Elastomer in the context of Silicones

Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: Injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for which the process is called die-casting), glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed (using a helical screw), and injected into a mould cavity, where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by an industrial designer or an engineer, moulds are made by a mould-maker (or toolmaker) from metal, usually either steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest components to entire body panels of cars. Advances in 3D printing technology, using photopolymers that do not melt during the injection moulding of some lower-temperature thermoplastics, can be used for some simple injection moulds.

Injection moulding uses a special-purpose machine that has three parts: the injection unit, the mould and the clamp. Parts to be injection-moulded must be very carefully designed to facilitate the moulding process; the material used for the part, the desired shape and features of the part, the material of the mould, and the properties of the moulding machine must all be taken into account. The versatility of injection moulding is facilitated by this breadth of design considerations and possibilities.

Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, caucho, or caoutchouc, as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds.

Types of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) or others. The latex is a sticky, milky and white colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". Manufacturers refine this latex into the rubber that is ready for commercial processing.

Vulcanisation (American English: vulcanization) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur and heat, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to include the hardening of other (synthetic) rubbers via various means. Examples include silicone rubber via room temperature vulcanising and chloroprene rubber (neoprene) using metal oxides.

Vulcanisation can be defined as the curing of elastomers, with the terms 'vulcanisation' and 'curing' sometimes used interchangeably in this context. It works by forming cross-links between sections of the polymer chain which results in increased rigidity and durability, as well as other changes in the mechanical and electrical properties of the material. Vulcanisation, in common with the curing of other thermosetting polymers, is generally irreversible.

A headband (also called a hairband or sweatband) is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes, or to help control forehead sweat or (rarely) to provide some protection to the head during physical activity. Headbands generally consist of a textile loop of elasticised and sometimes absorptive or padded material, or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for a variety of purposes: aesthetic (fashion); practical (holding back hair); protective; utilitarian (absorbing sweat); or for combinations of these reasons.

In the UK, horseshoe-shaped headbands are sometimes called "Alice bands" after the headbands that Alice is often depicted wearing in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass.

In organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (−O−R₂Si−O−SiR₂−, where "R" stands for an organic group). They are typically colorless oils or rubber-like substances. Silicones are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, cooking utensils, thermal insulation, and electrical insulation. Some common forms include silicone oil, grease, rubber, resin, and caulk.

Silicone is often confused with one of its constituent elements, silicon, but they are distinct substances. Silicon is a pure chemical element, a metalloid, which forms a dark-grey semiconducting crystalline solid. In its crystalline form it is used to make integrated circuits ("electronic chips") and solar cells. In contrast, silicone is formed by the polymerization of the siloxane molecule, which itself is made up of a variable combination of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and silicon atoms. Depending on the chemical makeup and polymer structure of a particular silicone product, it can possess a variety of physical properties, ranging from an oily liquid to a rubbery resin.

Polymer science or macromolecular science is a subfield of materials science concerned with polymers, primarily synthetic polymers such as plastics and elastomers. The field of polymer science includes researchers in multiple disciplines including chemistry, physics, and engineering.

A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32 million tonnes (35 million short tons; 31 million long tons) of rubber is produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubber, just like natural rubber, has many uses in the automotive industry for tires, door and window profiles, seals such as O-rings and gaskets, hoses, belts, matting, and flooring. They offer a different range of physical and chemical properties which can improve the reliability of a given product or application. Synthetic rubbers are superior to natural rubbers in two major respects: thermal stability, and resistance to oils and related compounds. They are more resistant to oxidizing agents, such as oxygen and ozone which can reduce the life of products like tires.

In industrial chemistry, a stabilizer or stabiliser is a chemical that is used to prevent degradation. Above all, heat and light stabilizers are added to plastic and rubber materials because they ensure safe processing and protect products against aging and weathering. In particular polyvinyl chloride would not be possible without stabilizers (PVC is one of the most important plastics and used for pipes, window frames and many other products).

In economic terms the most important product groups on the market for stabilizers are compounds based on calcium (calcium-zinc and organo-calcium), lead, and tin stabilizers as well as liquid and light stabilizers (HALS, benzophenone, benzotriazole). Cadmium-based stabilizers largely vanished in the last years due to health and environmental concerns. In 2023, almost half of all polymer stabilizers sold worldwide were based on calcium.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHAs are polyesters produced in nature by numerous microorganisms, including through bacterial fermentation of sugars or lipids. When produced by bacteria they serve as both a source of energy and as a carbon store. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this family to give materials with extremely different properties. These plastics are biodegradable and are used in the production of bioplastics.

They can be either thermoplastic or elastomeric materials, with melting points ranging from 40 to 180 °C.

A lint roller or lint remover is a roll of one-sided adhesive paper on a cardboard or plastic barrel that is mounted on a central spindle, with an attached handle. The device facilitates the removal of lint or other small fibers from most materials such as clothing, upholstery and linen. Once expended, the roll can typically be replaced with a "refill" roll. Invented in 1956 by Nicholas McKay, Sr., his most well-known (and first commercial) product was the Lint Pic-Up, the world's first lint roller.

Reusable lint rollers use elastomers, including silicones and polystyrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene as a reusable tacky surface. The material is similar to polymers used in walking toys such as Wacky WallWalker.

A vacuum chamber is a rigid enclosure from which air and other gases are removed by a vacuum pump. This results in a low-pressure environment within the chamber, commonly referred to as a vacuum. A vacuum environment allows researchers to conduct physical experiments or to test mechanical devices which must operate in outer space (for example) or for processes such as vacuum drying or vacuum coating. Chambers are typically made of metals which may or may not shield applied external magnetic fields depending on wall thickness, frequency, resistivity, and permeability of the material used. Only some materials are suitable for vacuum use.

Chambers often have multiple ports, covered with vacuum flanges, to allow instruments or windows to be installed in the walls of the chamber. In low to medium-vacuum applications, these are sealed with elastomer o-rings. In higher vacuum applications, the flanges have knife edges machined onto them, which cut into a copper gasket when the flange is bolted on.

Silicone rubber is an elastomer composed of silicone—itself a polymer—containing silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Silicone rubbers are widely used in industry, and there are multiple formulations. Silicone rubbers are often one- or two-part polymers, and may contain fillers to improve properties or reduce cost.Silicone rubber is generally non-reactive, stable, and resistant to extreme environments and temperatures from −55 to 300 °C (−70 to 570 °F) while still maintaining its useful properties. Due to these properties and its ease of manufacturing and shaping, silicone rubber can be found in a wide variety of products, including voltage line insulators; automotive applications; cooking, baking, and food storage products; apparel such as undergarments, sportswear, and footwear; electronics; medical devices and implants; and in home repair and hardware, in products such as silicone sealants.

The term "silicone" is actually a misnomer. The suffix -one is used by chemists to denote a substance with a double-bonded atom of oxygen in its backbone. When first discovered, silicone was erroneously believed to have oxygen atoms bonded in this way. The technically correct term for the various silicone rubbers is polysiloxanes (polydimethylsiloxanes being a large subset), referring to a saturated Si-O backbone.

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), sometimes referred to as thermoplastic rubbers (TPR), are a class of copolymers or a physical mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber) that consist of materials with both thermoplastic and elastomeric properties.

While most elastomers are thermosets, thermoplastic elastomers are not, in contrast making them relatively easy to use in manufacturing, for example, by injection moulding. Thermoplastic elastomers show advantages typical of both rubbery materials and plastic materials. The benefit of using thermoplastic elastomers is the ability to stretch to moderate elongations and return to its near original shape creating a longer life and better physical range than other materials.