Custom moulded rubber products are so varied that it will be nearly difficult to list all the uses of these products worldwide. These goods are used in everything from farm machinery to jetliners, the oil & gas industry, railroads, trucking and many other sectors. In addition, these products play a role in anything from bowling alleys to beer cans, hospitals, pubs, elevators, canning factories – and the rubber parts moulding process is also vital to the manufacture of a multitude of products from submersible pumps, water hoses to straws. It suffices to assume that rubber parts are everywhere – and that they have a huge role to play in daily life around the world, especially in Turkey.

While the variety and uses of custom moulded rubber products are evidently enormous, for the goals of this research we will focus on the methods for which these products are produced for use in the manufacturing industry.

The three most popular methods for making custom moulded rubber parts are compression moulding, injection moulding and extrusion. The kind of method used depends on the components used and the anticipated use of the final product.

Compression Moulding

Compression moulding uses an uncured rubber paste, often pre-formed and measured to a precise weight. The rubber is put in a mould designed to create a final product with exact specifications. The mould is then sealed and the rubber is squeezed using both heat and friction. The mixture of heat and pressure allows the rubber to flow and to fill the whole mould cavity – thereby creating the finished rubber part. Based on the type of rubber used and the particular component being made, an accurate cycle period is defined to determine how long the rubber needs to be cured. At completion, the moulded rubber is expelled from the mould and is prepared for use.

Injection Moulding

Injection moulding is a technique that dates back to the 1960s – but it has changed considerably since then. This process derives its name from the fact that it uses pre-heated rubber that is inserted under pressure into a pre-formed mould. The procedure starts with a metal mould that is designed to the exact specifications of the finished rubber component. The mould is then put in a press. Hot rubber is then inserted into the mould, with the press putting pressure to assure that the rubber is squeezed into any cavity within the mould. After curing, the rubber is removed from the mould and a perfectly moulded rubber product is made.

Extrusion

Extruded rubber products vary in one fundamental manner from moulded products: the extruded component is forced to form products such as rubber tubing, hoses and other tubular products by a die that shapes the rubber into a tube-like shape. Extruded sections can be designed to have continuous stretches of up to 60 feet or more.
Although there are a plethora of companies that produce custom moulded rubber parts, Flextron is one of the companies that stand out in the field of automotive products. This company has gained outstanding expertise in the market of downhole cutting tools. Hence, there’s no doubt that leading producer of specialty moulded rubber products.