Saturday, May 17, 2014

Rubber Extrusion Companies Are Vital To Industry

By Minnie Whitley


It may be surprising to some people to learn that naturally produced and grown rubber is still a key element in modern manufacturing. Even though this is an age of laboratory synthetics and plastic parts, the substance is still needed to produce a long list of commonly used products. The manufacturing methods and technologies have changed over time, but rubber extrusion companies are still making custom-engineered components.

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.

Once the special properties inherent in this substance became well known, it quickly grew indispensable, especially to the newborn auto industry. The need for reliable tires and other parts spurred the development of the vulcanization process, which eliminates some less desirable characteristics. Even after the introduction of durable and cheap synthetics during World War II, there was still a huge demand.

Today, synthetic and natural varieties alike are necessary for a smoothly functioning consumer society. In addition to vehicle manufacturing, both types are important in the apparel industry, electronics, and health-care products. In many cases, the raw material is carefully fed into custom designed forms that have been precision-made for a specific role. Rubber extrusion is at the heart of this process.

This process differs somewhat from creating a product via a mold. A filled mold is specifically designed to reproduce one shape only, unlike an extruding machine, which can produce continuous lengths of a specific shape by forcing pressurized raw material through a specially cut die. The metal die itself is a flat, circular plate with a specially shaped opening cut in the middle.

The devices are based on the same principle as an old-fashioned cake decorating paper cone. When a baker squeezes the large end of a cone, the icing is forced out the small end, and precisely mimics the nozzle opening. In a factory, non-vulcanized, semi-soft latex or synthetic material goes into the large side of an extruder, and it is forced out under pressure, while retaining the die opening shape.

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.

This manufacturing method is tailor-made for the auto industry. Most commonly needed are U-shaped channels and other strips, but extruded latex parts are also used as decorative trim inside and out, to eliminate road vibrations, to quiet external noise, and to keep water out. This process has made mass production of tricky parts simple, producing solid, consistent components for the devices people use daily.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Tags

Android (25) Apple (15) BMW (2) BlackBerry (5) CES (21) CES 2014 (40) Cars (3) Ericsson (2) Full HD (18) Galaxy (8) Google (7) HTC (4) Kindle Fire (2) LED (5) LG (11) Lenovo (5) Lumia (4) MWC 2012 Reviews (7) Mercedes (5) Microsoft (8) Microsoft Windows 8 (6) Mobile (6) Motorola (3) Nissan (1) Nokia (9) PC (14) PS3 (5) PSP (1) PlayStation 3 (1) Reviews (14) Samsung (28) Samsung Galaxy SIII (1) Screen (30) Smartphones (13) TVs (8) Wii U (10) Xbox 720 (1) acer (5) car (6) console (7) consoles (8) display (12) displays (3) download (4) games (14) iPad (5) iPhone (12) laptops (3) notebooks (1) phones (5) price (37) prices (5) review (15) science (1) smartphone (33) sony (11) technology (26) update (6)