Sheet Rubber

Silicone Rubber – A History

Two Vertically Standing Colored Silicone Commercial Grade Rubber Roll with 50A Durometer in Blue

Silicone rubber is a very unique rubber product. You won’t see rubber silicone products as often as other rubbers, like styrene-butadiene or natural rubber, due to its specialized set of characteristics which are suitable for only a handful of applications. It is more expensive than its other rubber counterparts. For such applications, silicone is almost unmatched. It has the largest range of operable temperatures and has a very low toxicity compared to other rubbers. With such specialized traits, silicone proves itself to be one indispensable synthetic rubber.

Like neoprene and styrene-butadiene, silicone rubber is a synthetic compound produced from a chemical element. Silicon, the base of silicone, is found in approximately 28% of the Earth’s crust (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/elabund.html). Uses of silicon include ceramic brick, glass and concrete. It took the tinkering of a couple of scientists to turn silicon into silicone.

In the early 1930s, Corning Glass hired a chemist, James Franklin Hyde to research and experiment with silicon to create a resinous binder that could be used to insulate high temperature motors and generators. Hyde built on the research of Frederick Kipping, an English chemist who pioneered the research and method of polymerizing an organic compound of silicon in 1927. Kipping expanded the uses of silicon and is responsible for dubbing the silicon-based compound as “silicone.”

Silicone – Premium Grade – Black – 60A

Silicone Premium Grade 60A Black Rubber Corner
Different Thickness of Silicone Premium Grade 60A Stack on Top of Each Other

Silicone CG White – 50A

An alternative to black colored elastomers, white nitrile shares all the great physical and chemical properties of normal nitrile material except for its color. It is an excellent oil-resistant rubber that can endure in the presence of various oils and greases. Also known as Buna-N rubber, this white version is usually chosen for its aesthetic value and non-marking characteristic. We recognize the fact that some applications may require a white colored component for the sake of appearance, and at other times for necessity. Whatever the reason, we bring to the market white colored nitrile rubber that is available for custom fabrication.

Non-Marking, Professional Aesthetic: While other rubbers often come in a standard black, we offer a white colored alternative. White nitrile is meant to give an application a sleek, modern, and professional appearance while functioning the way a proper nitrile elastomer is supposed to. Even more importantly, a white elastomer is a non-marking material that will not leave any marks or stains on the objects it comes into contact with. The white colored nitrile is suitable for use in cosmetics, grocery stores, and medical applications where white is better suited for aesthetics than black.

Oil-Resistant Rubber: Nitrile, or Buna-N rubber as it was originally known, was developed to be an oil-resistant alternative to natural rubber back in the years after World War I. Nitrile material is still used today whenever good oil and grease resistance is needed. White nitrile can resist organic and synthetic oils. While other types of elastomers can degrade when exposed to oils and greases, nitrile rubber can keep its form and integrity, making sure that it does its part to keep your application functioning.

Hyde was able to successfully produced silicone, and word of this new high-temperature, synthetic compound spread. In 1942, Corning Glass and Dow Chemical Company began a program for the development and manufacture of silicones (http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/01-4027-01.pdf). In time, they began manufacturing rubber silicone products like sealing compounds, wire insulation and aviation equipment. They even made the famous children’s toy “Silly Putty.”

The usefulness of silicone rubber prompted chemical companies like Wacker Chemie of Germany and Shin-Etsu of Japan to also begin mass production of this wondrous synthetic elastomer. As the market for silicone grew, so did a spectrum of potential uses for silicone. Today, rubber silicone products take the form of our protective cell phone casing, of automotive gaskets, and prosthetics. Sure, it’s not the most versatile rubber, but in suitable applications silicone is an incomparable elastomer.

Silicone CG Blue – 60A

These commercial grade blue silicone sheets are unique among their peers due to the fact that they come in a blue color. With a durometer rating of 60 Shore A, this commercial silicone material offers a good degree of resistance against physical indentation, although it has more limited flexibility when compared to the 50 or 40 shore A silicone. People prize silicone for being a temperature resistant rubber, and these silicone sheets are no different. You can use this sheet rubber as seals and gaskets for commercial grade applications that involve extremely hot or cold temperature conditions.

60A Silicone Shore Hardness: Thanks to a 60A durometer rating, this commercial silicone is durable enough to be used in applications that may involve physical abrasions. A rating of 60A gives the material a better ability to resist physical indentation on its body. This helps to ensure that the blue silicone sheets last for longer periods of time. This material is meant to favor physical durability over flexibility, so use it in application that require some more rigidity from your rubber parts.

Temperature Resistant Rubber: In most cases, extreme temperature conditions can damage a rubber. That is not the case with silicone rubber. This high quality commercial silicone rubber can operate in temperatures that range from -103 F to 450 F. Silicone is regularly used in a wide variety of applications that involve either very cold or very hot temperatures. These blue silicone sheets will help you identify parts based on their chemical compound. Since most other rubbr sheets (e.g. neoprene, epdm) are not blue, your staff can easily pick out material based on color.

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