Silicone: Material & Manufacturing Exploration

The goal of this project was to research the material properties and manufacturing processes for silicone. It ultimately ended with the sculpture shown below named “Silicone Valley”. The properties of silicone are endless and seemingly contradictory in some cases. Its high temperature insulation properties allow it to withstand extremely hot and extremely cold temperatures (-100ºC to 210ºC). Silicone can also be made flexible or fairly hard. Plus, silicone is biocompatible but highly resistant to environmental stresses, lasting in the environment for up to 500 years.

The sculpture “Silicone Valley” emphasizes the contradictory natural of silicone through its representation of a balance scale. The sun and snowflake along with its blue and red colored sides show the temperature insulation properties of silicone. The sun and snowflake, also with the hands, represent the biocompatibility and environmental stress properties. The sculpture was created using a laser cut mold for the main balancing piece and a 3D printed mold for the base. An aluminum beam was set within the balancing piece for structural support and shaping. The differing rigidity of the base and balancing piece of the sculpture show the wide range of hardness that silicone can exhibit. For the sculpture’s demonstration, dry ice and a flaming cotton ball were placed on the hands of the balancing piece.