The rubber components are an integral part of many machines and devices which are used in the automotive industry, hydraulics, pneumatics, construction machinery, HVAC, medical, etc. Rubber components function to solve the problems. Generally, those problems are vibrations, sharp edge that could cause damage to another components, rubber components that serve to isolation, protection, seal. The perfect material to address structural and functional issues in physical systems across a wide range of industries is rubber, thanks to its elasticity, high resilience, and tensile strength. The several manufacturing processes such as compression molding, rubber injection molding, transfer molding, rotational molding, etc., can be used for rubber component manufacturing. The aim of this paper is to present the design process and manufacturing of rubber components, presenting a necessary steps from idea to real prototype. The design process focuses on customer needs, minimizing manufacturing costs and reducing the carbon footprint. The design methodology for the manufacturing of rubber components will be presented in this paper. The design process includes customer needs, identification of the market needs, process planning, developing engineering specifications, developing the product using 3D CAD models, developing mold tools, making technical drawings, defining all information necessary for production, etc. The overall design process for developing and manufacturing rubber components will be presented through illustrative photos and prototype of mold tool and rubber component will be presented.
[1] M. Bont, C. Barry, and S. Johnston, “A review of liquid silicone rubber injection molding: Process variables and process modeling,” Polym Eng Sci. vol. 61, issue 2, pp. 331–347, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/pen.25618
[2] D. G. Ulman, “The Mechanical Design Process, Fourth edition”, McGraw-Hill Series in Mechanical Engineering, Boston, 2010
[3] G. Ramorino, S. Agnelli, and M. Guindani, “Analysis of Reactive Injection Compression Molding by Numerical Simulations and Experiments,” Advances in Polymer Technology, vol. 2020, pp. 1-8, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/1421287
[4] K. Maghsoudi, G. Momen, R. Jafari, and M. Farzaneh, “Direct replication of micro-nanostructures in the fabrication of superhydrophobic silicone rubber surfaces by compression molding,” Applied Surface Science, vol. 458, pp. 619–628, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.07.099
[5] K. Maghsoudi, G. Momen, and R. Jafari, “Micro-nanostructured silicone rubber surfaces using compression molding,” in Proceedings of the 8ermec 2018: 10th International Conference on Processing and Manufacturing of Advanced Materials, vol. 941, pp. 1802–1807, Paris, FRANCE, July 2018. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.941.1802
[6] K. Kyas, M. Stanek, D. Manas et al., “Novel trends in rheology V,” Book Series: AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 1526, pp. 142–147, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4802609
[7] M.-S. Wu, T. Centea, and S. R. Nutt “Compression molding of reused in-process waste – effects of material and process factors,” Advanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 1-12, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/20550340.2017.1411873
[8] A. Łukaszewicz, K. Panas, and R. Szczebiot, “Design process of technological line to vegetables packaging using CAx tools”, Proceedings of 17th International Scientific Conference on Engineering for Rural Development, Latvia, 2018, pp. 871-876. https://doi.org/10.22616/ERDev2018.17.N494
[9] A. Łukaszewicz, G. Skorulski, and R. Szczebiot, “The main aspects of training in the field of computer-aided techniques (CAx) in mechanical engineering”, Proceedings of 17th International Scientific Conference on Engineering for Rural Development, Latvia, 2018, pp. 865-870. https://doi.org/10.22616/ERDev2018.17.N493
[10] I. Mircheski, A. Łukaszewicz, and R. Szczebiot, “Injection process design for manufacturing of bicycle plastic bottle holder using CAx tools”, Procedia Manufacturing, Elsevier, Vol. 32, pp. 68-73, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2019.02.184