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To build medical-grade silicone implants, a mandrel is coated
with liquid silicone and air dried, a step that is repeated 10
to 15
times. Today, this process wastes about 75 percent of
the raw material, which drips off the mandrel before it can dry.
Our approach uses two narrow bands of light; one band stops the
material from moving and the other allows deep drying and
curing of the silicone. Today, curing is a slow process with forty
minutes or more between coatings which dry from the outside in,
trapping solvents. Our new light-based process dries
silicone rapidly from the inside out in seconds. Manufacturers save
material, time, and money—while increasing product quality.
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