RUBBER MIXING / MILLING / CALENDERING / SHEETING
As a vertically integrated rubber maker, Blachford's line provides the most efficient process for making large rubber floor mats in North America.
AUTOCLAVE
Autoclaves are large vessels which introduce a great amount of heat, steam and pressure to quickly form and cure rubber parts. Blachford has several large autoclaves capable of molding even the largest Class 8 truck rubber mats. In this process, several rubber parts can be molded simultaneously with some molds being self trimming and producing parts ready for shipment.
OPEN CURE MOLDING
Open cure molding is accomplished by vacuum forming a rubber sheet on an aluminum mold which is heated to ~ 300ºF. The open cure process molds and cures the rubber in an open environment which provides Blachford with the versatility to mold even larger rubber parts than those produced in autoclaves. Once the rubber part is formed to the mold it is typically covered with a blanket to apply ~ 9 psi pressure. Also, the blanket is used to "push" the rubber on the trimming blades, thus allowing for easy removal of flash. Some parts are taken to finishing for further cutting.
COMPRESSION MOLDING
When part geometry requires a matched mold, they can be produced in one of Blachford’s compression molding rubber presses. We have one of the largest presses in North America for producing rubber floor mats. Compression molding is accomplished by placing the uncured rubber blank in the bottom half of a steel mold. The bottom half of the mold is married to the top half in the compression press and compressed to 1800 psi for 5-15 minutes. The cured rubber part is removed from the mold and excess flash is trimmed. The cured blank is typically taken to finishing for additional cutting.
