Rubber calendaring is a process that is used in the rubber industry. Rubber, with or without textile or plastic sheets is rolled through a series of high tolerance rollers which flatten and bond the materials. Calendared rubber can be a single thickness or multiple layers using fabric or plastic inserts to form a composite sheet.
There are two classes of sheet material that is produced by the calendaring process. One class is rubber only which is known as unsupported. Fabric inserted calendared rubber consist of multiple layers of cord, cloth or synthetic fabric inserted into the rubber with gives it considerable resistance to tearing and it wears longer.
Calendared rubber is used for many different things; so many that you may see it but not recognize it for what it is. Once the rubber has passed through the rolls, either with or without cord, fabric, etc it can then be polished, given an embossed surface or smoothed. The final surface of the rubber is dependent on the temperature and pressures during the process as well the required surface design and material composition.
If you are looking for a good example of calendared rubber take your shoes off and look at the soles. The outermost sole which has a tread and perhaps the manufacturer’s logo or name is usually going to be calendared rubber. The material is made in large sheets, these sheets serve as the raw material for the shoe soles which are stamped out in a large press.
It is not just your shoes that are produced by calendaring; you actually trust your life to it every day when you get into your car. The tires on your car have steel belts right in the rubber, it is the belts that give the tire its strength and shape. During the calendaring process the steel belts are sandwiched between two layers of rubber, under extremely high pressure and heat, the steel bonds to the rubber making a virtually indestructible composite that can take the rigors of the road.
Calendared rubber is also made with a tough fabric on one side; the resulting material is used to produce the boots worn by firemen. The boots worn by firefighters need to be strong and resistant to fire as well as be resistant to puncturing on nails and glass as they move around in the aftermath of a fire. As you can easily see, calendared rubber is a part of your daily routine whether you realize it or not.
R.E. Darling Co., Inc are manufacturers of rubber products including composites, EPDM, calendered rubber and custom mixes. The company has been in business since 1948 and have been involved in many products including rubber for aerospace use, medical equipment and undersea.
