When making silicone molds, it is very important to choose the appropriate mold material. Liquid mold silicone is mainly used for product replication, and manufactured silicone molds can be used for product replication in various industries. Whether it is for the replication of handicrafts or ancient artifacts, silicone molds are a popular choice. Liquid silicone has the characteristics of easy operation and non corrosiveness, and will not cause any damage to the product, making it widely popular.

For mold materials, it is usually common to use resin materials, most of which are used to create models through 3D printing. However, not all silicone mold types use resin materials, and the actual selection depends on the product to be replicated. For example, if you want to replicate gypsum crafts, the material of the mold will be gypsum; If you want to replicate cement brick carvings, the material of the mold will be cement, and so on. In the absence of ready-made products, we need to create a mold type. At this point, we prefer materials that are relatively easy to make, such as the photosensitive resin mold type mentioned above. If 3D printing cannot be used, manual carving can be chosen, and there are multiple options available. Priority should be given to materials that are easy to carve, such as common clay carving, wood carving, gypsum carving, etc.

In addition to the common mold materials mentioned earlier, selecting the material for making silicone molds also requires considering the performance characteristics of silicone products. Silicone itself does not release harmful substances, therefore it will not cause damage to the product. However, if the material to be replicated is a corrosive material such as a strong acid or alkali, this will have an impact on the silica gel. In this case, a secondary reverse molding process can be used to convert the mold into other materials that can withstand strong acids and alkalis, and then use silicone to make the mold. Simply put, first make a mold using materials that can withstand strong acids and alkalis, then pour gypsum or resin into the mold to make the mold, and finally make a silicone mold. Perhaps some people may ask why not directly use materials that can withstand strong acids and alkalis to make molds. Of course, if there is a material that can completely replace the performance of silicone molds, it can be used. However, silicone has unique characteristics and many materials cannot be completely replaced because silicone is soft and does not damage or corrode when in contact with molds and subsequent products. In addition, silicone is lightweight and the production process is also relatively convenient.

Therefore, the question of choosing which material to make silicone molds needs to be determined based on the actual situation. If there is an existing model, try to use the original model as much as possible to achieve the highest degree of 1:1 restoration. As for materials, as long as they are not particularly corrosive materials such as strong acids and alkalis, silicone can be used for replication. If there are no ready-made molds, we need to directly make molds, and the preferred materials include resin, gypsum, and wood carving.