SiliconeLiquid Silicone Rubber and HTV: What Is the Difference?
Liquid silicone rubber and high-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber are both silicone elastomers, and the names describe the form the material arrives in and how it is processed rather than a difference in chemistry alone. The distinction matters most at the point where a part is designed.
Liquid silicone rubber
Liquid silicone rubber is supplied as a flowable two-component system and covers applications where the material is dispensed, injected or poured. The same family spans potting, encapsulation, coating, mold making and simulation materials.
Typical directions in this range include thermally conductive potting compounds, liquid injection molding grades for power applications, potting grades for power and electrical equipment, cable accessory adhesives, vacuum interrupter encapsulation, plugging compounds, silicone gels and high temperature resistant gels, fabric coating, mold making rubber, thermal expansion rubber, tire mold rubber, addition-curing liquid foamed rubber and skin, muscle and fat simulation rubber.
- Silicone gel and high-temperature-resistant silicone gel for stress-relieved protection.
- Addition-curing liquid foamed silicone rubber for compressible, low-density parts.
- Skin, muscle and fat simulation grades for human-simulation and model work.
HTV silicone rubber
High-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber is supplied as a gum compound that is molded, extruded or calendered and then vulcanized. It is the family to look at when the finished part is a discrete rubber component rather than a dispensed or cast volume.
The stated directions in this range are general purpose molded silicone rubber, standard molded silicone rubber, standard transparent molded silicone rubber, standard extruded silicone rubber, high strength highly transparent molded silicone rubber, high elasticity molded silicone rubber, electrically insulating silicone rubber and methyl vinyl silicone rubber.
- Molded and die-cast products such as gaskets, washers, O-rings, diaphragms, rollers and sheets.
- Extrusion moulding of wire and cable insulation layers, rubber hoses and profiled rubber strips.
- High-voltage insulators, surge arresters and hot-press molds from electrically insulating grades.
Choosing between them
If the part is formed by filling a cavity or by dispensing onto a surface, liquid silicone rubber is the natural starting point. If the part is a molded or extruded rubber profile, HTV is the natural starting point.
Both families share the properties that make silicone useful in these applications: resistance to high and low temperatures and weathering, and good electrical insulation.