from a single source, because only when all system components and materials are perfectly matched from the beginning can the efficiency potential be exploited to the maximum. Engel, Elmet, and Dow Corning demonstrated how this looks in practice, producing sealing rings on an ENGEL victory 110 injection moulding machine. The manufacturing cell was equipped with a mould manufactured by Elmet, and injection unit, feeding units, and metering pumps especially developed for LSR processing.
Fully automatic, waste-free, and virtually free of burrs
"The main demands with regard to LSR processing are that it must be fully automatic, waste-free, low in burrs, and require no reworking", explains Leopold Praher, Sales Manager Elast/LIM at Engel Austria. "In many cases, Engel victory injection moulding machines, with the tie-bar-less clamping unit, offer significant benefits for LSR applications. The excellent accessibility and the space available in the mould area are unique. Very often, smaller injection moulding machines can be used than the mould size would normally require, which saves costs in both investment and operation."
During the lectures, the organisers went into detail on the requirements, potentials, and trends of LSR processing. "Multi-component applications, such as hard/soft combinations for baby products, will significantly increase in China," says Dr. Hans-Peter Wolf, Global Research and Development Manager for Silicone Rubber at Dow Corning. In his lecture, he presented innovative raw materials from the Xiameter product range that are preparing the way. In two lectures, Leopold Praher presented injection moulding solutions for processing LSR as well as solid silicone, and Paul Fattinger, Sales Manager at Elmet in Asia, explained special mould concepts, LSR pumps, and mixing units.
