Custom Silicone Parts — LSR, Compression & Solid Silicone Molding

MOQ: Each project has a different MOQ based on the tooling’s number of cavities and tooling method. The most cost-effective number of parts to mold is 250 for compression molded parts whereas injection-molded parts are molded for larger quantities (1,000+ parts). Submit your print and target quantity, and your quote will confirm the project-specific MOQ.

Six elements are factored into the price: molding tooling, grade of materials, complexity of your part design, volume, molding method, and finish. Online pricing guides may put the costs of tiny, molded silicone gaskets somewhere from just pennies to about US$1.50 per gasket, and then significantly up for very complex parts. “We give estimates based on your real part drawings and material; nobody is going to get much out of a general estimate,” he says.

Lead Time There are two lead time stages – mold creation and production – that we itemize on your quote. Between them, there is the sampling stage, when we produce and inspect first articles for your review. Adding a lead time buffer in there to account for the review process ensures your new program doesn’t fall behind schedule.

Volume and part type determine the best option. Typically, static seals, and lower-volume components (generally below 25,000 parts/year), make the most economical sense to compress mold, providing also the lowest compression set. Thin wall (e.g. gaskets), complex shapes, or designs requiring features like over-molding lean toward liquid silicone injection, while a design-for-manufacturing evaluation provides resolution for gray areas.

Engelhardt can mold silicone anywhere between 10 to 80 durometer (Shore A). High volume silicone types are stable between -50C and +250C while the special compounds can broaden the scope considerably. The selection of the appropriate hardness and grade is completed with you at design review stages.

Yes. Medical-grade silicone has to be tested and documented to USP Class VI and ISO 10993 to confirm how it behaves in the human body, while food-grade silicone must adhere to FDA food-contact standards. When an order is placed, this standard is double-checked and referenced in your quote so that your material certificates clearly reflect your chosen standard.

We make tooling here in the in-house shop of 3,600 square meters, outfitted for CNC machine and EMD tooling. This in-house tooling and quick-prototyping enables Engelhardt to shorten turn around times, so a tooling adjustment is not held up until an external producer’s plan allows.

The 1200T vacuum vulcanizing press can mold large-format parts as big as 2200 × 1200 mm — a size many contract molders can’t accommodate. The same factory in which it molds approximately 1000 tonnes of silicone per year, can take a part from prototype to mass production.

With an ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 quality system, every part molds to a tight automotive standard. Our in-house lab tests each compound batch with viscometer and rheometer, then inspects first-off parts against your drawings before authorizing the production release. Dimensional reports, material certificates and any application-specific test data (such as USP Class VI biocompatibility or ASTM D2000 compression set) ship with the lot, so your incoming inspection team can sign off without a follow-up call. For automotive and medical buyers we also keep traceability records — compound lot, mold cavity, press cycle — for five years against any future field complaint.