Rubber Extrusion Companies Play An Important Economic Role

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.

Originating in the New World, Hevea Brasiliensis trees are the source of the elastic sap that has proven so valuable. When the industrial age ballooned during the 19th century, a huge demand was created, sparking a Brazilian gold rush for latex. Biological and political realities soon made large-scale jungle farming in the New World impractical, and most modern plantations are now found in southeastern Asia.

Driven primarily by the need for automobile tires and other car parts, the substance quickly became indispensable. Vulcanization eliminated some of the undesirable characteristics of natural latex, making everyday use more practical. Even with the introduction and development of petroleum-based synthetics during World War II, there was still a huge demand for this gooey liquid.

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.

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.

These machines can be compared to the old-fashioned paper cones bakers use to ice cakes. When icing is squeezed through the small end, the cone creates a continuous formed length that mimics the shape of the opening. In manufacturing, semi-soft non-vulcanized latex is fed into one end of an extruder, where it is pushed forward toward the die. It reaches the opening under pressure, and exits in the specified 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.




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