LSR Technology Conference 2021: a conference jointly organised by SIGMASOFT, Arburg, Momentive & Ewikon

With the focus being set on trends, technology advancements and challenges in many aspects of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) part production, SIGMASOFT and its partners held a LSR Technology Conference on the present & future of LSR injection moulding, material innovations, virtual moulding and efficient production solutions. The presentations were aimed at presenting invaluable insight to the industry players, ranging from product and mould designers, polymer end users, moulding and tooling experts, to QA/QC, CAD/ CAE specialists or R&D personnel.

Although the focus of the conference was on the Asian market, it attracted a global crowd. There were attendees from a total of 29 countries and more than 300 participants in this virtual conference that was held on 25 August 2021. The invited keynote speakers were subject-matter experts from the LSR production chain with years of experience and they shared the latest advancements and trends in the LSR arena.

Uwe Haupt from German machine maker Arburg had the honour of starting as the first presenter and conveyed how Arburg, as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-end machine technology for plastic processing, has significantly influenced the development of plastic injection moulding worldwide since the 1980s. “One of the reasons is that Arburg was the first company to actively work together with material development companies and mould producers to develop the equipment for the process that has shaped our reputation as a pioneer in the injection moulding technology arena,” said Uwe Haupt.

As the first presenter of the conference, he covered the basics of LSR materials, present and future, as well as the trends in LSR injection moulding. In his presentation, he shared how to achieve better control and monitoring of the process, new trends using micro screws for reproducible dosage for extremely small shot weights and how electric drives for LSR processing from Arburg can help to lower overall energy consumption, generate lesser noise while achieving higher precision and better stroke and pressure resolution

Meanwhile, SIGMASOFT has established itself as one of the technology leaders in polymer injection moulding simulation. Devadass Vimalanand from SIGMASOFT® presented on how the software was specifically developed to overcome today’s challenges for development, mould design, production and optimisation of the injection moulding process.

The case study he showcased in the conference was about an initiative to help fight the spread of the coronavirus – it focused on a face mask production project whereby 15 companies partnered together and managed to get a the product ready from scratch to series production in only 41 days.

“With a complete set of the mould details, we completed the project within a day and obtained results for thermal balance, filling, cooling behaviour. This is one of the advantages of using the SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding Approach, apart from the accuracy. Predicting the real thermal behaviour is the first step to optimise the cycle time, which is the strength of SIGMASOFT® Virtual Molding,” said Devadass Vimalanand.

The third presenter, Vivian Tian from Momentive, a global leader in silicones and advanced materials, delivered her presentation on “Innovation LSR”. Her presentation gave insights on how Momentive has created solutions for a sustainable world in the last 80 years as the industry leader for silicone innovation. At the same time, she also shared about the processing benefits of the soft-hard materials such as self-lubricating LSR and self-bonding LSR, and how these innovative materials enable flexibility in the designs that have become valuable in supporting and improving our everyday lives.

The last presentation was about the scientific investigation of the cold runner technology for LSR from Ewikon, a well-known supplier in hot and cold runner technology, founded about 40 years ago in Germany. Stefan Bernhard, who has trained and worked as a toolmaker since young, showcased the innovative COOLSHOT cold runner technology that utilises technologies and know-how from the hot runner sector to improve the LSR injection moulding process.

Rounding up the conference, General Manager of MAGMA Engineering Asia-Pacific, Jan Eilers, said: “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, face-to-face meetings are delayed to an unknown date. We know there will be a day when most will be back in the office and it will be possible again to have in-person meet-ups and seminars with bigger crowds, but until then, businesses must make the most out of the current situation. To share the ever evolving technology with the industry even during these times is the motivation behind us organising this virtual conference.”

He added, “Thanks to all our partners for bringing their expertise and experiences into this conference and to the attendees for engaging in the fruitful and interesting presentations and Q&A sessions in the live-broadcasted LSR Technology Conference 2021.”

For the full conference programme, please scan here to find out more or follow our LinkedIn to join our upcoming events.

(IMA)

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