Analysis of the production process and difficulties of silicone trademarks
1. Production process: refined operation from design to molding
The production of silicone trademarks requires multiple processes, and each step requires strict control of parameters and processes to ensure the performance and appearance of the final product. The following is a typical production process:
Design and mold making
Design stage: Design patterns, texts and sizes according to customer needs, and consider the fluidity and shrinkage rate of silicone (usually the shrinkage rate is 1%-3%) to avoid deformation after molding.
Mold making: Use silicone or metal materials (such as copper molds) to make molds. Copper molds have become the mainstream choice due to their fast heat transfer and long life (can be reused tens of thousands of times), but the cost is high; silicone molds are suitable for small batches or complex shapes, but the durability is low.
Raw material preparation and mixing
Material selection: Select the type of silicone according to the purpose, such as ordinary silicone, high-transparent silicone (no black spots and dirt), food-grade silicone (compliant with FDA standards), etc.
Proportioning and mixing: Add hardener according to the proportion (such as 10:1 or 1:1), and weigh accurately with an electronic scale (avoid density differences caused by measuring cups). Mix evenly with a blender or mixer, add color paste to adjust the color, and use a filter to remove impurities.
Vacuum treatment: Put the mixed silicone into a vacuum machine to evacuate and eliminate bubbles (bubbles will cause the surface of the finished product to be uneven), usually until there are no bubbles.
Vulcanization molding
Scraping and film pasting: Scrape the silicone evenly onto the mold (the thickness is controlled at 0.2-5mm to avoid waste), and apply a hot melt adhesive film (to enhance the adhesion with the carrier).
Vulcanization shaping: Put the mold into a vulcanizer (or a trademark integrated machine), and vulcanize under pressure at 120-180℃ (the pressure is adjustable, usually 5-10MPa), for about 10-30 seconds (affected by temperature and thickness). During the vulcanization process, the silicone changes from liquid to solid to form a three-dimensional structure.
Vacuum treatment: The vulcanizer is vacuumed at the same time to ensure that the silicone fully fills the mold details (such as the edges of the text and the hollow parts). Cooling and demoulding
Cooling treatment: After vulcanization is completed, place the mold in the freezer for 10-20 minutes to allow the silicone to shrink and detach from the mold for easy demoulding.
Demolding and trimming: Use tweezers or special tools to remove the finished product, trim excess scraps (such as flash, burrs), and ensure accurate size.
Post-processing and quality inspection
Surface treatment: Matt, glossy, luminous and other treatments are performed according to needs, or plasma treatment is used to enhance the adhesion of the inkjet code (solve the problem of poor adhesion of the silicone surface).
Quality inspection: Check the appearance (no bubbles, cracks, deformation), size (tolerance ±0.1mm), physical properties (tensile strength>5MPa, elongation>600%), and ensure compliance with standards (such as ROHS, REACH).
Packaging and shipment: Pack in plastic bags, cartons or cartons to avoid damage during transportation.
2. Production difficulties: technical details determine the quality of finished products
In the production of silicone trademarks, there are technical challenges in multiple links, which need to be solved through process optimization and equipment upgrades:
Material ratio and curing control
Difficulty: Uneven ratio (such as too much hardener causing embrittlement, too little causing non-curing) or contact with nitrogen/phosphorus/sulfur substances (such as certain detergents) will cause curing failure.
Solution: Use electronic scales for accurate ratios, conduct skin tests before operation (small batch testing of curing effects), and avoid contact with prohibited substances.
Bubble and black spot control
Difficulty: Air or impurities are mixed in during mixing or vulcanization, resulting in bubbles or black spots on the surface of the finished product (especially high-transparency silicone has extremely high requirements for cleanliness).
Solution:
Strictly vacuum after mixing (at least 2 times);
The vulcanizer is equipped with an efficient vacuum system;
The production environment is kept dust-free (cleanliness level of more than 10,000 levels), and operators wear dust-proof clothing.
Complex shape molding
Difficulty: Complex designs such as hollowing, gradients, and right angles can easily lead to incomplete silicone filling or difficulty in demolding.
Solution:
Use high-precision molds (such as metal molds processed by electrical discharge machining);
Adjust vulcanization parameters (such as segmented heating and segmented pressurization);
Use multi-color integrated molding technology (such as patented process to achieve simultaneous curing of 100 colors).
Improvement of inkjet adhesion
Difficulty: The surface of silicone is highly hydrophobic, and ordinary inks are easy to fall off.
Solution:
Plasma treatment: bombard the surface with ionized gas to increase the roughness;
UV inkjet technology: Use special inks (such as epoxy resin base), and the adhesion is significantly improved after UV curing.
Balance between production efficiency and cost
Difficulty: The demand for small-batch customization is increasing, but the mold cost is high (the cost of a single set of metal molds ranges from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan).
Solution:
Promote the drip molding process (no mold is required, suitable for small batches);
Develop a fast mold change system (such as modular mold design, shortening the mold change time to within 10 minutes);
Use automated equipment (such as dimensional dispensing machine, vulcanizer integrated machine, reducing manual intervention).
3. Industry Trends: Technology Drives Production Upgrade
Application of Environmentally Friendly Materials: Bio-based silicone (such as corn starch-based) is gradually becoming popular, reducing carbon emissions and meeting ESG standards.
Intelligent Production: Silicone trademarks combined with RFID chips can achieve product traceability, and parameters such as vulcanization temperature and pressure can be monitored through the Internet of Things to improve the yield rate.
Functional Innovation: Development of antibacterial silicone (added silver ions), luminous silicone (fluorescent powder), non-slip silicone (surface texture design), etc., to meet the needs of medical and outdoor scenes.