Things To Remember About Rubber Parts And Why It's Important
Rubber; it is a substance that has been around for as long as people realized that they could harvest this gummy substance from a tree and turn it into other things. It did not stop with chewing gum and the natives who used it that way. No, it developed into a multitude of products, with many different chemical compositions of rubber. Here are a few other things to keep in mind about all things rubber, that can help when replacing rubber parts on any machine you own.
Galvanized Rubber
Galvanized rubber is rubber that has a galvanized steel skeleton. These rubber items start out as a framework of galvanized steel, and then they are dipped, coated, and pressed into rubber forms. The purpose of the steel skeleton is to reinforce the rubber so that the rubber does not wear out so fast or shred so easily. It is mostly used for tires, but it can also be used for any parts that are constantly spinning over a rough surface and need to hold their shape.
Volcanized Rubber
Often confused with galvanized rubber, volcanized rubber is a very different sort of rubber. It is heat-treated to the point where it is extremely tough, thick, and leathery. Rubber products made from volcanized rubber are ideal in machines that burn hot and require looping bands of rubber or rubber belts to keep motor parts and gears spinning.
Extra-Stretchy Rubber
An example of something that made from really stretchy rubber is a child's inflated, spiny bouncy ball. These balls squish easily in your hand, change shape when squeezed, and the air inside finds new pockets to inflate to avoid explosion when the ball is squeezed. It is the same type of tubing used for water and gas dispersal in machines, as well as for surgical drains in patients with open wounds. This type of rubber has extra rubber gum in its "recipe" to give it that much-needed stretch, stretch distance, and breakage resistance when stretched.
Rubber That Is Almost Plastic
Some types of rubber are mixed with plastic polymers. The polymers are usually heat-resistant or thermodynamic and are mixed into the liquid rubber to add those properties to it. Most people cannot tell if this type of rubber is rubber at all since it has so little give to it. However, it is most effective in situations where most other kinds of rubber could not possibly stand up to extreme heat and pressure.
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