What criteria should people consider in selecting the hardness of a silicone compound?

Question: What criteria should people consider in selecting the hardness of a silicone compound?

Answer: Criteria for hardness may be best answered by considering what it means. Durometer is a measure of the resistance to indentation by a probe tip. Most silicones fall into shore A range although there are exceptions. Lower durometers feel softer like pressing a rubber band versus harder like an eraser. Neither of which are silicone but make the point.

The durometer does not necessarily indicate a materials elongation, modulus, tear strength, chemical resistance, or opacity but in the same product lines higher durometer does often but not always come with greater strength and modulus but lower elongation and viscosity. From one supplier to another and from one product line to another doesn’t always apply.

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