PTT 366

POLYMER PROCESSING
TECHNOLOGY
RUBBER PROCESSING:
CALENDERING, EXTRUSION AND MOLDING

ZAFIFAH ZAMRUD, PhD

CREDITS TO MS NOR MUNIRAH ROHAIZAD
 Rubber Processing and Shaping
• Production of rubber goods consists of two basic
steps:
1. Production of the rubber itself
 Natural rubber is an agricultural crop
 Synthetic rubbers are made from petroleum
2. Processing into finished goods, consisting of:
(a) Compounding
(b) Mixing
(c) Shaping
(d) Vulcanizing

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Shaping and Related Processes

• Shaping processes for rubber products can be

divided into four basic categories:
1. Extrusion
2. Calendering
3. Coating
4. Molding and casting
• Some products require several basic processes plus
assembly work
 Example: tires

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 CALENDERING
• The rubber is passed through a three to five rolls
calendar either to produce a sheet controlled thickness
or to force the rubber into close contact with a textile
or metal cord.
• A calendar is a very high precision mill with two to four
rolls stacked on top of one another in various
configurations.
• The rolls are hollow or drilled on their periphery and
equipped for heating or cooling.
 CALENDERING
• The stock is passed through a series of gaps of decreasing size made
by a stand of rotating rolls. Rubber sheet thickness determined by
final roll gap.
 CALENDERING
• Calendering processes rubber by forcing the
material softened by heat into the center of
two to five counter-rotating rollers.
• The rollers compact the sheet as it passes
through them.
• The roll temperature must be properly
maintained to prevent forming of bubbles
and cold spots (crows feet) on the surface of
the calendered sheets
• After that the sheet passes over cooling
rollers and is often spooled as a finished
product.
SHEETING
• The 3 roll calenders are widely used. The material either in strip or
“pig” form is fed to the nip of the upper pair of rolls (feed bank).
• The rubber becomes sheeted out and the sheet thickness is controlled
by adjusting the nip between the rolls.
• The thickness is small otherwise is a tendency for air to be trapped in
the rubber and blisters form.
• Sheet are plied up on the bottom roller if thick sheet are required.
• For storage, the sheets are wound onto cloth or plastic liner.
SHEETING
• The force required in the nip to flatten the feed material causes
deflection of the rolls, so 3 corrective steps are taken to correct
excessive variations and ensure uniform roll thickness:
• Rolls are made thicker at the centre
• Rolls are mounted so that they are slightly skewed (“roll crossing”)
• Rolls are made slightly bent (roll bending)

• The speed of each roll may be controlled separately. For sheeting, the
speed of the middle an bottom rolls is 1.5 times that of the top roll.
The bottom roll is cooled while the two top rolls are heated.
 COATING OR IMPREGNATING FABRICS WITH RUBBER
• Coating:
• In the 1st nip, the sheet is formed
and in the 2nd nip it is pressed in
contact with the fabric.
• A 4-roll calendar can coat on both
sides by forming a sheet in the 3rd
nip which is then combined with the
fabric in the centre nip.
APPLICATIONS
 EXTRUSION
• Material is melted and forced under pressure through an orifice (die)
that shapes the extrudate to a desired cross section.

• Rubber extruders consists of a heated shearing screw conveyor or twin

screw and a die through which the plasticized and pressurized rubber
is squeezed.
 EXTRUSION
• Stock rubber materials enter the screw conveyor channel, often by way of an
attached hopper.
• It is softened through heating and shearing and the stock material is then
pressurized through the rotation of screw. Heaters around the barrels heat the
stock and liquefy them.
• The pressure pushes the rubber through the die, which is located at the end of
the extruder.
• The rubber then emerges from the extruder in a profile resembling the die
shape.
• After being extruded, the material is cured using various methods.
APPLICATIONS
 MOLDING
• Molding is the operation of shaping and vulcanizing rubber compound,
by means heat and pressure, in a mold of appropriate form.

• All processes of molding are similar, the ways of introducing the material
into the mold distinguishing one technique from another.

• Principal molding processes for rubber are:

• Compression molding,
• Transfer molding,
• Injection molding
 COMPRESSION MOLDING
• RUBBER COMPRESSION MOLDING STEPS:
1.) Uncured rubber is preformed to control weight, shape
and specification
2.) Rubber preform is placed into the mold cavity
3.) As the mold is closed, the rubber is compressed to fill
the mold's cavities
4.) Mold remains closed under pressure and temperature
to reach optimal cure
5.) Compressed rubber parts are removed from the mold
and the process is ready to begin again
 TRANSFER MOLDING
• RUBBER TRANSFER MOLDING STEPS:
1.) Uncured rubber is preformed to control weight, shape
and specification
2.) Rubber preform is placed into transfer pot
3.) Ram distributes (transfers) the rubber through the runner
and gate system into the cavities
4.) Mold remains closed under pressure and temperature to
reach optimal cure
5.) Parts are removed from the mold and the process is
ready to begin again
 INJECTION MOLDING
• RUBBER INJECTION MOLDING STEPS:

1.) Material in injection unit ready for injection into cavity.

2.) Material is injected from injection unit through runner
system & gates into cavities.
3.) Parts (material) are cured in mold until the cure
process is completed.
4.) Molded rubber parts are removed from mold and the
process is ready to begin again.
l.)
APPLICATIONS
HOW TIRES ARE MADE
 Tires and Other Rubber Products
• Tires are the principal product of the rubber industry
Tires are about 75% of total rubber tonnage
• Other important products:
Footwear
Seals
Shock-absorbing parts
Conveyor belts
Hose
Foamed rubber products
Sports equipment

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Tires
• Pneumatic tires are critical components of the
vehicles on which they are used
• Functions of vehicle tires:
Support the weight of the vehicle, passengers,
and cargo
Transmit the motor torque to propel the vehicle
Absorb road vibrations and shock to provide a
comfortable ride
• Tires are used on automobiles, trucks, buses, farm
tractors, earth moving equipment, military vehicles,
bicycles, motorcycles, and aircraft

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Tire Construction
• A tire is an assembly of many parts - a passenger car
tire has about 50 individual components; a large
earthmover tire may have as many as 175
The internal structure of the tire, known as the
carcass, consists of multiple layers of rubber
coated cords, called plies
The cords are strands of nylon, polyester, fiber
glass, or steel, which provide inextensibility to
reinforce the rubber in the carcass
• Three basic tire constructions: (a) diagonal ply, (b)
belted bias, and (c) radial ply
©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
Figure 14.5 Three tire constructions: (a) diagonal ply, (b) belted bias,
and (c) radial ply.
©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Tire Production Sequence

• Tire production can be summarized in three steps:

1. Preforming of components
2. Building the carcass and adding rubber strips to
form the sidewalls and treads
3. Molding and curing the components into one
integral piece
• The following descriptions of these steps are typical;
there are variations in processing depending on
construction, tire size, and type of vehicle on which
the tire will be used

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Preforming of Components

• The carcass consists of a number of components,

most of which are rubber or reinforced rubber
• These, as well as the sidewall and tread rubber, are
produced by continuous processes and then pre-cut
to size and shape for subsequent assembly
• The components include: bead coil, plies, inner lining,
belts, tread, and sidewall

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Building the Carcass
• The carcass is traditionally assembled using a
machine known as a building drum, whose main
element is a cylindrical arbor that rotates

Figure 14.6 - Tire just before removal from building drum, but prior to
molding and curing

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Molding and Curing
• Tire molds are usually split molds and contain the
tread pattern to be impressed on the tire

Figure 14.7 - Tire molding: (1) uncured tire is placed over expandable
diaphragm; (2) mold is closed and diaphragm is expanded to
force uncured rubber against mold cavity, impressing tread
pattern into rubber; mold & diaphragm are heated to cure rubber

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
Other Rubber Products - Rubber Belts for
Conveyors and Pulleys
• Widely used in conveyors and mechanical power
transmission systems
• As in tires, rubber is an ideal material for these
products but the belt must have little or no
extensibility in order to function
Accordingly, it is reinforced with fibers, commonly
polyester or nylon
• Fabrics of these polymers are usually coated by
calendering, assembled together to obtain required
number of plies and thickness, and subsequently
vulcanized by continuous or batch heating processes
©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Other Rubber Products –Hose

• Two basic types:

1. Plain hose (no reinforcement) is extruded tubing
2. Reinforced tube consists of:
 Inner tube - extruded of a rubber compounded
for particular liquid that will flow through it
 Reinforcement layer - applied to the inner tube
as a fabric, or by spiraling, knitting, braiding
 Outer layer –compounded for environmental
conditions and applied by extrusion

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”
 Other Rubber Products –Footwear

• Rubber components in footwear include soles, heels,

rubber overshoes, and certain upper parts
• Molded parts are produced by injection molding,
compression molding, and certain special molding
techniques developed by the shoe industry
• The rubbers include both solid and foamed
• For low volume production, manual methods are
sometimes used to cut rubber from flat stock

©2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. M. P. Groover, “

Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing 2/e”