Silicone Sheet

[Joe Pelonio]

A regular customer has a new item for me to cut, 1/16" Silicone Rubber sheet.

Anyone tried this before? I have done neoprene for them can I expect a similar result?

It's coming tomorrow.

[Mike Null]

From what I can gather at the Synrad site you can cut it reasonably fast with not too much power.

I probably try my 1/16" Rowmark settings to begin.

[Joe Pelonio]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

[Joe Pelonio]

They decided to use 1/32. Reminds me of old tire inner tube material but white. Masking tape will not stick to it, so I came up with stapling it to card stock so it would lie flat and not blow into the exhaust.

Unfortunately that didn't help much, the stuff warps from the heat, so once it starts cutting goes out of focus. Finally discovered that by running them near the edges of the material and avoiding the center and making two passes I could cut it cleanly at speed 30. 90 power, 1000 frequency. Some charring is left on the surface that wipes right off. No smell or smoke, slight flaring until I upped the air assist pressure to 35 psi.

P.I.A.

[Dan Hintz]

Looks like you could really stack them in there if you flipped every other one 180 degrees. I would think a suction table would be ideal for such a beast to prevent needing tape.

[Joe Pelonio]

Looks like you could really stack them in there if you flipped every other one 180 degrees. I would think a suction table would be ideal for such a beast to prevent needing tape.
One would think so, (I don't have one) but it's so flexible and thin that I'd expect it to pull through the holes in a vaccum table.

[Dan Hintz]

One would think so, (I don't have one) but it's so flexible and thin that I'd expect it to pull through the holes in a vaccum table.The suction could be set quite low, just enough to hold the material relatively flat, but not so much that it's pulling it through the grid.

[James Aldrich]

I was wondering if silicone sealer would work, and be safe to cut in a laser? I also do lite sandetching an have tried laser tape. But when it comes to curves in the glass, tape wants to buckle. Then sand gets behind the tape. I thought about applying silicone calk on the glass, let dry, laser design and the sandblast. Using the silicone as a laser cut sandblast mask. But would it work, and is it safe? Has anyone tried it?
Jim

[Zeev Goldin]

Did any body tried to ENGRAVE on a silicone material?

I was wondering if its possible?

[James Jaragosky]

Did any body tried to ENGRAVE on a silicone material?

I was wondering if its possible?
I am sure that you could engrave it, but as it is the same color all the way through, you will need to fill it with something to get a proper contrast.

[Joe Pelonio]

I am sure that you could engrave it, but as it is the same color all the way through, you will need to fill it with something to get a proper contrast.
NOTHING will stick to that stuff, I can see engraving it to make a mold perhaps but it cannot be paint filled. James, you might get some Anchor Sandblast Stencil for that, but if you did try silicone, if you use one that's 100% silicone it should be safe. The problem will be getting it even enough that the settings will produce the same depth of engraving throughout.

[Eric Allen]

Joe, do you have any idea where they get that stuff, or do they make it? The 1/32 could help greatly with a project I'm working on. Might even be good to keep some of the 1/16th around for certain auto gaskets. For one of my projects I could probably even use your small scrap, so I might have to talk to you about paying the shipping:D

[Joe Pelonio]

They had it sent to me directly from their supplier, who I have used for other things before:

http://www.mcmaster.com/

[Bill Cunningham]

I have engraved text into those silicone rubber bracelets.. The only problem I had was the flame from one would scorch the one behind it.. Even with a lot of air trying to blow out the flare.. The one your engraving does engrave clean, though the one behind takes a beating from the exhaust sucking the fire over it.:eek:

[James Jaragosky]

NOTHING will stick to that stuff, I can see engraving it to make a mold perhaps but it cannot be paint filled. James, you might get some Anchor Sandblast Stencil for that, but if you did try silicone, if you use one that's 100% silicone it should be safe. The problem will be getting it even enough that the settings will produce the same depth of engraving throughout.

Ok I have been doing a little research and have come up with a few things about painting silicone.
One way you will need an Adhesive, which is a one part Silicone, powder pigment, xylene, and an air gun. You first mix the powder pigment with a little of the Adhesive in a mortar bowl with a pestle. Thin this sufficiently with xylene so that it can be atomized through an air gun. That’s it. The finish will look glossy. So before it dries, you can dust it with powdered sugar. The next day you can wash off the powered sugar. However this method will only work for products that will not have a lot of handling wear and tear. There is a more difficult but longer lasting method is called intrinsic coloration.
And you can look up these people to find out more about this method, Dr. Robert Erb Ph. D. and Dr. Pillet in France.
There is a manufactured Platinum Base Silicone paint called FuseFX.
Originally developed for the medical Anaplastology field, it's now being used widely by the FX and art industry. Here is a link to a site that sells the paint. http://www.fusefx.ca/
Hope this helps
Jim j.