Rubbertech News & Industry Information

What is Compression Rubber Moulding? Rubber mouldings can be produced using several different techniques; one of the methods used is called compression moulding. Compression mouldings are generally produced using a simple top and bottom steel tool. However for more complex mouldings you are not limited to just two plates. Each half of the tool will have single or multiple cavities cut into them that form the shape of the final moulding. Read more Designing Backlit legends on Silicone Keypads Silicone keypads often need to be designed with illuminated text or legends so that the legends can still be seen in poor light conditions. To achieve this, keypads need to be moulded in a translucent silicone (clear or coloured). The buttons are backlit using LED?s and the legends then need to be created in a way that will allow them to be illuminated. Read more Rubber Seals in Electronic Assemblies There are many materials that can be used to manufacture rubber seals; therefore it is important to make clear the envisaged environment when requesting a quotation. One should consider; temperature extremes possible, any chemical or solvent contact, bio-compatibility, electrical and RF requirements, exposure to sun and UV. When designing a gasket in rubber, remember that the rubber does not squash on compression and reduce in volume, it merely deforms. This means that if you have a seal situation with a large area to seal against, it could require a high compression to get both faces to securely mate together. There are ways to deal with this problem, which can be overcome. Read more Biocide Rubber - What is it? How? Why? With the increased media exposure of bug related diseases such as MRSA there has been much research done in investigating how this contamination related spread of infections can be controlled. Sterilising equipment in hospitals certainly helps to limit exposure. Disinfecting and basic cleaning will also help reduce most bacteria lurking on surfaces; however there are many places where cleaning effectively is either not possible or practical. Read more Price Critical Parameters When Designing Silicone Keypads When designing a keypad it is important that you have an understanding of how the production costs of producing the keypad are calculated as this will have an impact on what features you can include. Silicone keypads are typically produced using a compression moulding method in a high temperature 200T press. This method of production is slow compared to injection moulding as the cycle time can be up to 15 minutes per shot. Due to this lengthy cycle time it is important to have as many impressions in the tool as possible. For example a small keypad size of 50 x 50mm could have 49 impressions and produce 196 parts per hour but a larger keypad size of 100 x 150 would only have 6 impressions so only produce 24 parts per hour. This output is the main driver of price when producing keypads. Read more 2010 - ISO 9001:2008 Rubbertech have now been upgraded to the latest quality standard ISO 9001:2008, following our recent quality review. Please click 'Read more' to download and view our certificate. Read more Antimicrobial Coatings Rubbertech can now offer antimicrobial spray coatings on all of our silicone rubber mouldings. The special spray coating that we apply will reduce rapidly the number of living bacteria on the product surface. For further information please click on the Antimicrobial tab on the left of the page. Read more Rubbertech awarded ISO 9001 : 2000 quality certificate As part of Rubbertech's commitment to quality and continuous improvement we have now been awarded our ISO 9001 : 2000 certificate. This award follows several months of hard work, staff development and fine tuning of an already well run management system driven by our Quality Manager Steve Dawes. Copies of our certificate can be supplied if required. Read more Cut costs with stamp / punched mouldings! Customers will often require rubber seals or gaskets produced with a flat profile allowing us to punch the parts from material sheets. This method of production is often cheaper than moulding and requires just a simple punch tool. We can supply parts to specific material specifications including foam material and adhesive backed materials. Please contact us with your requirements. Read more