About Rubber Extrusions and Rubber Extrusions Manufacturers,
Including: Extruded Rubber, Rubber Bumpers, Rubber Bushings, Rubber Connectors, Rubber Extruders, Rubber Grommets, Rubber Profiles, Rubber Seals, Rubber Sheeting, Rubber Trim, Silicone Extrusions & Weatherstripping.
Rubber extrusion manufacturers use natural and synthetic rubber materials to fabricate a range of sealing and gasketing products. Rubber is an elastomer which is commonly used in virtually every industrial application, and its resilience makes it a particularly effective choice for applications involving shock absorption, sealing and fluid transportation. Although different rubber processing methods exist, rubber extrusions remain a popular choice for many manufacturers because extruded rubber has unique qualities of strength, uniformity and precision linear design that cannot be created by molding. A great variety of shapes can be created by rubber extruders for any industrial need, including hollow weatherstripping designs that greatly reduce material cost and create flexible, lightweight products. Extruded rubber shapes are used as rubber bumpers, rubber bushings and rubber rods; rubber sheeting is also extruded for a wide range of rubber seals, cushioning and sound absorption applications in automotive parts, electronic assemblies and packaging. Other rubber extruded products include grommets, trim and pipe connectors.
Extruded rubber profiles are used in a wide variety of industries, including the aerospace, automotive, lighting, appliance, electronics, construction and medical industries as well as most home and office construction. Rubber bumpers and extruded gaskets, also known as "weatherstripping", are used to seal windows, sliding doors, hinged doors and car interiors. Rubber rods, rollers and rubber sheets absorb impact and/or sound in many conveying, packaging and soundproofing applications. Weatherstripping and extruded gaskets are often extruded into hollow shapes in order to cut down on material use and to provide extra gasket resilience and air temperature insulation for temperature sensitive applications such as refrigerator doors. Solid rubber cords and silicone cords are used in high-impact sealing and shock absorption applications as well as for decorative jewelry.
During the rubber extrusions process, rubber material is processed through a screw extruding machine very similar to those used in extruding plastic. Rubber extruders consist of a heated shearing screw conveyor or twin screw conveyor and a die through which the plasticized and pressurized rubber is squeezed. Pre-heating of the material is optional, depending on the precision of the die and the desired qualities of strength. Stock rubber material enters the screw conveyor channel, often by way of an attached hopper. It is softened through heating and shearing, and the stock material is then pressurized through the rotation of a screw. The pressure pushes the rubber through the die, which is located at the end of the extruder. The rubber then emerges from the extruder in a profile resembling the die shape. Die design possibilities remain nearly limitless, and rubber profiles may be extruded to small, complex hollow P-strips, sealing strips, U-channels and door seals, or they may be extruded into simple solid rubber cords. After being extruded, the material is cured and sometimes vulcanized using various methods that include salt bath, autoclave, convection, hot air, microwave and mandrel.
Rubber is available in many material varieties, each of which has its own set of useful properties; natural rubber, also called "gum rubber", has excellent abrasion and acid resistance, while synthetic rubbers such as silicone and viton have excellent heat resistance, chemical resistance and weathering. Neoprene has characteristics of flame retardation, nitrile is resistant to oils and butyl has low air permeability and therefore is excellent in sealing applications. Such properties as tensile strength, hardness, aging, flexibility, permeability and speed of recovery from deflection will vary in different materials and should be weighed. Rubber extrusions' biggest competitor is plastic for some sealing and gasketing applications, but although rubber extrusions are usually slightly more expensive than plastic extrusions, rubber's qualities of resilience, flexibility and impermeability make rubber extrusions the obvious choice for most sealing applications.
Rubber Extrusion Types
- is a variation of the basic extrusion
process, where two separate extruders connect to a single die and
two or more separate
batches of rubber material are mixed by separate screws, and then fed
into the die at the same time. This allows for the convergence of rubber
materials that contain different properties like color and consistency.
- involves performing the
extrusion process without pre-heating. This is best suited to produce
profiles, hoses, cable
and sheaths.
- is rubber that has been melted and forced into a die.
- involves pre-heating the
rubber material before performing the extrusion process.
- have a special design
with many pins protruding from the cylinder wall toward the screw's
center that enhance
the mixing and dispersing of the rubber as it is kneaded between the
screws and
the cylinder. This method can be applied to many rubber compound
formulations for diverse applications.
- absorb vibration and shock.
- are placed between moving parts to absorb vibration.
- are rubber rings inserted into a hole in sheet metal to protect cords or electrical wires from the abrasion.
- is used for a variety of purposes including mats, lining, floor coverings, and stair treads.
- have screws of an original
and unique design. This type is easy to maintain and occupies very
little floor space.
- is used to insulate a building to make heating and cooling more efficient.
Rubber Extrusion Terms
- A substance that quickens the pace
of vulcanization and lowers the operating temperature required during
the process.
- Term for the bond
between a rubber surface and a non-rubber surface.
- Vulcanizing
a rubber product in the air instead of in a press or steam vulcanizer.
- Crevices that form on rubber surfaces due
to exposure to environmental conditions, such as temperature extremes
and precipitation.
- The
amount of force the atmosphere exerts upon the earth's surface,
measuring 14.7 psi at sea level.
- The development of a powdery residue on a rubber surface
as a result of surface breakdown.
- Small cracks on the surface of rubber, usually from
environmental damage.
- A measurement of a rubber material's return
to its initial shape after deformation.
- Deformation on a rubber surface due to the application
of stress.
- The incidence of swelling that occurs after the extruded
profile comes out of the die. The rubber product's properties determine
the amount of swelling that will occur.
- A change in a rubber material's hardness over time.
- An apparatus used for measuring the hardness of rubber.
- Applying powder to rubber to prevent adhesion to something
else.
- A characteristic of rubber, describing its tendency
to return to its initial shape after warping.
- A material capable of returning to its initial length
after being stretched at room temperature to twice its original length.
- An increase in length after the application of stress.
This occurs during stretching.
- A laboratory test that measures a rubber material's
resistance to bending deformation.
- The resistance to
motion when different surfaces are in contact.
- Energy loss in the form of heat that results from
the deformation of elastomeric material, caused by the application of
stress.
- The softening of raw rubber by mechanical and atmospheric
forces.
- The extent of a rubber material's ability to resume
its original shape after deformation.
- The amount of stress required to create a certain amount
of elongation.
- The point during vulcanization at which rubber material
attains the intended properties.
- The degree to which rubber will retain deformation.
- Pounds per square inch. This measurement indicates pressure
level.
- The comparison of the amount of energy needed to create
an elastic deformation, and the amount of energy needed to recover from
such a deformation.
- The maximum amount of stress that may be applied
to rubber before breaking occurs.
- The process of increasing the strength and elasticity
of rubber materials through the application of heat and pressure.