Why Silicone Needs Its Own Mixing Equipment And Its Similarities To Concrete

17 December 2019
 Categories: , Blog

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There are so many things in this world that require mixing. You might think it possible to mix it all the same way with the same tools but unfortunately, that would present with a lot of problems. Take concrete and silicone, for example. You might try to mix silicone in the same machines that mix concrete, but silicone's consistency and texture would not work out well this way. That is just one reason why silicone requires its own mixing machine. There are other reasons for separate machines as well as similarities to concrete mixing. 

Silicone and Concrete Both Have a Basis in Sand

Silicone and concrete are both made from sand. The way these products are processed and extracted is different, but you can trace their makeup back to sand. That is their main similarity. After that, silicone is generally more viscous, while concrete has additional ingredients that make it grittier and more compact. Understanding their origin and their current makeup leads to a better understanding of why these two products require their own mixing machines. 

Mixing Silicone Versus Mixing Concrete

Silicone mixing equipment suppliers know that their customers have to mix a viscous product and leave it sit for a bit before moving to other steps to transform the silicone into something other than this clear sort of goo. The silicone mixers that are commercially available are able to do a lot with silicone, including melting, heating, cooling, storing small batches, and changing the form of the silicone. Mixing concrete, on the other hand, results in mixing batches and keeping the batches from solidifying before use. The concrete mixers crush, grind, and rotate; that is their limit. 

Switching up Mixing Equipment

This is a bad idea all around. If you were to mix concrete in a silicone mixer, the concrete would harden and ruin the machine. There would be little chance that you could fully repair and restore a silicone mixer after using it to mix hard and gritty concrete that would dry before the silicone mixer had a chance to finish its usual functions. Likewise, the silicone would not fare well in concrete mixers because concrete mixers would be thoroughly coated on the inside by the viscous silicone without actually mixing the silicone as expected. You would end up scraping the silicone off the inside of the concrete mixer just to remove it. 

Consider speaking to silicone mixing equipment suppliers to learn more.