Making your own rubber parts........?

[CN Spots]

I'm trying to mold my own rubber parts for a project that I'm working on but I can't find any info on pouring rubber. Lots of stuff on silicone and other plastics but not rubber (like a tire). Is this something that has to be done in a factory with a bunch of chemicals mixed in a vat or have I overlooked something?<br /><br /><br />spots

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Making your own rubber parts........?

Rubber gets vulcanized to transform it from it's natural state into the rubber you're familiar with. It's an irreversible chemical reaction that is (normally) triggered with heat.<br /> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcanized_rubber <br /><br />I don't know a whole lot about this stuff, just like you I've recently been wanting to extrude some neoprene shapes. I don't know if this is a process you can really do at home (eg, can you even get small quantities of unvulcanized rubber), and I'll be very interested to hear the responses you get to this thread.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Making your own rubber parts........?

You might want to look into the casting resins. There are latex and silicone rubbers available here that need no heat to cure. <br /><br /> mold and casting supplies <br /><br />I bought polyurethane cast making resin from them (see the por-a-mold product). The resulting "rubber" mold worked very well. Depending on what you want to make and how it will be used, the casting resins might also be something to look into.

 

[Pogo123]

Re: Making your own rubber parts........?

"If" you can get your hands on liquid latex, you can mold parts with it by first coating your mold with a soap stone solution (mold release) followed by a coating of "coagulant".<br /><br />Without coagulant, the liquid latex will never really set up, so it determines the finished density, similar to hardner in fiberglas. <br /><br />Too little coagulant will slow the curing process (normally done at 500 degrees F in commercial work although anything over 100 F will work) and too much coagulant causes the latex to clump.<br /><br />I have no clue what chemical composition makes up coagulant, but in Ashland, Ohio you can call National Latex Rubber Products, Faultless Rubber Co, Eagle Rubber (the three biggest) and I'm sure someone in the engineering department can tell you (if they will).<br /><br />There are three major tire manufacturers in Akron, Oh, but their product is way too complex a blend to even attempt to duplicate at home. .. You can try, though ... any info should be helpful at this point.