MC-Injection Molding with Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) for Medical Technology

The multicomponent injection molding of liquid silicone rubbers (LSR) with thermoplastics, such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyamide (PA), is a state-of-the-art technique and is used in the manufacturing process for many components in the automotive industry and in the field of sanitary engineering. Standard thermoplastics, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), cannot be bonded with silicone rubbers in injection molding because of their low heat deflection temperature. In this study, we investigated ABS grades approved for medical applications to show how dynamic mold heating and various pretreatment methods for thermoplastic surfaces can be used to produce ABS-LSR test specimens. In addition, such components' sterilization effect on the adhesive bond will be shown.

Automated summary

The multicomponent injection molding technique is widely used in the manufacturing process for automotive components and sanitary engineering. This study demonstrates that ABS grades approved for medical applications can be bonded with silicone rubber using dynamic mold heating and various pretreatment methods. Additionally, the sterilization effect of these components on the adhesive bond is also shown.