RDAbbott will supply Dow LSRs to four injection molding cells at NPE 2024

Garden Grove, CA – RDAbbott will supply Dow liquid silicone rubber (LSR) to four liquid injection molding (LIM) cells at NPE 2024, the plastics industry’s largest event. Two of these cells will also use pigments from NovationSi, RDAbbott’s manufacturing subsidiary. RDAbbott, an authorized distributor of Dow silicones in Mexico and the United States, provides top-notch technical service and support to supplier partners like Dow and collaborates with manufacturers of injection molding machines (IMMs), molds, and dosing systems.

Craig Lustek, RDAbbott Application/Business Development Engineer, helped secure the Dow silicone materials for the LIM cells. NPE 2024 will occur from May 6 to 10, 2024, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. RDAbbott plans to send five team members, including Lustek, to promote its silicone products and technical services. The LIM cells will be in West Building Level 2 of the Expo Hall in booths for these four IMM manufacturers: Krauss-Maffei Corporation; Sodick by Plustech, Inc.; Milacron; and Nissei America, Inc. Each cell will also feature injection molds and dosing systems from industry-leading partners.

The Krauss-Maffei LSR cell (Booth W600) will run Dow SILASTIC™ MS-5002 Moldable Silicone using its SilcoSet technology to produce automotive adaptive drive beam (ADB) lens optics that each weigh 8.58 grams. Dow has over 10 years of optical silicone experience, including five years in the production of ADB systems. SILASTIC™ MS-5002 is a two-part, one-to-one mixing ratio moldable optical silicone that offers high-volume processing capabilities for long-term performing solutions of ADB lighting designs. The Krauss-Maffei IMM will use a four-cavity mold from ACH Solution and an ACH MAXIMIX 2G dosing system.

The Sodick by Plustech cell (Booth W3581) will run Dow XIAMETER™ RBL-2004-50 LSR with a NovationSi NovaSperse® pigment to produce orange-colored connector seals. XIAMETER™ RBL-2004-50 is a two-part LSR with high tear strength and low compression set. NovaSperse® color and additive dispersions are highly concentrated and provide batch-to-batch consistency. The Sodick by Plustech cell will use an eight-cavity master unit die (MUD) base mold from NEXUS Molds and a SERVOMIX X20 dosing system from NEXUS Elastomer Systems.

The 55-ton, all-electric Milacron Roboshot cell (Booth W1601) will run Dow SILASTIC™ RBL-9200-50 LSR and NovationSi NovaSperse® pigments to produce colored umbrella valves. SILASTIC™ RBL-9200-50 has a unique rheology for improved flow. The injection molded parts weigh just 0.24 grams and will use a four-cavity mold with a valve-gated cold runner system from M.R. Mold & Engineering. The Milacron cell will also use a SERVOMIX X20 dosing system from NEXUS Elastomer Systems.

The Nissei America cell (Booth W2401) will run Dow SILASTIC™ RBL-9200-50 LSR to produce a battery divider for electric vehicles. This high transparency LSR cures quickly and is UL recognized. The Nissei IMM will use a Fine Masters one-cavity mold and a Top 7000 Pro dosing system from ELMET Elastomere.

In addition to supplying LSR to the above-mentioned cells, RDAbbott’s Central Research team, led by Rick Ziebell, prepared multi-point LSR characterization data compatible with Moldex3D’s computer-aided engineering (CAE) software.

RDAbbott’s material characterization testing analyzed the viscoelastic and chemorheological behaviors of Dow’s SILASTIC™ RBL-9200-50 LSR using 2% NovaSperse® red pigment from NovationSi. Moldex3D’s technical team, led by Cristoph Hinse, then uploaded this comprehensive data to its virtual molding software to produce detailed flow predictions and cavity fill simulations for injection molding the umbrella valve mold designed by M.R. Mold & Engineering with complex geometries.

Conference attendees can see this four-cavity mold produced in real-time in Milacron’s Roboshot cell in Booth W1601 in the West Hall throughout NPE 2024. Attendees can also visit Booth S15019 in the South Hall to experience Moldex3D’s world-leading simulations first-hand. Moldex3D’s expertise in material optimization, tooling design, process simulation, and waste reduction empowers manufacturers to embrace eco-friendly practices without compromising efficiency or quality.