Guides · how the routes actually compare
Seven guides written from the shop floor rather than from marketing. If you're weighing up routes for a new part, or trying to work out what changes as you move from prototype to volume, start here.
How this section works
Every guide on this page comes from a real conversation we have with customers, usually at enquiry stage, sometimes months into a programme. They're written to be useful, not persuasive.
If you're comparing routes for a new part, weighing whether to overmould or bond, or working out what changes as you scale from prototype to production, these are the pieces to read first.
For the shorter version — quick answers to common questions — see the FAQ hub.
Guides
Three routes, one part, one honest answer. This is the conversation we have with almost every OEM customer on the first call. Here it is written down, without the marketing overlay.
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Overmoulding, two-shot, and bonded assembly are all ways to end up with a silicone part attached to a rigid substrate. Each has a case; each has a price. This is the conversation we have with OEMs bef…
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Three material families that look and feel similar to a non-specialist, but behave very differently in production and in service. Written to save an OEM buyer an afternoon of confusion.
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Most silicone parts are designed by someone who's designed one before. If this is your first, or if the last one taught you nothing you'd want to repeat, here's what to think about while the design is…
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A moulded part isn't always a finished part. Understanding what happens between the press and the shipment helps you specify the finish you actually need, and stops you paying for finish you don't.
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For anything a customer will see, colour is one of the two things they judge (feel is the other). Getting the colour right is straightforward. Keeping it right across every batch for years takes disci…
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Your product is real. You've made prototypes, maybe pilot runs. The design is stable and the volume forecast is starting to be trustworthy. Now the question is: when do you move to production tooling,…
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Shore A is the number that appears on nearly every silicone drawing and is understood by almost nobody outside the rubber trade. Here's what it tells you, and what it doesn't.
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Rubber moves. It shrinks as it cures, flexes when you measure it and relaxes in the bag. Specifying it like machined metal leads to rejected parts and arguments. Here's a better approach.
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Medical-grade is a phrase that gets used loosely. For device makers, what matters is the right grade for the contact, a documentation trail you can rely on, and a supplier who won't change anything wi…
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Your part is selling. Demand is climbing. The tool and process that worked for early batches start to strain. Here's how to scale without disrupting supply.
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Many silicone parts start life in HCR, compression or injection moulded. As volumes grow, LSR starts to look attractive. Here's how to tell whether the switch will pay off.
Read the guideAt a glance
Which route suits your quantity
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Rough annual volume, target unit price, and any deadlines. That's enough to work out whether compression, LSR injection or something else is the right tool.
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No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Products, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
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