Sunday, 18 May 2014

Rubber Extrusion Companies Are Vital To Industry

By Minnie Whitley


Because so many modern products are made from plastics and other synthetic materials, it may come as a surprise to know that traditional, naturally grown and produced rubber still plays a vital part in manufacturing. Although industrial usage has changed over time, this raw material is still needed for a variety of everyday applications. Rubber extrusion companies today turn out a huge number of custom-designed parts.

The Hevea Brasiliensis trees producing the natural elastomers that make balls bounce are native to the New World. The industrial explosion that reshaped economics during the 19th century created a huge demand for the sap of this tree, sparking a Brazilian boom. Traditional growing and farming practices soon made large-scale harvesting impractical in the South American jungle, however, and most plantations today grow in southeast Asia.

Demand was driven by the fledgling automobile industry, and the product became irreplaceable. Undesirable characteristics related to performance and durability sparked the development of vulcanization, making mass production of tires more practical. The enormous challenges of World War II forced chemists to develop synthetic forms, in addition to existing natural varieties.

In the modern world, both types of elastins are essential to a smoothly running consumer economy, benefiting the auto industry as well as other kinds of manufacturing, including health-care products, electronics, and even the clothing business. Much of this production is accomplished by using machines made specifically to create a variety of components through the process of rubber extrusion.

Extruding the raw material differs from using a simple mold. Molds are designed, filled, and always retain their original shape. An extruding machine is capable of creating continuous lengths of a specifically engineered product by forcing raw material through a custom-made form called an extrusion die. The die is basically a flat piece of metal with a formed hole in the middle.

Extrusion is comparable to the way traditional bakers apply decorative frosting details to cakes. The decorating funnel allows icing to be squeezed through the small opening in the pointed end, and the frosting mimics the unique shape of the nozzle. Similarly, non-vulcanized, soft latex material enters one end of an extruder, where it is mechanically forced toward the small die opening, exiting under pressure.

As it leaves the die under pressure, it tends to expand and harden. When the die openings are first created, this expansion is taken into account, and the result is a perfectly formed part of one continuous length, to be cut later to size. This process is perfect for making everyday products such as weather stripping, and the dies can be changed to reflect whatever shape is needed.

That includes common U-shaped channels and other forms used heavily in the auto manufacturing industry. Extruded latex not only seals out moisture, but is used to dampen external noise, to help eliminate road vibration, and as decorative trim. Extrusion makes it possible for manufacturing companies to mass produce a consistent, identical products that people will benefit from nearly every day.




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