Material

Silicone Foam

Flame retardant elastomers for versatile environmental protection and vibration dampening

Silicone foam materials are engineered for high performance applications where function is paramount. Silicone foam gaskets and resilient cushioning pads are used across many industries where long term performance is required. Stockwell Elastomerics inventories and fabricates the full product line of Rogers BISCO® Silicones including their HT-800 family of silicone foams. Silicone foam products have excellent performance properties such as low compression set, high temperature stability, low temperature flexibility, flame rated (UL 94, FAR), and environmental sealing (UL 50, UL 508).

Stockwell Elastomerics’ silicone foam fabricating processes include die cutting, water jet cutting, roll slitting (foam gasket tape rolls), and custom assemblies. Stockwell Elastomerics also applies a variety of pressure sensitive acrylic and silicone adhesive backings to all silicone rubber sheet products. More detailed technical information about applying acrylic adhesive, silicone adhesive and combination adhesive to silicone foam is available.

Visit the Silicone Sponge and Silicone Foam Sheet Material Data Sheets page for detailed technical information on these materials. See also:

Silicone Materials Selection Guide

Request a Free Silicone Foam Touch Brochure

Includes small samples of cured silicone foam materials to touch and feel.

Request Brochure

What is Silicone Foam?

Silicone foam products are manufactured from platinum cured, liquid silicone rubber. The raw compound is expanded and dispensed on a continuous casting line, then heat cured. The expansion process is controlled to create a range of products having different densities, softness/firmness and cell structures. Silicone foam materials typically have a smooth skin on one or both sides due to the casting process. Open cell silicone foams are widely used for cushioning, dust sealing or light water sealing. Closed cell silicone foam materials are used for outdoor gaskets, wash-down gaskets and resilient cushioning pads. Expanded silicone foam products have a firmness range from Ultra Soft to Extra Firm, allowing engineers to select the best product for their application.

Key Benefits of Silicone Foam

Wide operating temperature – silicone foam has a temperature range of -67°F to 392°F (-55°C to 200°C).
Water sealing – the closed cell products offer good water sealing with relatively low compressive forces.
Dust sealing – open cell and closed cell products can be used for sealing out dust with low compressive forces.
Compression set resistance – silicone foam offers excellent compression set resistance (ability to rebound to original thickness).
UV and ozone resistance – silicone products have excellent UV and ozone resistance due in part to their inorganic backbone. This provides long term performance.
UL gasketing – most silicone foam products carried by Stockwell Elastomerics are UL 94 flame rated and UL 50 and UL 50E rated for gasketing.

BISCO® Silicone Foam Products, BISCO® Silicones

Stockwell Elastomerics offers the following BISCO® silicone foam products that can be supplied in sheets, rolls, die cut or water jet cut parts, and silicone foam tape/gasket tape. All BISCO® Silicones products listed below are available with acrylic or silicone adhesive backing of choice; view Stockwell Elastomerics’ adhesive options.

Stockwell Elastomerics is a Rogers Corporation Preferred Converter and one of the leading authorized suppliers of BISCO® Silicones in the USA.

Ultra Soft BISCO® Silicone Foam: BF-2000 (1.5 psi)
Extra Soft BISCO® Silicone Foam: BF-1000 (1 – 5 psi)
Soft BISCO® Silicone Foam: HT-870 (2 – 7 psi)
Medium BISCO® Silicone Foam: HT-800 (6 – 14 psi)
Firm BISCO® Silicone Foam: HT-820 (12 – 20 psi)
Extra Firm BISCO® Silicone Foam: HT-840 (16 – 26 psi)
BISCO® Silicone Foam Gasket Tape: HT-800 gasket tape, rolls with acrylic adhesive

Saint-Gobain NORSEAL® Silicone Foam

Stockwell Elastomerics is an authorized Saint-Gobain converter and offers the following NORSEAL® silicone foam products from Saint-Gobain.

NORSEAL F-12 Silicone Foam: F-12 is a low density silicone foam provided with a textured finish on one side to replicate the appearance of silicone sponge products.
NORSEAL F-15 Silicone Foam: F-15 is a low/medium-low density silicone foam provided with a smooth finish on both sides. Similar to F-12 and F-20, it has good mechanical properties vs. comparable silicone foams. It is best for use when F-12 is too soft and F-20 is too firm.
NORSEAL F-20 Silicone Foam: F-20 is medium density closed cell silicone foam. F-20 has good mechanical properties including higher tear strength, tensile and elongation properties than comparable silicone foam products for more rugged requirements. F-20 has a smooth finish on both sides.

Why Use Silicone Foam Rubber?

Gasket Tape RollsSilicone foam rubber is very resilient (low compression set), has a wide operating temperature range -67°F (-55°C) to 392°F (200°C) and are UV / ozone resistant. Silicone remains flexible and resilient in outdoor environments and in freezing or hot conditions, making it an excellent gasket and cushion material.

Rogers BISCO® silicone foam and Saint-Gobain NORSEAL® (formerly COHRlastic®) silicone foam are available in a wide range of firmnesses and are flame rated per UL 94, most are UL 94V-0 listed. Several of the BISCO® silicone foams are UL 50, UL 50E, and UL 508 listed for gasketing applications.

Common Industry Applications

Telecommunications outdoor enclosures (environmental gasket)
Portable data acquisition (gasketing and cushioning)
Indoor lighting (dust gasket, UL 94V-0)
Outdoor LED lighting (weather gasket, long life, UL listed)
Asset tracking (environmental gasket, low compression set)
Instrumentation (vibration dampening)
Electronics (touch screen gaskets, cushioning)

Silicone Sponge or Silicone Foam? What is the Difference?

Silicone sponge is derived from a thin sheet of uncured silicone gum that is chemically blown or expanded while curing in a high temperature press or rotocure. Silicone sponge products are considered to be fully closed cell, meaning the cells are non-interconnecting, therefore they do not allow water to wick through. Silicone sponges are tougher and have better tear resistance than silicone foams. Silicone sponge often provides better water sealing in heavy wash-down applications as compared to silicone foam.

Silicone foams are lightweight products derived from liquid silicone ingredients that are cast onto a liner and cured in an oven. Low density silicone foams have open cell structure that may allow moisture to pass through the cell structure. Open cell silicone foam can be compressed to collapse the cells offering a water tight seal. In contrast, higher density silicone foam products will have a higher proportion of closed cells compared with medium or low density grades. As with all gaskets, with the proper deflection, a good long term weather seal can be achieved.

Specifications Met by Silicone Foam Materials

Silicone foam materials meet UL 94, UL 50, UL 50E, UL 508 (UL 60947), UL 1570, UL 1571, UL 1572, UL 157 requirements. Also see silicone sponge materials for other materials that meet AMS3195, AMS3196, MIL-R-46089, MIL-R-6130 Type II, ASTM D6576, and UL 94V-0 requirements. View specific products for details.

Silicon Foam or Silicone Foam?

Although silicon foam or silicon is called out frequently called out on prints, silicone foam is the widely accepted terminology used in the rubber industry.

BISCO® Silicone Foam Product Name Notes

The product names for BISCO silicone foam include a dash (-), but some users omit the dash when looking for those products. Sometimes BF1000, BF2000, HT800, HT820, HT840, and HT870 are called out instead of the actual names: BF-1000, BF-2000, HT-800, HT-820, HT-840, and HT-870.

NORSEAL® Silicone Foam Product Name Notes

The product names for NORSEAL silicone foam include a dash (-), but some users omit the dash when looking for those products. Sometimes F12, F15, and F20 are called out instead of the actual names: F-12, F-15, and F-20.

Contact Stockwell Elastomerics for Silicone Foam Products – Gaskets, Pads and Tape

Contact Us for further assistance with silicone foam materials, including BISCO® Silicones and NORSEAL® Silicone Foam for gasketing, cushioning pads and in rolls (gasket tape/silicone foam tape).