Frequently asked
What should I look for when choosing a silicone extrusion supplier?
Ask four questions: do they extrude their own rubber, can they cut their own tools, will they send a sample before you commit, and can they document consistency across batches.
1. Extrusion in-house, not brokered
A trading company can source the same specification, but it cannot change it quickly. When the extruder is also the manufacturer, a dimension correction is a die adjustment in the same building rather than a message to another factory.
2. Tooling capability
Ask how a die is made and how long first-article approval takes. If the supplier does not cut its own dies, the lead time you were quoted includes someone else's queue.
3. Sampling before commitment
A supplier comfortable with its tolerances will send material. One that resists sampling is usually hiding the fact that every batch is dimensionally different.
4. Batch-to-batch consistency
Consistency is not a claim, it is a record. Ask for dimensional checks and hardness measurements taken per batch, and ask what happens when a check fails. The answer tells you more than any certificate.
5. Documentation
Material declarations, compliance statements and test reports should be available for the grade you are buying, not the grade their best customer buys. Ask which grades they can document today.
Related questions
Need your profile made?
Send the drawing, cross-section, material grade, hardness and target quantity. We will quote against it and tell you whether a stock profile fits or the part has to be extruded.