Best Rubber Compound

Often, design engineers do not realize how critical the initial compound is to the entire design process. Change a little on the accelerators or age resistors, and your finished compound meets or misses the industry standards to which your part must fully comply.

Choosing the right compound

Choosing the right compound can be a daunting task. However, the best guide is to pre-determine to what conditions the end product will be exposed. Some of those include:

• UV
• Aromatics
• Hydrocarbon solvents
• Oils, gasoline, solvents, alkalis and acids
• Weathering - extreme cold, heat or natural aging
• Keytones, esters, ethers, amines and aqueous bases (i.e., ammonia and sodium hydroxide)

See our seven most versatile polymers section to determine your specific needs. Or, if you want to speak directly with an engineer who can help with your project, click here to contact us.

In their original state, most rubber polymers have limited commercial value. Therefore, a compound "recipe" must be developed to enhance or add to a polymer's inherent physical and chemical characteristics, and to ensure efficient molding or extruding. In creating the proper recipe, a compounder needs to be aware of a number of chemical or technological factors:

• Technical specifications that need to be met from the customer’s perspective
• Individual polymer properties
• Additives that can alter price, processing and vulcanization
• Vulcanizing/curing systems
• Anti-degradants
• Mixing procedures
• Testing/quality assurance methods