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Dear Clients,


CRI-SIL November 2009 Newsletter

All of us at CRI-SIL Silicone Technologies would like to extend the warmest wishes to you and your family for a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday. CRI-SIL will be closed both Thursday the 26th and and Friday the 27th. Operations will resume normally on Monday, November 30th.

While researching topics for the newsletter, I often review some of the continuous improvement initiatives that CRI-SIL has worked on over the past 30 days. This month is no exception as CRI-SIL has been busy trialing improved methods of coiling our extrusion grade products. Although our current method works well, talcum powder, by its nature can be messy. Our goal is to reduce the amount of talc while still providing a stick-free coil. CRI-SIL is continuing to trial different methods and we are confident that an improvement over the current process will be identified shortly.

The point of this dialogue is not to promote a new coiling method; it is to show our commitment to providing not only a great product but one that will process efficiently in your facility. Many of our customers may not know that CRI-SIL can provide nearly any pre-form size or shape. Our goal is to provide a product that works well in YOUR operation versus you having to design an operation around our pre-form. Over the past 15 years, CRI-SIL has saved its customers thousands of dollars by designing a pre-form that perfectly suits their operation and creates maximum efficiency by reducing scrap and increasing throughput.

If you are experiencing high scrap rates or reduced throughput because the silicone pre-form you receive is not perfectly suited to your operation, please give us a call.
A coiled silicone pre-form lightly dusted with talcum powder. This pre-form style is well suited for an extrusion operation.
 
 
 
 

 

HOW CAN CRI-SIL HELP MAKE YOUR BUSINESS MORE PROFITABLE?

  • The following is a brief overview of CRI-SIL's product line.  These material groups are not "all-inclusive," and represent only our "main" product lines. Keep in mind that if you do not see the product group you are looking for, please submit your specification for evaluation as we routinely work outside of our these product families.

    • Standard Product Line - CRI-SIL general purpose grades ranging from 20 to 80 Shore A durometer. Can be sold as a base or a fully compounded material with catalyst and pigment.  Catalyst systems include peroxide or addition cure platinum. Typical properties can include tensile strengths as low as 600 or as high as 1300.

    • Wire and Cable - CRI-SIL wire and cable grades are made to meet most specifications to include automotive, appliance, mass transit, utility and power, and shipboard. CRI-SIL carries UL, CSA, and Military specific grades. This group includes specialty wire and cable products including ceramifiable.

    • Sponge - CRI-SIL provides the customer with sponge bases. These bases, when combined with blowing agents, can provide soft, medium, or firm sponge sheets, extrusions, or molded products.

    • Fluorosilicone - CRI-SIL fluorosilicones are designed to meet the requirements of today's petroleum resistant rubbers; such as MIL-R-25988, MD-8840, and MD-7636. Additionally, CRI-SIL will custom formulate fluorosilicone bases or compounds to meet most any customer specification.

    • High Strength - CRI-SIL high strength materials are designed to optimize the tensile and tear strength characteristics of silicone rubber. They range between 30 and 75 durometer and have tensile strengths between 1100 and 1500 psi. These materials can be sold as bases or complete compounds.

    • Semi-Conductive / Static Dissipative (for EMI and RFI) - CRI-SIL semi-conductive and static dissipative rubber products are made to meet the requirements of applications that need shielding in the computer, medical equipment, automotive, telecommunications, and industrial/commercial industries.

    • Health Care - CRI-SIL health care grade silicones have been fabricated and tested to meet USP Class VI. They are available in a wide range of durometers from 40 through 80 Shore A. They are available in one or two-part platinum curing systems and require no post cure. They are not intended for implant beyond 29 days.  Additionally, many of our other materials can be fabricated to meet FDA requirements.

    • Roller Compounds - CRI-SIL roller compounds are formulated to various hardness of 30 through 80 Shore A and can be purchased as either a base or a finished compound.  They are manufactured for all types of roller building processes including molded or mandrel wrapped.  These materials can be purchased with either platinum or organic peroxide curing systems depending on the manufacturing process. Typical applications include corona and thermally conductive.

    • Liquid Silicone Rubber - CRI-SIL liquid silicone rubbers are made to both USP Class VI or Industrial grade standards. These products are a 1:1 mix and are easily pumped through most commercially available LIM systems. Both grades have excellent clarity and come in durometers ranging from 40 through 80 Shore A. Other durometers are available upon request.

    • Room Temperature Vulcanization (RTV) - CRI-SIL has one 60 durometer, two-component, high strength, flexible mold-making RTV compound.  It is a tough material with good physical properties, making it especially valuable in the mold making industry. It is recommended as a mold material for polyester, epoxy, polyurethane resins, wax, food, soap, low melt materials, and rollers. Additional RTV grades developed upon request.

    • Emulsions - CRI-SIL Emulsions are designed to act as a release agent for rubber and plastic products or as a defoamer. These products are available in a wide range of viscosities and are usually white in color. 

TECHNICAL TIP

DID YOU KNOW? 

By choosing a compound based solely on a purchased price/pound basis you may not be choosing the most profitable solution for your company? This is due to the disconnect between purchasing by the pound and selling by the part or linear foot.

General Purpose flexible compounds (including silicone) are available in a wide variety of Shore A durometers and Specific Gravity (SG) combinations. Generally speaking, at a given Shore A durometer, as the SG increases, you will find that the the material purchased price/pound typically decreases. Additionally, as SG increases, you will yield fewer finished parts (parts or linear feet). What may look like a good raw material price may actually end up costing you more money in the long run because the specific gravity is high. That is why it is always important to look at both specific gravity AND cost/pound when buying silicone as a raw material.

If you are trying to calculate the actual cost of a given profile, you must know the cross-sectional area, the SG of the compound and the cost/pound of the compound. However, if you are simply trying to evaluate cost between two or more different compounds (having the same durometer) you only need to multiply the SG by the cost/pound. This generates what is commonly referred to as pound-volume cost. The following table compares four 50 durometer compounds with varying specific gravity. 

Standard 50 Durometer Silicone Compounds with Various Specific Gravities

Specific Gravity

Purchased Price/Pound

Pound Volume

1.15

$5.25

$6.04

1.35

$4.75

$6.41

1.55

$4.25

$6.59

1.75

$3.75

$6.56

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the compound with the lowest SG has the lowest pound-volume cost despite having the highest cost on a purchased price/pound basis. This means it would have the lowest cost on "per part" or "per linear foot" basis among this series of compounds.

 For more information on this topic, email our Technical Manager, Matt Caldwell at mcaldwell@crisil-silicones.com

DO YOU KNOW THIS PERSON?

 Barbara Lavigne - Materials Manager. Barbara manages all inbound and outbound materials, inventory control, and the scheduling of work orders for the production floor. On the purchasing side, she ensures raw materials are on hand and readily available for quick processing through the manufacturing department. On the shipping side, she often assists our customers with obtaining great rates through several different freight companies. Barbara holds numerous inventory control and master scheduler accreditations and has been working at CRI-SIL since 2002. If you would like to contact Barbara, please email her at blavigne@crisil-silicones.com. 

If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact me at mcstevens@crisil-silicones.com or (800) 290-9192 extension 229. I would be more than happy to assist you in any of your endeavors. 

Here's to a great 2009!

Best Regards,

Mark C. Stevens
Sales & Marketing Manager
CRI-SIL, LLC
Work: 800-290-9192 x229
Cell: 207-590-8206 

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