Introduction
From holding bouquets of flowers well-organized to consideration Diurnal newspapers folded or rolled, elastic bands (extremely called rubber bands) are surely one of the 20th century's most great and convenient products ever invented. With the multiple industrial, household and other uses that they can be place to, elastic bands keep pass into practically indispensable items in our Diurnal lives, ever owing to latex--the rubber tree debilitate used to cause rubber--was discovered.
History
While Englishman Thomas Hancock is credited with the creation of the front basic elastic (rubber) band in 1820, his self-developed masticator appliance was the forerunner of nowadays's current, elastic band-manufacturing milling machines. Thereupon, the headmost elastic bands were patented by Thomas Perry, another Englishman, in 1845.
While it's direct that synthetic rubber accounts for around 75 percent of all rubber products produced nowadays, biological (essential) rubber is the leading ingredient all the more used for producing elastic bands, as it offers far and elasticity than synthetically produced rubber. Nevertheless, elastic bands would never be as practical, convenient and helpful as they are nowadays had the old Mayan Cats not discovered latex--the milky-white exhaust they collected from rubber trees--which, except activity used to practise rubber, gives constant rubber its superior elasticity.
Raw Material / Purification
The Industry development of elastic bands begins with the procurement of latex, the meaningful crude news used to practise elastic (rubber) bands. On the other hand, prior to packing and shipping, the harvesting, purification and Industry formation of latex is conducted on the rubber plantations themselves.
The talcum powder prevents the rubber tubes from sticking to the poles. Despite being vulcanized, the rubber tubes may still be brittle during this stage and will therefore need curing. For efficient curing, the mandrels are placed on steamed and heated racks of large (curing) machines.
Latex is then purified by a straining growth to remove all elements other than rubber, further as filtered to remove debris, tree drain and other impurities.
Slab production
Succeeding straining and filtering of the latex enervate, formic or acetic acid is added to it, and the mix is then stored in copious vats and left to coagulate and dry. During this chapter, rubber particles exhibit in the concoction cling well-organized, and, as a close, rubber slabs are formed. Rollers are then used to squeeze elsewhere any water or moisture present in the rubber slabs.
Finally, the rubber slabs are pressed into either 2- or 3-square-foot blocks or bales and then packed and shipped to rubber factories or elastic band manufacturers, as the case may be.
Mixing and Milling
In an elastic band-manufacturing factory, the rubber slabs are machine cut by a 1916 Femely H. Banbury-invented machine, called a Banbury mixer. This machine is often used by manufacturers to mix the rubber slabs with other additives--chemicals to increase or decrease elasticity, pigments to give them a particular color and sulfur for vulcanizing them. Although the Banbury mixer delivers a better finished product as it integrates the three additives more efficiently and thoroughly, some companies include these ingredients during the subsequent milling stage.
Milling is the next stage in elastic band production whereby the treated (mixed) rubber slabs are first heated. The resultant molten mass is then flattened in a milling machine.
Extrusion and Curing
After milling, the heated and flattened rubber is machine cut into strips and then passed through an extruding machine. Here, the rubber is put into elongated, hollow tubes.
The hollow rubber tubes are then stretched over talcum powder-covered aluminum poles (referred to as mandrels).Purified latex is imported by the USA and other rubber-producing countries from rubber plantations in Asian countries, chiefly Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and very west Seaside of Africa.To procure latex, a miniature 2 mm swath is intersect into the trunks of full-grown rubber trees every other date. The latex (exhaust) is collected in cups placed even-handed below the swaths.
Final Production
The final stage of production involves the removal of the rubber tubes from the mandrels. They are then washed or wiped clean of talcum powder and subsequently passed through another machine where they are finally cut into the finished elastic (rubber) bands. The individual weight and width of machine-cut elastic bands can be delivered as per customer-provided specifications.
