Rubbers are amorphous in nature hence has excellent elastic properties. And because of elastic properties and resistance to wide range of temperatures, rubber products has found many industrial and consumer applications.

We as rubber manufacturers and rubber suppliers have diverse range of materials – as varied as “metals or plastics.

There is lot of research and development has happened to have best of the rubber products and some of the properties are briefed below with instances of actual applications.

Most of the engineers and designers choose rubber (elastomers) because of its Wide Range of Properties

The properties optimised by right type of compounding. Every group of rubber has its own inherent properties and we can design to best of its application and have best of the rubber products

The development of synthetic rubbers stemmed from the need to create materials with greater resistance to fuels and oils. Aggressive chemicals, hydraulic oils, food substances and refrigerants all have to be carefully formulated and tested to ensure safe and predictable service lives.

Typical Applications

Rubber is used for seals and gaskets in almost any chemical environment and for mechanical components in machinery of all kinds. It is also suitable for parts which must be reasonably resistant to normal contaminants, such a printed circuit board components which will be solvent cleaned.

Apart from Silicone, rubbers are essentially hydrocarbon materials and perform within a limited range of temperatures. Where working temperatures are quoted, these represent the range within which the rubber’s properties are maintained more or less indefinitely. Temperatures lower than the minimum will always stiffen the material (although it will relax as the temperature rises) and extremely low temperatures may turn it brittle. Temperatures higher than the maximum will degrade the rubber, ultimately destroying it.

Typical Applications

Where service temperatures are known, the best types of material can be selected to provide adequate life under those conditions. Temperature guidelines are provided in the DataChart, covering the range from – 80°C to + 300°C.

In vehicles, under-bonnet components are required to perform reliably in a high temperature environment while being exposed to hot oil, brake fluid and other chemicals. In other countries, the same components must function even when subjected to high wind chill factors – in Scandinavia for example sometimes reaching – 50°C.

The property of hardness is easily recognised, but in design it must be specified to achieve a given objective.
Solid rubbers range from 20° to 98° Shore A, where 20° is extremely soft like foam and 98° is as hard as bakelite or nylon. As a reference, the ball of the human thumb is 25°, a Staedtler white rubber eraser 55° and a bath plug 95° Shore A.

Typical Applications

Designers use rubber in its whole range of hardnesses and each application has to be individually considered. Once a mould has been produced, it is relatively easy to make the same part in other colours and hardnesses to suit different functions.

Whatever the hardness required, it may still be necessary for a rubber component to deform in order to seal against an uneven surface or to resist abrasion.

The ability to expand greatly and to return quickly is what distinguishes a rubber from a plastic. This property not only makes possible the catapult but also allows designers to use rubbers to supply constant forces, either in tension or compression.

Typical Applications

High quality rubber compounds will remain elastic for their full design lives, virtually irrespective of the movement cycles they undergo. However, all rubbers will relax to some extent under constant deformation and this should be specified if significant.

Where rubber is to be used continuously in tension, consideration should be given to the effects of failure and trials carried out as required.

Rubbers can have a wide variety of electrical properties (including piezo electric and magnetic) and by suitable compounding can be made highly conductive or totally insulating

Typical Applications

Conductive rubber is used in electronic equipment for switching, touchpads and continuity as well as static dissipation. Insulating rubbers are used extensively in electrical termination and switchgear components, grommets and weather seals.

Resilience is the property of absorbing energy by deformation and returning a proportion of it on rebound. Depending upon the rubber type and compound, some of the energy will be converted into heat within the material. A high resilience material returns almost all the energy – for example a superball – while a low resilience material has a low rebound, “dead” feel, such as a squash ball or high performance tyre.

Typical Applications

Rubbers have always been used for energy control purposes. These range from the simple – buffers, elastic bands and sports equipment – to the complex, such as car suspension systems or keyswitches, where rubber provides that delicate, precise “feel”.

Rubber is also valued for its vibration control. It is extensively used in flexible couplings where rubber “spiders” allow misalignment, reduce jamming and have the resilience to damp out vibration.