Freudenberg starts making HCR silicone components

ERJ staff report (DS)

Öhringen, Germany -- Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has bought a machine for HCR silicone materials, adding to its liquid silicone rubber capabilities.

This year, the lead centre in Öhringen, Germany, which is the specialist for liquid silicone in this sector and primarily processes liquid silicones, began making pad seals out of solid silicone or HCR silicone?which was a first for the team. In its raw state, solid silicone looks a bit like putty.

"We bought an ultra-modern machine for the production of this HCR silicone, a machine that produces ready-to-use parts in a fully automated process," explains Harald Schliessus of Product Marketing.

This family of seals is used in compact and subcompact cars manufactured by a leading international car maker, where they are used to seal up to 60 wires in the plug-in connector housing between the interior of the car and the car door. The primary aim here is to seal the wires against fluids, e.g. to make sure that the wires are protected if a can of coke in the cup holder is knocked over. The advantage of HCR silicone is that any holes drilled in it are extremely tear resistant. Moreover, regardless of whether they are made of liquid or solid silicone, pad seals allow for much smaller installation spaces than is the case when each individual wire is sealed.

Öhringen aims to produce about 5 million HCR silicone pad seals a year for the first customer to place an order for the seals. "The technology used is similar to the one used to process liquid silicone. We got a handle on it very quickly. Everything is working smoothly," says Schliessus. More good news: the lead center has already received inquiries for HCR silicone pad seals from other customers.

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Press release from Freudenberg