Custom Molded Rubber Products

Ever look at a molded rubber part and ask yourself "how do they make that"? Those of us that had toys that would surely be ruled as unsafe for children today, just might have had a small rubber molder.

The advantages of being able to create worms, spiders, and cockroaches that looked, real but did not hurt when your older sister threw it at you...was priceless. I had no idea at the time, but it served a my introduction to the rubber industry. I'm sure I used that machine until I ran out of the included silicone compound, or until I burned myself one to many times.

I did not know it at the time, but my process for making worms and spiders was compression molding. My spiders were made using what amounted to a hot plate, with attachable molds. Select your mold, add enough compound to fill the mold with minimal excess (see flashing). Close the lid and turn on the hot plate. After waiting the prescribed amount of time, turn off the heat & let the mold cool. If your impatient like me, this is where you burn your fingers. Once cool, open and gently remove the spider from the mold, being careful not to remove it too quickly and tear the legs off, or leave legs in the mold (which will ruin the next spider).

Today I'm out of the spider making business. But having that childhood experience helped me to understand what was happening the first time I stood in front of a multi-mold compression press producing thousands of parts for the oil industry.

Now at American Seal & Packing, we can offer custom made shapes, from o-rings to golf grips and well head components utilizing Compression Molding, Transfer Molding or Injection Molding. Each method has it's own advantage.

Compression Molding is the ideal method for medium-sized and large items produced in small to medium batches. It is also the best method for expensive rubber types such as Viton® and Aflas®, FFKM, and applications which require extreme rubber hardness.

Advantages:

• Low mold production costs
• Short tooling times
• Helps in the processing of rubber types which are difficult to work with
• Excellent for products with high density and therefore long process times