#Industry News
Mixing - A step by step operation
ShibataFenderTeam Group releases second White Paper on rubber mixing
The four-part SFT White Paper Series explores the production steps of rubber compounding, mixing, curing, and testing in order to provide an unbiased view of “what exactly makes a high-quality fender”.
ShibataFenderTeam, the manufacturer of choice for first-class rubber fender systems, aims to advocate more transparency in fender production to ensure quality standards that are driven by a commitment to high-performance products and a clear sense of responsibility. The second part of the Series continues along the lines of the initial paper, released in 2018, which focused on the correlation of raw materials, their composition and the impact on the final product.
“Mixing – A Step by Step Operation” is based on the findings of the rubber compounding paper, and discusses the preparation and mixing steps of raw materials and how they impact the performance of a rubber fender. The complexity and the infinite number of possible rubber compound compositions and various mixing techniques, as well as individual requirements for each different rubber product, make it difficult to determine unifying procedures. The extensive variety of rubber compound compositions requires the mixing process to address these differences in terms of process and equipment. Considering that no two fender projects are alike, the individuality in the production process for each different project is essential.
This paper outlines the individual steps of rubber mixing in order to create an insight in this very sensitive part of fender manufacturing. By examining the complex interaction between materials and their processing, and presenting the various available mixing devices, it becomes obvious to which extent high-quality fender production depends on the expertise of the manufacturer.
“There is a mutual dependency between all steps of fender manufacturing from choosing the raw materials, balancing out the compound design, up to the accuracy of the mixing process that yield the predefined final product. Rubber fender compounds can by no means be generalized for the entire industry“, says Dominique Polte, Board Member at SFT.
2018 saw a global breakthrough for the ShibataFenderTeam Group with the opening of a new three-story rubber compound mixing plant in Malaysia, a country that is known for their production of high quality natural rubber and a vast expertise with this product. The strong increase in demand for high-quality rubber fenders made this investment decision necessary and strengthens SFT’s international position as a leading fender manufacturer.
In this context, the company’s White Paper shares expert insights on adequate mixing equipment and details on the pros and cons of the various devices. In fact, the best formulation of a rubber compound and the highest quality raw materials may not result in a durable rubber fender when inappropriate mixing techniques are involved, or the wrong equipment is used. With its White Paper Series, ShibataFenderTeam maintains its commitment to research, responsibility, and engineering excellence and continues its holistic approach to deliver everything from one source – from calculations and design to creating and producing a high-quality, durable fender according to international standards and guidelines.
