Home-Lynxter Introduces World’s First FDA-Certified 3D Printable Food-Grade Silicone
French elastomer specialistLynxterhas launched SIL-004, a platinum-cured liquid silicone engineered specifically for direct-contact use in food and beverage environments. The company positions SIL-004 as the world’s first 3D printable silicone to carry FDA CFR 21 177-2600 certification, a standard governing rubber articles intended for repeated food contact.
Free of BPA and PFAS, SIL-004 addresses a regulatory gap that has long limited additive manufacturing’s entry into food processing operations, opening on-demand production of seals, scrapers, molds, and conveyor components to a material the industry already trusts.
Built for the Demands of Industrial Food Environments
SIL-004 was not designed for light-duty or decorative use. Its thermal range spans -50 °C to 250 °C, covering everything from freezer storage to oven-level heat, while a tensile strength of 6.12 MPa and 203% elongation at break give it the mechanical resilience to withstand repeated stress and cleaning cycles without degrading. Its 50 Shore A hardness provides a balance between structure and flexibility, firm enough to hold form under pressure, elastic enough to conform to complex geometries.
The material’s blue pigmentation is a deliberate safety choice: the coloring aids visual identification in food production environments, making contamination detection easier in regulated facilities. It is supplied ready to use in 55 g syringes for prototyping and smaller runs, or in 850 g cartridges for higher-volume production, mixed at a 1:5 ratio.
From Custom Molds to Conveyor Line Maintenance
The application scope for SIL-004 spans multiple points along the food production chain. Custom molds for artisan pastries and confectionery are a natural fit, as are gaskets and seals for dairy, beverage, and food handling equipment, components that face aggressive cleaning agents and temperature swings on a daily basis. Sanitary design validation, prototype tubing, and bespoke scrapers for processing lines round out its intended uses.
“Requests for food-grade silicone parts have surged with the widespread adoption of the S300X – LIQ21 | LIQ11, so we decided to tackle the challenge head-on,” stated Thomas Batigne, Chief Executive Officer of Lynxter. “Our materials and process engineering team achieved this breakthrough — a world first. “
The table below details the key technical and physical properties to consider when integrating this material into your production workflow.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
