Silicone Metering and Mixing Device

Freedom Innovations Science and Technology, a medical device manufacturer, has sponsored a project linking the metering and mixing of a two-part silicone mixture used to generate prosthetic liners.  They are at present experiencing difficulties in the production of customized silicone molds due to inaccurate measuring and time overwhelming mixing process.  The silicone used in the fabrication of molds cures at room temperature, and has a total pot-life from anywhere between twelve and fifteen minutes. 

Problems occur when air bubbles go into the mixture during the manual mixing process.  It is required to vacuum out all of the air bubbles in each mixture before it is poured, because any defects in the mold will weaken the ended product.  In addition to removing the defects from the mixture before the mold is set, the time constraint of the pot-life must be taken into account in order to avoid any premature hardening prior to it is poured into the mold.  The formation of a more time-efficient mixing process that gets rid of the presence of air bubbles into the mixture will significantly reduce the time required to set the mold, improving the quality of the liner.  Freedom Innovations has also expressed concern regarding the amount of silicone wasted in each mixture, as the silicone used to make the liners proves to be costly.  The development of a more accurate metering system will lessen the amount of waste leftover from each silicone mixture.  Specific project requirements include the metering of silicone to a 1:1 ratio with a 0.5% tolerance.  The design and construction of the prototype must be completed within an eight-month time frame, given a budget of $400. 

Authors



Sarah Boundy, Jersen Manalo, Gerardo Medrano 

Download