Manufacturing of silicone products. Making silicone for molds with your own hands at home Approximate cost and profitability of the business

More and more craftsmen are showing a desire to try their hand at working with this relatively new material, but from the very first steps they are faced with difficulties, not knowing where to start, what silicone to use and how to handle it. Here I will try to summarize the main points, based on my own experience and information obtained from the Internet. I’ll say right away that I won’t tell you anything fundamentally new - everything that will be discussed is well known to professionals working with silicone, but I hope that the information collected in one place will help beginners overcome their first difficulties.

So, first of all, the silicone itself. When creating dolls, I use platinum-based compounds (two-component silicones) from Smooth-On made in the USA, so we will talk about them. To work, you will need two types of silicones: for casting the dolls themselves and for making the mold. There are not many of the first, primarily the Dragon Skin Series and Ecoflex Series. They have a high degree of elasticity and allow you to most realistically convey the effect of human flesh.

The silicones of each of these series have different specifications: softness, pot life (length of time when silicone remains fluid), hardening time, viscosity, etc. What kind of silicone is best to use when creating dolls? I can’t say anything specific here - it all depends on the master’s ultimate goal. In my opinion, it is best to follow the path of experimentation, trying different series in order to find in practice the very, only material that allows you to achieve the desired effect.

Silicones from the Dragon Skin Series and Ecoflex Series are colorless and translucent, so to obtain a realistic doll color they must be colored using special Silc Pig pigments.

The second type of silicones is used to make the mold. Be careful - platinum-based silicones can only be cast into molds made from platinum-containing silicone. Silicones with a tin catalyst cannot be used. Otherwise, the casting will not harden. Silicones intended for mold removal have less elasticity, greater hardness, and are usually brightly colored or transparent. The bright color of one of the components allows you to evenly mix components A and B before pouring, and the transparent ones allow you to see the model in the mold (this is convenient if the mold is cast as a whole and then cut into parts). Silicones intended for mold removal include such series as: E-Series, Mold Star Series, Equinox Series, Rebound Series, etc.

The mold can be made by pouring, or by gradually applying layers of silicone with a brush. The first method is simpler and faster, but requires more silicone consumption. The second one is more labor-intensive, and it also requires various additional materials. You can clearly see the process of creating a “spread” form on the official video of the company:

The finished silicone mold remains elastic, this is its absolute advantage, but we must not forget that it can be easily deformed, so it must be placed in a special protective casing cast from ordinary plaster.

Before pouring silicone into a silicone mold, you must use a special release agent, Ease Release, otherwise the mold and the casting will stick tightly together. The separator layer must be thoroughly dried, since in some cases it prevents the silicone cast from completely hardening.

Molds for casting dolls can be made not only from silicone, but also from plaster. It is advisable to use special dental plaster for this purpose, such as Fuji Rock, which has increased strength, perfectly conveys small relief details and dries fairly quickly. Compared to silicone molds, gypsum molds do not require the use of a release agent and absorb excess silicone oil during the casting process. However, plaster molds also have significant drawbacks - the master model is almost impossible to remove from the plaster without damage, the molds open with great difficulty and quite quickly become loose, losing the accuracy of the alignment of the halves. Also, compared to silicone, a plaster mold has to be made from more parts, which increases the number of seams on the finished casting.

So, we’ve sorted out the materials for casting, now let’s talk about the process itself. To avoid defects and failures when working with silicone, you must follow two golden rules that make the life of the master much easier:

1. Always strictly and pedantically follow instructions, avoiding any amateur activities. 2. Always test new materials that come into contact with silicone for compatibility.

For work, it is advisable to purchase a vacuum chamber with a pump that pumps out air from the mixture before pouring. Some types of silicones can be used without prior degassing, however, the risk that air bubbles will remain in the frozen mass is quite high.

It’s also a good idea to have an oven or drying cabinet for post-curing finished products. Silicone that has undergone heat treatment quickly acquires the physical and chemical properties declared by the manufacturer. I would not risk heating products in an oven intended for food products, despite the fact that platinum-based silicones are considered non-toxic materials.

I would like to note that making silicone dolls requires significant financial expenses, but you cannot save on materials and equipment by looking for cheap analogues and doing amateur work - the result of such experiments is usually disastrous and leads to inevitable damage to castings and molds.

When working with silicone, you should only wear vinyl gloves; latex gloves cannot be used.

The casting room must be heated; the temperature in it should not fall below 22-23 degrees. The required temperature regime is one of the most important factors - at temperatures below 18 degrees, silicone may simply not harden, and higher air temperatures slightly reduce the life time of the finished silicone mixture.

But you can’t store silicone in the heat. The material has a limited shelf life, which is reduced by increasing temperature. An open can must be used quickly, since contact with environment may also affect its properties. The algorithm for working with silicone should be as follows: take the jars of silicone out of a cool place, wait for it to warm up to the required 23 degrees, thoroughly mix the contents of each jar, combine components A and B in exact proportions, subject the finished mixture to degassing, pour into the mold and return the remaining silicone to the cold room.

In general, it should be remembered that silicone is a very capricious material that does not allow liberties in handling.

In principle, the process of making silicone castings is elementary, but this simplicity is deceptive. Silicone constantly presents unpleasant surprises, preventing the master from relaxing and making mistakes. The main danger for uncured silicone is inhibition (poisoning) by various substances incompatible with it. The most formidable and at the same time the most common “enemy” of silicone is plasticine containing sulfur. To work, you need to buy only plasticines marked Sulfur Free, such as Monster Clay or Chavant. It is better not to keep questionable plasticines in the workshop at all - even accidentally touching a sulfur-containing material with your hand can “infect” the silicone mold.

The second “enemy” of silicone is latex. Do not use latex gloves, syringes with rubber nozzles on pistons, or any other instruments that have latex parts in their design.

Use wooden sticks with great care to stir the mixture. Some types of silicone do not tolerate contact with wood and may be inhibited. To protect yourself from unpleasant surprises, it is advisable to mix the silicone with metal stirrers.

Freshly cured polyesters, epoxy and polyurethane rubbers are also dangerous. As I already wrote above, before using any new material in your work, you need to test it by filling it with a small portion of silicone. If the mixture completely hardens in the usual time allotted for complete polymerization, and the surface of the silicone is not sticky, we can assume that the new material has successfully passed the exam and can be used in further work.

That's basically all I wanted to tell you about the techniques for working with silicone. I myself have often made mistakes, experienced many unpleasant moments, and I hope that this hard-won experience will help novice craftsmen not step on the painfully familiar old rake, and save nerves, time and money. Good luck with your creativity!

Silicone has many beneficial properties: it repels water, is chemically neutral and resistant to various temperatures (it can withstand from -70 to +250 degrees Celsius).

This material is characterized by high resistance to deforming forces, minimal degradation over time and resistance to hydrolysis and oxidation. The polymer may be in the form of a liquid, rubber (unvulcanized silicone composition), lubricant, or rubber.

Silicone is used in various fields - in building structures for sealing windows and glazing, for water supply and sewerage, for sealing the surfaces of engines, gearboxes, sides, housings, for sealing roofs, pipes.

Chemically inert and biocompatible silicone is used for implants. It is used to produce medical products (capillary, drainage, vacuum tubes, blood transfusion systems, cords, porous products, tapes, multi-channel and closure products).

Even mobile phone cases and women's bags are made from silicone rubber. These polymers are widely used in cosmetics. For example, the most popular of them are the antifoam agents Dimethicone and Phenyl Trimethicone, the antistatic agents Cyclomethicone and Methicone.

To organize your own silicone production, you will need premises for a workshop and warehouse (the area depends on production volumes), as well as special high-tech equipment.

You can purchase both semi-automatic and fully automated lines. The first includes: an extruder with a pneumatic-hydraulic pump, a dosing device with continuous volume adjustment, and a press for sealing the tube. The automatic line also consists of an extruder, a dosing device, as well as an in-feed sorter and carton stacker.

The decision about which line to choose depends on the size of your start-up capital, the type of product being manufactured, as well as planned production volumes. In any case, when servicing a semi-automatic or automatic line you cannot do without the help of a specialist adjuster. And to work on the line you will need at least ten workers. Organizing such production is a large-scale project that requires large investments, amounting to several million rubles or even dollars.

In addition, you can purchase a mini-workshop for the production of cast products from polyurethanes and silicones. It includes all the necessary equipment, tools and fixtures. With the help of such mini-workshops, it is possible to produce pillows and silent blocks for cars from polyurethanes and silicone. The cost of used equipment for a mini-workshop is only about 300-350 thousand rubles, depending on the configuration. To work in such a production, two or three workers are enough, provided they work in shifts.

To produce silicone, components such as silicon, chromium, boron, manganese, nickel, tungsten, selenium, copper, cobalt, etc. can be used. When exposed to high temperature or when the silicone is damaged, they can be released and cause harm to human health. Therefore, such potentially dangerous components are used only in the production of construction silicone. The requirements for medical or food grade silicone are, of course, much more stringent.

If you do not have a large start-up capital, pay attention to narrower and, accordingly, low-cost areas of production. For example, silicone molds for baking, for making soap at home and souvenirs are in great demand among Russian consumers. They are produced both on an industrial scale and individually - according to sketches and drawings of the customer.

To make silicone molds, it is best to use safe food grade silicone from the USA as a raw material. There is no need to purchase expensive equipment. Such forms are made using ready-made matrices, into which cold-curing silicone is manually poured, which hardens at room temperature. For such production there are no strict requirements for the premises (special ventilation system, personal protective equipment, etc.), so you can do this at first and at home.

Gypsum casting is the production of artistic and decorative products from natural, environmentally friendly material. Despite the seriousness of such a business, the organizational cycle of this business is quite simple, and all stages of production can be reproduced at home.

It is quite simple to make a product from gypsum: gypsum (alabaster), sold in any hardware store, and water flowing from the tap are mixed. The finished mixture is poured into the molds of the finished product or matrix. After the plaster has hardened, it is removed from the mold. The product is ready.

Popular directions for the production of gypsum products are all kinds of imitation stucco for the interior, plaster figurines for the home and sculptures for the garden, and other decorative elements. Indeed, high quality and original products made of gypsum are very expensive, with an extremely low cost - the price of the product is the cost of the matrix, gypsum and water. Gypsum and water are easy to obtain for anyone, therefore, the only and key point of such a business is original mold for casting plaster.

If you look at the information on the Internet, you can note that the demand for ready-made matrices is high, and the offers on the market are quite expensive. At the same time, the production of matrices, like gypsum casting, is quite simple home business.

There are molds made of various materials on the market. Solid plastic and fiberglass molds, for all their advantages (durability and shape retention), are difficult to produce and require fairly highly qualified molders. The main disadvantage of such forms is the limited range of gypsum products produced. This disadvantage is due to the general rigidity of the material. The use of plastic molds for plaster is becoming a thing of the past. Modern popular materials for the production of gypsum matrices are molding mixtures.

Molding mixtures - gypsum, polyurethane - are plastic, easy to use, and suitable for the production of complex gypsum products.

The main thing in the production of plaster molds is the imagination and originality of the finished product. If you plan to produce molds for decorative stone, your tile matrix must be unique and interesting to the end user, that is, gypsum products made from your matrix must be sold and liked by people.

You can sell ready-made matrices. If you are a creative person and you come up with matrices of unique products, the demand is stable and guaranteed. You can also make individual forms to order - individual moldings, stucco moldings, sculptures and other decorative elements for all kinds of studios and companies for the decoration and repair of premises and facades. The downside of such a business is that if you produce unique products, then you can independently engage in gypsum production and sell ready-made gypsum products or make them to order. The most optimal solution for such a business is to simultaneously sell final products and forms for them. This way you will cover all the demand in the market.

A kilogram of silicone or polyurethane molding mixture costs from 500 rubles. Sculptural plasticine - from 50 rubles. The box, your imagination and labor are priceless, so it’s difficult to take into account their cost. The cost of manufacturing a small matrix is ​​650...1000 rubles.

Plaster from 200 rubles per bag. Water from 20 rubles per cubic meter. The cost of a small product from a small matrix is ​​200 rubles.

The cost of selling finished gypsum products ranges from 700 rubles to 700 thousand (for a huge sculpture). Ready-made matrices - from 2500 rubles per piece.

Silicone molds are used for casting standard products. Silicone is a budget-friendly and convenient material for these purposes: it can withstand heavy loads and temperature differences, and is compatible with many materials. The production of silicone molds is carried out using a simple technology, which is characterized by low technological requirements.

The main goal when making a mold is to suit the future process. It must meet production requirements in terms of: shape, technology used, material characteristics.

Production stages

The production technology consists of several stages:

• preparing the model if necessary. At this stage, an analysis of the future technological process is carried out and a material for the matrix is ​​selected - a filling compound for molds;
• the prototype completely reproduces the shape of the future model, taking into account the location of fasteners, protrusions, and sprues. Technological grooves and holes are also displayed;
• the next step is the preparation of formwork and embeds. The formwork needs to be covered with sealant and the prototype fixed. If necessary, the outside of the model is coated with a separation compound;
• Next, the material for filling is prepared. Silicone is mixed with the addition of special compounds. Then degassing is performed by vacuuming;
• The next step is to directly pour the silicone into the mold. The process is carried out under vacuum conditions so that there are no air bubbles left in the future form;
• Then polymerization or hardening of the material occurs. Depending on the additives used and the thickness, it lasts from a day to a week;
• Next, the resulting product is cleaned, followed by drying.

Types of silicone

When making molds, the following types of silicone are used, which are selected depending on needs:

• anti-allergenic;
• resistant to temperature changes;
• especially durable (for example, tin-based silicone paste) and others.

Supplements

Additives are used to impart certain technological properties to the form. They are selected depending on the final goal. If it is necessary to add color to the form, a pigmented additive is used. There are also compositions that:

• contain a hardener and help accelerate the hardening process;
• increase the viscosity of the material, which allows it to be applied to the model with a brush;
• increase the strength of the material and others.

The main requirements for production are the provision of ventilation and the presence of protective rubber gloves on the hands of the worker.

Today, polyurethane, silicone, rubber and plastic molds are widely used in the construction industry. They are used to make tiles, soda paths, artificial stone, and also produce gypsum casting.

It is quite simple to enter this segment by opening the production of such forms, but it is necessary to rely on the high quality of the products produced.

Only large enterprises can pursue a wide range and large production volumes. And for mini-production it is better to produce high-quality and reliable products.

Rent of production premises.

To organize your own production of molds from silicone, plastic, polyurethane and rubber, you will need a warehouse and workshop. It is best to rent a room with an area of ​​at least 50 m2. It is important to choose a heated room with low humidity and good ventilation. At the same time, the presence of water supply and sewerage will also be a positive thing. The power line in the building must withstand 380 watts. It is best to rent premises outside the city or in an industrial zone. The cost of monthly rent for this type of premises will be about $430.

Equipment for making molds.

To produce molds, you can buy either a fully automated line or a semi-automatic one (the second will be cheaper). The automated line consists of the following equipment:

1. Extruder - $12 thousand;
2. Dosing equipment with a continuous volume control process - $8 thousand;
3. Device for feeding and sorting products - $3.4 thousand;
4. Line for putting products into boxes - $1.6 thousand.

The cost of an automated line for the production of molds is $25 thousand.

The semi-automatic version consists of the following elements:

1. Extruder with pneumatic-hydraulic pump - $9.5 thousand;
2. Dosing equipment with a continuous process of volume control - $8 thousand;
3. Press for carrying out the pipe sealing process - $1.5 thousand.

The price of a semi-automatic line is about $19 thousand.

The decision about which line to purchase is, of course, yours. First of all, it is necessary to assess the planned production volumes and possible investments in the business.

Materials for the production of molds.

To produce molds from silicone, polyurethane, plastic and rubber, the following components are used:

1. Polyester resin;
2. Epoxy resin;
3. Polyurethane elastomer;
4. Liquid plastic;
5. Natural or artificial wax;
6. Silicon, chromium, boron, cobalt, manganese, copper, selenium.

To purchase the necessary components for the production of molds you will need about $4.5 thousand.

Personnel at the enterprise.

About 10 workers will be needed to work on the production line. This is a specialist equipment adjuster, 3-4 operators per line, designer, security guard, loader, technologist:

The installation specialist will be involved in setting up or (in case of breakdown) repairing the production line. The specialist's salary will be about $200.

Line operators will allow the equipment to run smoothly, their salary is about $180.

The designer performs one of the most important jobs. Based on his sketches, molds will be developed and manufactured. His salary is $230.

The technologist will control the quality of the manufactured goods. He will receive a salary of up to $300.

Working personnel - security guards and loaders will receive wages in the amount of $120.

In total, to organize production you will need to shell out about $2 thousand monthly to pay workers.

Marketing activities to promote this business include creating a website, printing and distributing leaflets, placing advertisements in newspapers and magazines, participating in presentations and exhibitions. Developing your own web resource will allow you to attract the attention of potential clients via the Internet.
Leaflets will allow you to reach a wide mass of potential consumers in the desired area or area. Advertising in print media will allow you to find out about your product throughout the state, and possibly beyond its borders. Participation in public events will allow you to learn about new trends, introduce products and, possibly, attract larger clients. The cost of marketing activities is about $160.

Basic costs.

To organize your own business for making molds from polyurethane, silicone, rubber and plastic, the following investments are required:

1. Rent of production premises - $430 thousand;
2. Purchase of equipment - $19-25 thousand;
3. Purchase of raw materials - $4.5 thousand;
4. Staff salaries - $2 thousand;
5. Advertising activities - $160;
6. Additional expenses - $120-150.

Considering all the expenses described above, to open your own business of this profile you need $26.2-32.2 thousand.

Profit and payback period.

The cost of one finished form starts from $8. Most often the markup is about 300%. This means that the market value of one of the simplest forms is about $24.

In conditions of uninterrupted production, about 1 thousand molds can be produced monthly. This means that the company's net profit could be about $16 thousand.

After deducting all taxes, additional and basic expenses, the monthly profit is about $8 thousand. This means that a full return on all investments can be made within a period of 7 months to a year, but only if there is established sales of products and high demand for the product.

Sales of goods and business development.

Molds made of polyurethane, silicone, rubber and plastic are widely used in the following areas:

1. To create paving slabs;
2. For the manufacture of basement bricks;
3. Production of fences;
4. For the production of polymer stone;
5. Plaster casting;
6. For products of landscape architecture;
7. Making garden paths.

To develop this business, first of all, it is necessary to expand the range and increase production scale. When the range of products offered turns out to be really wide, you can start opening your own retail outlet. After this, you can begin to provide related services, namely construction, repair and design work.