3 Ways to Adhere Silicone to Silicone

Written By: Kevin Franzino

There are a few different approaches that can be taken for adhering silicone to silicone. First, there are lots of silicone based adhesives available commercially through places like Grainger, McMaster-Carr, and MSC from a variety of different suppliers such as LocTite, 3M, and GE. There are several different formulations, so you'll want to be as specific as you can regarding the application, medical/non-medical, HTV/RTV, etc.

Second, silicone bonds very well to silicone, so using more of the very same silicone that the parts were molded in is also an excellent approach, and from a quality/material certificate standpoint, eliminating an extra material and associated documentation is always beneficial. Something to take into consideration when using a second silicone step is that the best way to adhere to silicone is when the material is not fully crosslinked (cured). It would be advisable not to postbake the parts prior to performing the silicone adhesion step.

The last approach you may wish to consider trying would be to mold an empty shell half, insert the components and then perform an overmolding step wherein silicone material is applied in liquid form directly to the internal components and the empty shell of silicone. This may not always be a viable option if the internal components must be kept free of material, or need to have special considerations regarding either temperature or pressure, but this full encapsulation process is about the best option for keeping fluids and dust out of the assembly.

For more information or questions, please contact Kevin Franzino at info@albright1.com or 978-466-5870. Visit www.albright1.com  to learn more about our products and services.