Rollers are cylindrical tools that are used to facilitate the movement of objects in all kinds of processing equipment. An extensive variety of industrial, commercial and consumer utilities involve the use of rollers. They are essential components in printers, conveyors, laminators, car washes, many kinds of food processing equipment, medical devices and a wide variety of other equipment.
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Rollers can be manufactured from an assortment of different materials. Rubber roller materials include polyurethane, neoprene, natural rubber, silicone, nitrile and other rubber varieties. Rubber is an excellent material in rolling applications because of most rubber materials' ability to retain their shapes even after repeated compression and expansion. Rubber rollers are commonly used in belted conveyors, as ink rollers and as laminating rollers. Rollers are also often used in packaging and assembly systems, and packaging conveyors often involve the use of metal rollers. Rubber rollers are often superior to metal rollers, though, and they are used in many more applications. Polyurethane, for example, is both durable and shock resistant and is therefore well-suited to use as a conveyor roller material. Many other rubber varieties also offer these qualities.
Durability and shock resistance are some of rubber rollers' most attractive qualities. Those qualities, combined with the easy formability and low cost of many rubber materials make rubber one of the most popular roller materials. Also, because there are so many rubber varieties, professionals can choose from a wide range of possible rubber materials to best suit their specific application. The rubber roller forming process is fairly simple and inexpensive. The process usually involves either compression or injection molding. However, rubber rollers can also be produced through extrusion. Rubber roller molding involves heating raw rubber material above its melting point and then forcing it into a mold cavity. In injection molding, the rubber is injected into a closed cavity, and in compression molding the rubber is forced into an open cavity and then subject to extreme pressures. Extrusion is similar to molding on some levels, but instead of creating products in discrete batches, extrusion creates products in a continuous stream. Extrusion involves heating rubber and then forcing it through an extrusion die that is designed in the shape that the finished roller will take. Both extrusion and molding are very effective and produce high-quality results.
