Polymer Material Development

Rubber & Plastic Compounding

Smithers Rapra has a wealth of knowledge & experience in rubber compounding & material development, solutions have been provided to complex issues since 1919. Our formulation abilities cover a broad range of polymers for a large variety of products. Rubber & Plastic compounds have been developed for material suppliers, product manufacturers & designers. Our work covers most industry sectors including; automotive, medical, industrial, transport & consumer goods.

Compound development can be targeted at meeting an existing specification, optimising an existing compound, or at developing a material for a novel application for which there is only the broad outline of a material specification.

Using our in-house compounding & material test facilities, trial batches of compounds can be designed, manufactured & tested to ensure that they meet all of our client’s requirements.

Rubber & plastics are normally compounded with many different additives. These additives include reinforcing fillers, plasticisers, process aids, vulcanising agents, accelerators, & protective agents. The choice of which type of ingredient to use, & its level, can exert an enormous influence on the final properties of the compound, & its long term durability. An incorrect choice of an ingredient for a given application can lead to premature failure, & hence the methods used to compound a rubber or plastic are as important as selecting the correct polymer type for an application.

Once a suitable compound has been developed for an application Smithers Rapra can supply trial lots of the material for evaluation in the factory & for the manufacture of prototypes.

The benefits to you

• Ownership & control of your own rubber formulation
• Independent advice to achieve optimum material performance & processing
• Optimisation of existing compounds to achieve better performance & durability
• Provides the ability to change your product manufacturer without the need to change or develop a new compound
• Removes the need to tie up valuable staff & in-house resources on material development