Silicone Material
Silicone / Urethane Material
Soft, flexible, rubber-like, and production-friendly materials for low-volume molded parts, product samples, gaskets, grips, bumpers, covers, wearable components, and custom prototypes.
What Are Silicone & Urethane Materials?
Silicone and urethane materials are commonly used for low-volume molding and prototype production. They can provide flexible, soft-touch, rubber-like, or plastic-like properties depending on the selected formulation.
These materials are often used when a customer needs a more finished, molded feel than a direct 3D print, especially for soft parts, product samples, flexible parts, and short production runs.
Rubber-Like Feel
Great for parts that need flexibility, softness, grip, cushioning, or elastic behavior.
Repeatable Copies
Useful for making multiple parts from one approved master model or prototype.
Low-Volume Production
A practical option before investing in hard tooling or injection molding.
Molded Appearance
Produces a more product-like feel compared with many raw 3D printed parts.
Best Applications
- Flexible product prototypes
- Soft-touch product samples
- Gaskets, seals, and covers
- Bumpers and protective parts
- Grips, handles, and wearable components
- Medical-style mockups and demonstration models
- Low-volume molded production parts
- Urethane casting samples
- Clear or translucent prototype parts
- Parts that need a finished molded feel
Pros & Limitations
Pros
- Soft and flexible material options
- Good molded product feel
- Useful for repeatable low-volume parts
- Better for rubber-like parts than rigid plastics
- Can support clear or translucent options
- Good for product samples and testing
Limitations
- Requires mold setup
- Higher upfront cost than single 3D prints
- Not ideal for frequent design changes
- Lead time is usually longer than direct 3D printing
- Material choice depends on project requirements
- Very high-volume production may require hard tooling
Common Silicone & Urethane Options
Different formulations can provide different levels of softness, flexibility, clarity, hardness, durability, and production appearance.
Soft Silicone
Flexible and rubber-like option for soft-touch parts, grips, covers, bumpers, and cushioning components.
Best For: Soft parts · Covers · Bumpers · GripsClear Silicone
Translucent or clear silicone option for visual samples, lighting concepts, or soft transparent parts.
Best For: Clear prototypes · Visual samples · Soft translucent partsUrethane Casting
A low-volume casting option that can simulate plastic-like production parts before injection molding.
Best For: Product samples · Low-volume parts · Plastic-like prototypesHow Does Silicone Compare?
Silicone and urethane materials are usually selected when the project needs a molded feel, flexible properties, or repeatable low-volume parts.
Flexible 3D Printing
Choose TPU for flexible prototypes and custom parts without creating a mold.
Soft & Production-Like
Choose silicone for soft, rubber-like parts with a more traditional molded feel.
Low-Volume Casting
Choose urethane casting for product samples and small batches before tooling.
Compatible Production Process
A mold is created from a master model and used to produce repeatable soft or flexible parts.
Urethane casting is used for low-volume plastic-like parts and presentation-quality samples.
A 3D printed or finished master model can be used to create the mold for casting.
When Should You Choose Silicone / Urethane?
Choose silicone or urethane when the project requires repeatable parts, soft-touch properties, molded appearance, or short-run production.
Soft Parts
Create flexible, soft, rubber-like parts for grips, bumpers, covers, and seals.
Product Samples
Produce realistic samples for testing, demos, presentations, or investor review.
Repeatable Copies
Make multiple copies from an approved master part or prototype.
Low-Volume Runs
Bridge the gap between prototype and injection molding production.
TPU or Silicone?
Choose TPU 3D printing when you need a flexible prototype quickly without mold setup.
Choose Silicone Molding when you need a softer molded feel, better repeatability, or multiple flexible parts.
Need Soft or Low-Volume Molded Parts?
Send us your file, sample part, or project requirements. Our team can help determine whether silicone molding, urethane casting, TPU printing, or another process is the best fit.
Request a Quote →