The Vanderbilt Rubber Handbook (Eleventh Edition)

Rubber compounding is a broad term used to describe the art of developing useful products from elastromeric materials of natural or synthetic origin. For over a century, the tree-derived rubbers were the center of all compounding activities in the field which gives our industry its name. Then the tree grew many branches. Man-made synthetic rubbers were discovered and became available in commercial quantities. Some of these have proved to be capable of substituting for, or replacing natural rubber in many of its established applications. Others serve as base materials for compounding to obtain unique properties as judged by natural rubber standards. To be a successful and competent "rubber compounder", capable of using all these materials to best advantage requires a thorough understanding of the following points: 1) The rubbers as raw materials. 2) Chemicals (compounding materials) used to modify them and develop the desired properties. 3) Handling and processing methods and problems. 4) How to compare and evaluate compounded rubbers. 5) The design and fabrication of rubber products for various end uses. These subjects and related information covered in the following text can serve in a numer of ways...as an introduction to rubber compounding, as a refresher for the memory that tries to retain many things, but frequently forgets; or, as a source of information on subjects relating to the specialized fields that make up the rubber industry.