Custom Foldable Liquid Silicone Sports Water Bottle | US 2021 Project
|
Product |
Corrugated Folding Silicone Water Cup |
|---|---|
|
Order Quantity |
Initial Order: 15,000 pcs |
|
Material |
Food-Grade Liquid Silicone + PP Bottle Cap |
|
Key Specs |
Hardness: Shore A35-40 Temperature Resistance: -40°C to 100°C |
|
Certification |
FDA, LFGB, BPA-Free |
|
Lead Time |
DFM Evaluation: 24 hrs |
Project details
A US outdoor sports equipment brand needed a lightweight, collapsible silicone water bottle that could be folded and compressed to reduce its packed volume for fitness, travel, and daily commuting.
The client’s original 3D design used right-angle transitions at several internal corners. During folding, these areas restricted deformation and created localized stress concentrations, resulting in poor folding performance. The original lid design also failed to retain the sealing ring securely, and leakage occurred when the filled bottle was shaken.
Z.S.R Group revised three areas of the bottle: the internal corner geometry, the wall-thickness distribution of the bottle body, and the sealing-ring retention structure inside the lid. Sharp internal transitions were replaced with rounded corners, the bottle body was redesigned with different wall thicknesses at the sidewalls and crease roots, and the lid groove was modified to hold the sealing ring in position.
Delivery data
Engineering DFM Assessment
Internal Corner Geometry
The original right-angle transitions were replaced with rounded geometry. Key internal corners were specified with a consistent radius of ≥1.0 mm.
Sharp internal corners create localized stress concentrations when the bottle is repeatedly folded and compressed. Over multiple folding cycles, these areas are more susceptible to cracking.
The geometry also affects silicone flow during molding. Sharp internal corners in the finished part correspond to more abrupt features in the tooling, which can restrict material flow into localized sections of the cavity. This increases the risk of incomplete filling, poorly formed contours, and surface defects. Using a ≥1.0 mm corner radius provides a smoother transition for both repeated product deformation and material flow during molding.
Gradient Wall-Thickness Design
The bottle sidewalls were specified at 1.1 mm, while the crease roots were locally increased to 1.8 mm.
A uniform wall thickness does not provide the same mechanical response across sections that perform different functions during folding. The sidewalls need sufficient flexibility to deform without excessive folding resistance, while the crease roots experience higher localized stress during repeated compression and recovery.
Maintaining the sidewalls at 1.1 mm preserves flexibility through the main bottle body. Increasing the crease-root thickness to 1.8 mm provides additional material at the higher-stress folding zones and reduces the likelihood of premature cracking at the fold roots.
Sealing-Ring Retention
The original lid used a simple straight groove for the internal silicone sealing ring. Under movement and repeated use, the ring could shift away from its intended sealing position, increasing the risk of leakage when the filled bottle was shaken.
Z.S.R Group modified the groove into a limiting structure designed to retain the sealing ring in its specified position. The revised geometry restricts lateral displacement of the ring during lid installation and use, providing a more consistent sealing interface between the lid and bottle.
Mold Making, Sample Production & Quality Verification
Mold Processing
Z.S.R Group operates 6 advanced CNC machining centers and 4 EDM machining centers for the production of liquid silicone bottle molds.
Tooling for the collapsible bottle was manufactured around the revised ≥1.0 mm internal corner radius, 1.1 mm sidewall thickness, 1.8 mm crease-root thickness, and optimized lid sealing-ring groove.
Silicone Molding
Production capacity includes 48 solid-state thermoforming machines and 12 liquid silicone molding machines, with capacity to mold 5,000 silicone collapsible water bottles within 20 days.
Process control is particularly important around the thin sidewalls, locally thickened crease roots, and transition areas, where inconsistent filling can affect dimensional accuracy and subsequent folding performance.
Secondary Vulcanization
After molding, the silicone components undergo secondary vulcanization at 180°C for 2 hours.
The parts are then thoroughly cooled in a ventilated environment. This post-curing process is used to reduce residual volatile substances in the silicone and minimize residual odor before subsequent inspection and assembly.
Quality Inspection
|
Test |
Condition |
Acceptance Criteria |
Result |
|
100% Appearance Inspection |
Inspect the surface for defects, deformation, damage, and burrs |
No defects, deformation, damage, or burrs |
Pass |
|
Folding Durability Test |
Repeated folding and compression ≥ 5,000 cycles |
No cracking or deformation |
Pass |
|
High- and Low-Temperature Test |
Alternate between high- and low-temperature environments at -40°C and 220°C |
No damage, aging, or deformation |
Pass |
|
Leakage Test |
Fill with 95°C hot water and invert for 2 hours |
No leakage |
Pass |
Related Silicone Water Bottle Product
Customer reviews & feedback
The client highly praised the professionalism of our project, believing that the engineers provided many helpful suggestions during the project’s development, design, and launch, enabling the water bottle project to be successfully brought to market.
“We received them around Monday the 12th. The bottles are perfect. Thank you very much. “
Custom Silicone Bottle
OEM & ODM silicone bottle manufacturing for global brands, wholesalers and product developers. We customize bottle capacity, structure, cap systems, colors, logos and retail packaging with food-grade and application-specific silicone materials.
