Today's News
May 2025
Simulation of rubber formulation development using AIGraf Compounderby Hans-Joachim Graf and Christoph Hartwich, H-JG Consulting. Integration of artificial intelligence (AI)
Housing is now open for the Global Polymer Summit
The Rubber Division, ACS announces that housing is now open for the Global Polymer Summit being held this September in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland has proven itself an amazing host for this conference and several other prestigious events for many years. The Global Polymer Summit is making its premiere in this exciting city and we hope to see you there.
RDAbbott announces fourth manufacturing with silicone rubber workshop
For the fourth year in a row, RDAbbott will host “Manufacturing with Silicone Rubber,” a popular and comprehensive workshop with a fabricator’s point-of-view. This year’s event will be held from Tuesday, August 26, through Thursday, August 28, in Barberton, Ohio. There’s also an optional training opportunity on Friday, August 29, for one-on-one discussions with instructors and deeper dives into process development.
Polish Customs seize Boeing aircraft tires bound for Russia
Polish customs officials have intercepted a shipment of five metric tons of Boeing aircraft tires that were falsely declared as car and bus tires. The tires, originating from a company in Spain and destined for Azerbaijan, were scheduled to transit through Belarus and Russia—both under strict European Union sanctions.
USTMA reinforces support for legislation boosting tire retreading
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) and its members express strong support for H.R.3401 to strengthen domestic tire retreading. The bill, reintroduced by U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Emilia Strong Sykes (D-OH), proposes tax credits for fleet purchasers of American-made retreaded commercial tires, aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing, job creation, and sustainable tire solutions.
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies to present thermal management technology at the Battery Show Europe
From June 3–5, 2025 at the Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart, the company will present its latest materials developed to provide rapid charging and higher battery capacity. It will also demonstrate the high level of design flexibility these materials offer for their integration into customer-specific production processes.
Featured
Mixing
Simulation of rubber formulation development using AI-Graf Compounder
Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into rubber compound development is said to mark a transformative step in materials science, and the authors explore the use of AIGraf Compounder software to simulate and optimize rubber formulations. By leveraging feedforward neural networks, the system can predict material properties based on ingredient compositions.
Chemicals and Materials
Reduction of zinc oxide in 10 compounds of a model passenger car radial tire
Excess zinc in the body of living organisms is problematic in nature, and zinc primarily enters the environment through rubber articles, including disposed tires. Work done to minimize the amount of zinc oxide consumption in 10 compounds of a typical passenger car tire is explained by the author.
Extrusion
Continuous extrusion to cut energy costs and improve quality
By using high precision continuous extrusion with an integral, built-in gear pump, it is possible to move away from old style mills, which have a huge footprint, and generally include plenty of safety hazards. Continuous extrusion removes the need for ramping up production in batches, which simplifies and accelerates preparation; and also separates materials input from production output. Current users report that this improves both control of production and quality.
Silicone & Medical
CNRS researchers develop new method for silicone recycling
A study conducted by the Centre de RMN à très haut champs at Lyon (CNRS) researchers describes a new method of recycling silicone waste (caulk, sealants, gels, adhesives, cosmetics, etc.). It has the potential to significantly reduce the sector’s environmental impacts. This is the first universal recycling process that brings any type of used silicone material back to an earlier state in its life cycle where each molecule has only one silicon atom. And there is no need for the raw materials currently used to design new silicones. Moreover, since it is chemical and not mechanical recycling, the reuse of the material can be carried out infinitely.
Oil, Gas & Energy
Advanced perfluoroelastomers: The preferred sealing solution for oil and gas
The technology for sealing has considerably advanced since it was first developed in the late 1800s. It is crucial to
Testing & Instruments
Researchers develop soft sensor system to study rubber components
A research team from the University of Akron, supported by funding from Hyundai NGV, has developed a soft sensor system designed to study the behavior of rubber components in automotive pneumatic systems. This academic effort, published in Smart Materials and Structures on February 27, 2025, represents a step towards advancing knowledge, as no prior research has specifically explored the use of soft sensors to examine rubber performance in this context.
Molding
SimForm expands capabilities to include compression molding tool design
SimForm has been a game-changer in injection molding, offering users the ability to quickly & easily predict temperatures, optimize cooling channel placement, and improve the quality of molded parts in an entirely new way. With the extension to compression molding, SimForm continues to lead the way in mold design innovation. This new feature allows users to leverage the same intuitive, fast, affordable, cloud-based platform to design tools for compression molding.
Thermoplastic Elastomers & Urethanes
Surface modified polyester polyurethane foams with varying pore sizes for decanted water treatment in oil spill response
Testing of two polyurethane foams as absorbants for oil spill remediation is examined, and a surface treatment to enhance oil removal efficiency is explored by the authors. This work is said to be crucial in determining the optimal foam formulation for oil spill cleanup.
Latex and Natural Rubber
Latex Foam and its applications
by Boontham Nithi-Uthai, consultant Latex foam was industrially created in 1929 by Dunlop Rubber. The latex was foamed with fatty
The May Issue of Rubber World
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Extrusion
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