New Products: Elastosil LR 5040 LSR grades ideal for medical applications

MUNICH—Wacker Chemie A.G.'s new Elastosil LR 5040 line of liquid silicone rubber grades fulfills the stringent regulatory requirements that apply to silicone articles in many medical technology applications.

According to Wacker, cured rubber products made of Elastosil LR 5040 feature excellent mechanical properties even without thermal post-treatment, and contain very few volatile substances. This allows manufacturers to eliminate the postcuring step after fabrication in many cases.

Elastosil LR 5040 cures to a translucent elastomer with a volatiles content, without thermal post-treatment, below 0.5 weight percent. In its non-postcured state, the silicone exhibits a high level of tear resistance equivalent to that of postcured high-tear-strength standard materials. It can withstand such mechanical stresses as may occur in the usage of medical devices, for example. Typical applications include anti-colic valves, bottle tops or respirator masks.

"These properties make Elastosil LR 5040 the material of choice when manufacturers want to dispense with the thermal post-treatment altogether," Wacker said in a statement.

The product line initially will cover a hardness range from 30 to 70 Shore A. In the cured state, the actual hardness of the non-postcured silicone deviates from specification by only ±3 points. Elastosil LR 5040 can be readily processed by injection molding.

For more information about Elastosil LR 5040, visit the Wacker website.

The New Products blog showcases innovations suppliers are introducing to the rubber industry. It focuses on new materials, machinery, molds, testing equipment, software, and other goods and services that are intended to help manufacturers of finished rubber products. The blog will appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To have your product considered for the blog, contact Online Content Editor Erin Pustay Beaven at [email protected] or Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].