It is rubber’s adaptability that gives it value as a versatile material, suitable for use in a wide variety of applications. fabricated rubber products are so common in our everyday lives that we take them for granted. Rubber compounds can be formulated for almost any application environment, and together with the right expertise, fabricated rubber products for specific uses can be fashioned from these compounds. However, choosing a supplier of fabricated rubber products for your application can be fraught with pitfalls.
Here are some tips to keep in mind to ensure you select a custom fabricator who can produce and deliver the end-use product you need.
It’s all about experience, experience, experience. While rubber is a tremendously adaptable and versatile material, it takes years of knowledge and experience to produce custom fabricated rubber products that work first time, every time, in a given application. Experienced fabricators know their materials and will never knowingly recommend or select a rubber compound that that will not fully support a customer’s needs. In addition, many applications require fabrications which are hand-cut or which require rubber to be mated or joined with other substrates. Experienced fabricators know what is possible and how to handle these types of production and material interface issues.
Materials. Producing custom fabricated rubber products for a wide variety of applications requires a fabricator to have ready access to a wide range of materials. Choose a fabricator who is intimate and familiar with both traditional and newer materials, and who carries the materials you need on-hand.
State-of-the-art production. A good fabricator uses the latest production equipment and methods to produce quality fabrications. While die-cutting is the still the traditional method of producing certain fabricated parts, new production methods such as water-jet cutting and flash cutting offer even higher precision and quality, and can eliminate the need (and the charges) for tooling.
Flexibility. Some applications require one-off parts or production runs in limited, small quantities. Good fabricators are not locked into a mass-production mindset and can provide cost-effective solutions in smaller volumes.
Agility. Some applications can be seasonal or cyclical in nature. In addition, some consumers of custom fabrications prefer to have production done “on demand”, thereby eliminating the need to hold inventories of product. Choose a custom fabricator who can respond to your needs by supplying what you want, when you need it.
At CRGI, our employees have over 500 years of combined experience in producing custom fabricated rubber products. Our fabrication expertise encompasses a large range of end-use applications, including: high-tech equipment components; heavy equipment and construction-related applications; sealing applications for fluids and gases; and machinery and equipment applications. We utilize the latest production technology and offer ready availability of a wide range of materials.
Contact our sales team today to find out how we can help address your custom fabrication needs.