ENBI PLASTICS & SILICONES BV - CO-CREATING YOUR AMBITIONS

The differentiating properties of Liquid Silicon Rubber (LSR) make LSR more widely and easily applicable than conventional silicones with high consistency and thermoplastic elastomers. Since its introduction in the 70’s, Liquid Silicon Rubber has grown into a material with a great variation of types and properties. In addition to the original use in niche applications, Enbi Plastics now uses the material in a wide range of industrial applications. Extensive developments in the making of new compounds, injection systems in combination with mold construction, and automating and guarding both production process and product quality, make LSR an appealing option for medical and food industries, household appliances, automotive, industrial and agricultural sectors. In this article, Enbi Plastics introduces to you the many possible uses of LSR per sector. Would you like to know more about the possibilities of LSR for your organization? Feel free to contact one of our experts.

Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) is a material for injection moulding that is being used more and more by Enbi Plastics. It is durable, flexible, and extremely versatile. Not to mention, it is also very cost efficient. By means of this article, Enbi Plastics aims to help you make the right decisions in terms of material type and which process composition best suits your project. Within just a few steps it’ll quickly become clear which choices are important when starting an LSR project. Want to know more about what LSR is exactly? Feel free to read more about the properties and benefits of LSR in our previous article: “Welcome to the World of Liquid Silicon Rubber”. Would you like to know more about LSR and why it is the best choice for your injection moulding project? Please feel free to contact one of the experts at Enbi Plastics.

Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) is a liquid silicon material, which is processed with an injection moulding process. Thanks to its special materials and processing properties, LSR offers unique design and production opportunities for Enbi Plastics. LSR has numerous uses in different industries, including health care, food, automotive, household appliances, and other sectors. For the injection moulding of silicon, Enbi Plastics uses machines with a closing force between 25 and 110 tons. This way we produce products made of components weighing from less than a single gram to approximately 100 grams, and which vary between <10 Shore A to approximately 80 Shore A in hardness, using both 1K and 2K injection moulding processes. Would you like to know more about LSR and how it can benefit your products or components? Our experts at Enbi Plastics love to help you with all your questions about LSR. Feel free to contact one of our specialists today.

Creating an optimal bond between a metal plate and the silicone: that was the challenge Enbi Plastics was given by Océ Technologies, a major player in printing and copying equipment. They needed a new wiper assy; a part on the print head that prevents streaks on the paper. Because this part needs to be somewhat flexible, silicone needed to be added to a small, punched metal plate, to which screw thread is welded. This construction did not allow for a mechanical bond between the metal and silicone, which meant chemical bonding was the only option. Together with the client, the mould supplier, the silicone supplier and others, we did extensive research into the best way to achieve this bond. It showed that preparing the small metal plates was the key. After several tests, we discovered the optimal way to do this. A number of factors play a role: from how to clean and sand the plate to humidity, temperature and the time in between the steps of the process. Every detail counts!

For our German client Vorwerk Elektrowerke, manufacturer of premium home appliances, we make, among other parts, parts for their smart Thermomix food processor. These are intended for both professional kitchens and the consumer market. One of the parts Enbi Plastics makes, is the position switch that ensures the food processor’s motor can only be turned on if a bowl is placed on it. This small but complex part is composed of different materials: plastic, metal and silicone. Because it needs to provide a seal as well as be dimensionally stable, we opted for silicone. Whereas the wall thickness is usually uniform, that was not the case here. A high-tech LIM mould was needed to achieve the right shape. That made the development of this product a turnkey project for Enbi Plastics together with the machine supplier and mould manufacturer. Enbi Plastics made different versions of the test mould and conducted feasibility studies in order to perfect the design.

You can also find products made by Enbi Plastics in the cars of for instance Mercedes, BMW and Audi! One example of this is the lift bar, which connects car windows to their electronic controls. In the past, they drilled holes in the glass to do this, but that is not possible with today’s layered, safer glass. That is why a dimensionally stable part that could form a solid connection between the window and the technology was needed. Our client glues the lift bars to the car windows using putty. Enbi Plastics prepares the part: we use an activator and primer. This is done in a fully climate controlled room. After production, we conduct rapid aging tests: By applying water to the parts and exposing them to a certain temperature for five days, we can check if the putty continues to stick. That way, we ensure optimal reliability. We continually make this product, constantly maintaining the right stock levels for the client.

This portable power supply for medical use is a nice example of co-creation. Our client came up with the idea to create a powerful battery for the medical world. It can be used on equipment trolleys that allow the medical personnel to get right up to the patients’ beds. The battery is so powerful that one charge is enough to power it for an entire shift. Naturally, this battery pack had to be properly protected and practical to use. That is where Enbi Plastics came in. From the very beginning, we were involved in product development: from the first sketches to a complete end product that helps medical professionals do their work. For the design, we took into account practical usability and safety: there are no sharp edges, the battery pack is splash proof and the design underwent drop tests. In addition, the choice for medical grade plastic means it is also easy to clean. The addition of the inserts – gilded contacts – required a lot of precision. These are melted in by us in-house.

You can count on us for precision work, from less than one gram to complete or semi-finished products of up to about 2.5 kilograms. We work with the most diverse plastics: from commodity plastics to engineering plastics and high engineering plastics.

Would you like to process 2 different materials or colours in one product? This can be done by means of two-component (2C) injection moulding. We employ this technique for the production of more complex components and products ranging from 5 to 150 grams. The clamping force of our 2C machines varies from 65 to 220 tons.

The use of silicone in products has many advantages: the material is elastic, durable, and resistant to chemicals and high temperatures. As a result, the injection moulding of silicone has many applications, for instance in the medical world. For the injection moulding of silicone we are able to employ machines with a clamping force of between 25 and 100 tons. In this way we can produce units of less than a gram up to about 100 grams, varying in hardness from 10 Shore A up to about 80 Shore A.