Sustainable solutions enhancing performance Dow

sustainable solutions enhancing perforMance

Dow Performance Silicones, a unit within Dow’s Consumer Solutions business, builds on seven decades of innovation and proven performance from the heritage Dow Corning silicone technology platform, pursuing the goal of becoming the most customer-centric materials science company in the world.

The company delivers a portfolio of performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of customers and industries around the world—from transportation and lighting to building and construction and chemical manufacturing. Always striving to stay at the forefront, the company has been responding to both current and anticipated market trends, especially the increased interest in environmentally-friendly products.

Ms Nathalie Gerard, EMEA Silicone Elastomer Market Manager, emphasized Dow’s focus upon sustainable solutions: “Sustainability is a key concern for many customers across a range of applications worldwide. In terms of silicon elastomers, this means that customers are looking for higher performing, more resilient and longer lasting products that will create less waste at the end of their life cycle. This concept is nothing new for us at Dow; we have always focused on developing high performing and long-lasting products, and that focus has been further intensified.”

Ms Gerard explained that in response to these customer demands, Dow recently launched two new products that meet sustainability criteria while providing substantial benefits to customers: SILASTIC™ LTC 9400 Series Liquid Silicone Rubbers (LSRs) and SILASTIC™ 3D 3335 Liquid Silicone Rubber.

High-performing materials

SILASTIC™ LTC 9400 Series LSRs are low-temperature-curing elastomers that enable increased design freedom and process efficiency by allowing over-moulding of LSR elastomers onto thermally sensitive substrates and components, such as low-melting-point plastics—an application previously not possible for LSRs.

This innovative series will expand through further research and development. “The LSR series currently includes three product choices and a cure acceleration additive. Ongoing product development will provide additional options in hardness and other performance properties, allowing this low-temperature-curing, injection-moulding technology to be used in a wide range of applications,” said Ms Gerard.

Beyond design and application flexibility, customers can also expect to see greater efficiency, processability, robustness and energy savings when incorporating SILASTIC™ LTC 9400 Series LSRs into their specifications.

The second innovation, SILASTIC™ 3D 3335 Rubber, is a groundbreaking silicone material formulated specifically to combine the performance benefits of silicone rubber with the design and processing advantages of liquid additive manufacturing (LAM) 3D printing.

Benefits of this product include optimised supply chain, elimination of the need for injection-moulding machines and tooling, and faster time to market for new articles in a manner unachievable through conventional technology. It can be used in applications such as fast prototyping, small manufacturing of complex parts, creation of customised parts and/or new designs and even applications where typical LSRs are used.

Committed to innovation

Ms Gerard emphasized the customer-centric basis of these two innovative products: “These two additions to our portfolio respond to the latest trends and customer preferences for sustainable, highly reliable products that reduce waste.” And, as she explained, the requirements for meeting those demands can be different depending on the business sector.

“Sustainability in consumer applications pertains to reusable, longlasting, resilient and reliable products. Alternatively, in the mobility sector, sustainability involves sustaining and improving performance in very harsh conditions, e.g. high temperatures or chemical contact. The ultimate demand is for products that perform faultlessly and reliably over a longer period of time.”

Meeting these demands for sustainability requires much collaboration. Ms Gerard affirmed that Dow has an excellent R&D team that works closely with the commercial and technical departments to make sure new products fully match market needs. This sort of cross-functional collaboration is an important part of Dow’s customer-centric approach.

“As a global leader in innovation and silicon-based technology, we are committed to bringing new solutions to the market that do more for our customers and continue to improve the lives of consumers worldwide. Our efforts are geared towards providing solutions that are innovative, sustainable and—first and foremost—that meet the customers’ needs. That is the key to success.” n