Since silicone beads are soft, durable, and environmentally friendly, they are widely used in handicrafts, jewelry matching, children's toys, and industrial fields. Silicone beads of different hardness can meet diverse usage needs. However, facing the dazzling array of silicone bead products on the market, how to choose silicone beads of appropriate hardness has become a problem faced by many people. The following will introduce the method of selecting silicone beads of different hardness.
Clear usage scenarios and needs
Before selecting silicone beads, you must first be clear about your usage scenarios and specific needs. If used for children's handicrafts, considering the safety and convenience of children's operation, you usually need to choose silicone beads with lower hardness. Low-hardness silicone beads are soft in texture, easy to mold and pierce, which is convenient for children to use their creativity to design various shapes, and even if they are accidentally touched, they will not cause obvious pain or injury.
If used to make jewelry, such as necklaces, bracelets, etc., the choice of hardness should be determined according to the design style and wearing comfort of the jewelry. For some jewelry that pursues softness and fits the skin, you can choose silicone beads of medium hardness, which have a certain elasticity and can maintain good shape stability. For some accessories that need to show a three-dimensional and tough style, silicone beads with a slightly higher hardness will be more suitable. It can better support the structure of the accessories and is not easy to deform.
In the industrial field, the hardness selection of silicone beads is more professional and strict. For example, in applications such as sealing and buffering, it is necessary to select silicone beads of appropriate hardness according to the specific working pressure, temperature and environmental conditions to ensure that they can play the best sealing and buffering effect.
Understand the hardness mark and standard
The hardness of silicone beads is usually expressed in Shore hardness. The common ones are Shore A and Shore D. The Shore A hardness tester is suitable for measuring softer materials such as rubber and silicone, and its measurement range is generally between 0-100A; the Shore D hardness tester is suitable for measuring harder materials, and its measurement range is between 0-100D.
When purchasing silicone beads, carefully check the hardness mark on the product description or label. Generally speaking, silicone beads with a hardness between 10-30A are super soft, very soft and elastic; 30-50A are soft, with a certain degree of softness and elasticity; 50-70A are medium hardness, moderate hardness and good shape stability; 70-90A are hard, with high hardness and strong shape retention; 90A and above are super hard, with a hard texture. Understanding these hardness marks and standards will help us choose silicone beads that meet our needs more accurately.
Observe the appearance and touch
In addition to checking the hardness mark, you can also preliminarily judge the hardness of the silicone beads by observing the appearance and touching them. The appearance of low-hardness silicone beads is usually soft and elastic. When you press them gently with your hands, you will obviously feel that they are easy to deform and can quickly return to their original shape. The surface may be smooth and have a certain glossiness.
The appearance of medium-hardness silicone beads is relatively regular. There will be a certain resistance when pressing, but you can still feel a certain degree of elasticity. Its surface texture may be slightly rougher than that of low-hardness silicone beads, but it is still relatively smooth overall.
The appearance of high-hardness silicone beads is harder and more rigid. When pressed, they will hardly deform, or deform very little. The surface may be rough and lack elasticity. Through this intuitive observation and touch method, we can have a preliminary judgment on the hardness of silicone beads, but it should be noted that this method may have a certain error, and it is best to choose in combination with the hardness mark.
Conduct actual tests
If conditions permit, some simple actual tests can be conducted to further confirm the hardness of silicone beads. For example, you can place the silicone beads on a flat table, gently push them with your fingers, and observe their rolling. Silicone beads with low hardness may be more flexible when rolling and easy to change direction; silicone beads with high hardness will roll more smoothly and have stronger directionality.
You can also use a sharp object (such as a needle) to gently prick the surface of the silicone beads to observe the depth of penetration and rebound. Silicone beads with low hardness are easy to penetrate and will rebound quickly; silicone beads with high hardness are more difficult to penetrate and the rebound is not obvious. Through these actual tests, we can understand the hardness characteristics of silicone beads more accurately.
Choosing silicone beads of different hardness requires us to comprehensively consider the usage scenario, hardness mark, appearance and touch, and actual testing. Only by choosing silicone beads of appropriate hardness can we ensure that they can play the best performance and effect in the corresponding application and meet our various needs. I hope that after mastering these selection methods, everyone can easily buy the silicone beads they like.