Vernay® Custom-Designed Elastomeric "Rubber" Materials
Our success as a world leader and innovator in precision elastomeric product design and manufacturing is due to the important advances that we have made in rubber technology through more than 60 years of research and development. To explain how our rubber expertise aids us in creating innovative solutions for our customers, following is a brief introduction into the world of elastomer technology and the development process at Vernay.
What is an Elastomeric Compound?
An elastomer is any type of polymer that has rubber-like properties. Unlike plastic materials, rubber in its raw state is not ready for use; it has to be mixed first with other ingredients. A heat treatment then transforms the compound into a useful rubber part, designed to meet specific functional requirements.
The following ingredients "make up the recipe":
- Polymers are the most essential components of a rubber compound, determining the general chemical and mechanical properties of the final product. A wide variety of polymer materials are at our disposal.
- Vulcanization agents cross-link the polymer to form a network, which is the reason why the rubber can be stretched and still recovers effortlessly.
- Fillers reinforce the compound and allow for the adjustment of the mechanical properties of the rubber.
- Plasticizers and processing aids soften and improve processing during mixing, extrusion, and molding of our precision rubber products.
- Stabilizers give additional protection against the attack of heat and other environmental factors.
- Miscellaneous ingredients such as blowing agents, pigments, retarders and odorants have specific purposes but are not necessarily required.
Developing Tailor-Made Elastomeric Materials
It takes a lot of experience and applied material science to come up with a workable compound concept. However, by consequently employing the Design of Experiments method we then find and use the best available material solution, both for our manufacturing processes and the envisioned application, for all the conditions it has to reliably function in. This integrated view enables us to do it right – from the design phase to the verification of the performance of the finished part. Rubber material development is not a black art anymore!