RDAbbott announces fourth manufacturing with silicone rubber workshop
Barberton, OH – For the fourth year in a row, RDAbbott will host “Manufacturing with Silicone Rubber,” a popular and comprehensive workshop with a fabricator’s point-of-view. This year’s event will be held from Tuesday, August 26, through Thursday, August 28, in Barberton, Ohio. There’s also an optional training opportunity on Friday, August 29, for one-on-one discussions with instructors and deeper dives into process development.
Attendees of this four-day event will deepen their knowledge of silicone rubber manufacturing, testing, and troubleshooting. The curriculum includes classroom instruction and interactive sessions led by industry experts, and this workshop is designed for anyone seeking a complete overview of manufacturing with high consistency silicone rubber (HCR) and liquid silicone rubber (LSR) materials.
Classroom instruction will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Training Room at Akron Rubber Development Laboratory (ARDL), where participants will explore silicone sources, processing characteristics, fabrication methods, additive dispersion technologies, and mold design considerations. Topics will also include physical, rheological, and analytical testing of HCR and LSR compounds; LSR characterization techniques using virtual modeling; and process development and troubleshooting. Special sessions will cover modern dosing equipment, mold designs for turnkey applications, and failure analysis case studies involving rubber and plastics.
Interactive sessions will follow at RDAbbott’s Barberton Service Center, a 127,000 sq. ft. facility that serves as RDAbbott’s Northeast hub and is also home to NovationSi, its manufacturing subsidiary. During these hands-on trainings, attendees will gain direct experience with state-of-the-art materials, testing instruments, and production equipment. Featured resources will include Dow performance silicones, DuPont™ Liveo™ silicones, and NovationSi’s custom modifiers, additives, and colors, as well as SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding software and equipment from Alpha Technologies, ELMET, Sodick (Plustech Inc.), Kipe Molds, and ENGEL.
A special breakout session on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 26, will offer extended instruction on extrusion systems and HCR manufacturing processes for attendees seeking deeper expertise in these areas.
The instructors for this workshop include RDAbbott’s Rick Ziebell, Vice President of Technology and Technical Fellow, and Craig Lustek, LSR Application / Business Development Engineer. NovationSi’s Rob Bohland, Research and Development Manager, and Neil Lanterman, Quality Coordinator, will also share their many decades of industry knowledge.
The full lineup of expert instructors includes Bilal Rafiq, Business Development Manager of Dosing Pumps, Molds, and Turnkeys for ELMET North America Inc.; Bob Hershberger, Mixing and Compounding Manager for ARDL; Bob Pelletier, Business Development Manager of Dosing Pumps for ELMET North America Inc.; Bryce Maczko, Technical Sales for Sodick IMM by Plustech, Inc.; Len Hampton, National Sales Manager for Sodick IMM by Plustech Inc.; Nicki Hershberger, Vice President of Technical and Sales for ARDL; Jake Michaelson, Application Engineer for SIGMA Plastic Services, Inc.; and Dr. Jason Poulton, Senior Technical Advisor for ARDL.
The cost to register for Manufacturing with Silicone Rubber is $1700 before August 8, 2025, and $2000 on August 9, 2025, or later. Out-of-town registrants are responsible for their own lodging and airport transportation. All training materials and PPE will be provided. To learn more and register, visit RDAbbott.com/2025workshop.