Why is Silicone Rubber Ideal for Custom Profiles?

Before we answer that question, it would be an excellent idea to understand what a profile is. There are many kinds of rubber profiles, created for use in many scenarios and applications. In some instances, they are used for decoration, while in others they have far more practical uses. These can include providing a seal between two surfaces, thereby preventing water or other liquids from accessing an area.

What is a custom profile?

A custom profile is made to precise specifications. There are standard profiles available to buy immediately, as they’re created in quantities to allow customers to buy them off the shelf.

These profiles aren’t ideal for every application, though. A great example of a situation that would likely call for custom profiles is a yacht. Obviously, various yachts are designed to different specifications, depending on size, layout, price, and so on.

This means you’ll need custom profiles in most cases. Window seals on a yacht need to be waterproof – and not just that, but resistant to salt water. Moreover, the size of the window or other opening that needs sealing would need a precise seal size and shape. You can see how this example could play out in many other situations as well.

Why choose silicone rubber custom profiles over standard rubber?

While some of these profiles are made from standard rubber, many are made from silicone rubber. This is a more versatile material, offering supreme quality and many other factors that can make it the perfect material in many situations.

Let’s return to the yacht example to see how this works. Rubber is waterproof and can resist water ingress – more so when silicone rubber is used. So, this is a tick in the right box. Yet there is more to consider. We mentioned the fact that salt water would be in action here rather than plain water. Fortunately, silicone rubber is great at being altered to suit a specific circumstance. In this case, a different formulation might be used to give the best performance for those window seals.

Silicone rubber is also easy to use in extrusion processes. This is where a material is forced through a mould to create the exact required shape. You can see the shape by viewing the end of a profile, as the length is pushed through the mould.

Silicone also seals really well with itself. This won’t always be needed, but there are situations – such as the window seal example – where you won’t need a long profile. Instead, you might need a round or shaped profile where both ends join each other. This seal must be of equal quality, i.e., excellent, to the rest of the profile. Even if the silicone rubber has been specially formulated to cope with salt water or other conditions, so too will the seal that joins them, thereby reducing the chances of a weak spot occurring.

With this many benefits to look forward to, you can always count on the finest silicone rubber profiles for bespoke purposes.