How to make EPDM rubber hose?
EPDM rubber (ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber) is a synthetic rubber used in many applications.
Specifically, EPDM tubing is commonly used for many automotive applications, such as heater and coolant hoses, vacuum-operated accessories and emission systems as well as air and shop hoses and water and garden hoses.
EPDM tubing resists electricity and works well with fireproof hydraulic fluids, ketones, hot and cold water, alcohols, alkalis, and some acids but not with most oils, gasoline, kerosene, hydrocarbons, halogenated solvents, and concentrated acids.
EPDM tubing resists the effects weather can have over time and has similar resistance to heat, ozone, and oxidation. EPDM tubing can also be developed to emphasize flame retardant, tensile strength, tear, and abrasion resistance, low-temperature flexibility, compression set resistance, and oil swell resistance. As EPDM’s versatile polymer designs continue to be developed, EPDM tubing will become even more varied.
EPDM can make up the inner tubing or outer covering of a hose, or both. EPDM hose is often made by blending in other synthetic rubber compounds, such as SBR, and reinforced in certain ways, which include polyester layers, embedded helix wire, steel wire braiding ,and spiral high-tensile textile cords.
EPDM tube or hose can also be coated to greatly increase chemical resistance. Offering color stability, EPDM tubing and hose can come in red, black, blue, yellow, green,and grey.
EPDM tubing can be created in several ways, but the rubber extrusion process is among the most prominent and widely used.
EPDM extrusion hose production process:
1).Raw material mixing: carbon black + raw rubber + plasticizer + vulcanizing agent (sulfur)
2).Extrude the inner tube;
3).Add reinforcement layer: aramid thread or polyester thread;
4).Extrude the outer tube;
The EPDM profiled hose is still need the following steps:
5).Cut: Cut the EPDM extrusion tube to the required length;
6).Put the cut EPDM hose on the mold;
7).Vulcanization: Vulcanization tank.
Vulcanization refers to a semi-finished product made of a particular plastic and viscous rubber (raw rubber, masticated rubber, compounded rubber) through appropriate processing (such as calendaring, extrusion, molding, etc.) through chemical factors under certain external conditions. (such as a vulcanization system) or physical characteristics (such as gamma rays), the process is re-transformed into soft elastic rubber products or hard rubber products, to obtain performance. During the vulcanization process, external conditions (such as heating or radiation) cause a chemical reaction between the raw rubber and the vulcanizing agent (vulcanized powder, insoluble sulfur, colloidal sulfur) or between the raw rubber and the raw rubber in the compound composition. Type of rubber macromolecules cross-linked to form macromolecules with a three-dimensional network structure.
Through this reaction, the properties of the rubber are greatly improved, and the rubber products have obtained physical and mechanical properties and other properties that can meet the needs of product use. The essence of vulcanization is cross-linking, that is, the process of transforming the linear rubber molecular structure into a spatial network structure.
8). demoulding,
9).Labeling,
10).printing LOGO and logo,