Silicone Rubber (Mold Max 20)

This blancmange of a material is a silicone rubber. It is extremely non-stick and reproduces the finest detail of the item onto which it is poured. The raw materials are supplied in two parts, one of which contains a platinum catalyst that causes the liquid polymer to cure into a solid object. Because silicone rubber flows easily and can be moulded, pressed or extruded using relatively low amounts of energy, it is a useful material for making prototypes out of, without the need for specialist equipment. It is generally non-reactive, stable, and resistant to extreme environments and temperatures (from about −55 °C to +300 °C). Because they are relatively easy to use and very impressionable, this Mold Max series of silicones was used to take exact casts of an extremely delicate 10,000 year-old triple burial of a family found at an archaeological site in Niger.