Rubber/Elastomers

11. Rubber/Elastomers

11.1 Raw Material Source

11.2 Mixing/Preparation

11.3 Molding/Curing

11.4 Finishing

11.5 Chemistry Certifications

Rubber/Elastomers

The Rubbers/Elastomers Material Category is composed of synthetic and natural elastic polymeric materials that can stretch and recover to their original shape. This Material Category applies to rubber and elastomer materials that are not foamed or converted into fibers. Materials that have these properties should be selected from the Foam and Textiles Material Categories respectively.

Rubbers/Elastomers can be customized at the following Production Stages:

  • Raw Material Source
  • Mixing/Preparation
  • Molding/Curing
  • Finishing
  • Chemistry Certifications
At minimum, the type of rubber or elastomer polymer needs to be known to select an appropriate Example Material in the Higg MSI.

There are fourteen different Rubbers/Elastomers Example Materials that can be selected and customized:

  • Butyl rubber should be selected when using a synthetic rubber that is composed of a co-polymer of (primarily) isobutylene and isoprene. Butyl rubber is also known as isobutylene-isoprene rubber (IIR).
  • Chloroprene rubber (Neoprene) should be selected when using a synthetic rubber that is composed of primarily chloroprene monomers. Chloroprene rubber is sometimes abbreviated as (CR) and is also known as polychloroprene rubber and Neoprene rubber.
  • Ethylene Propylene Diene Elastomer (EPDM) rubber should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed primarily of ethylene, propylene, and diene monomers.
  • Foamed rubber should be selected when using a foamed version of polybutadiene rubber.
  • Isoprene rubber (IR) should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed primarily of isoprene monomers. Isoprene rubber is a synthetic version of natural rubber.
  • Natural rubber (NR) should be selected when using a rubber created from latex from the rubber tree ( brasiliensis) and/or similar species. Natural rubber is also known as latex, latex rubber, and caoutchouc.
  • Nitrile rubber (NBR) should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed of acrylonitrile and butadiene monomers. Nitrile rubber is also known as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber.
  • Polybutadiene rubber (BR) should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed primarily of butadiene monomer.
  • Silicone rubber should be selected when using a synthetic polysiloxane rubber composed of any of a variety of different siloxane monomers.
  • Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed of styrene and butadiene monomers. This includes elastomers based on a styrene-butadiene block co-polymer structure.
  • Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) should be selected when using any elastic thermoplastic compounds that do not otherwise fit into an existing Rubber/Elastomer Example Material. TPE can be based on many different polymer structures.
  • Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) rubber should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed of thermoplastic polyurethane.
  • Thermoset polyurethane (PU) rubber should be selected when using a synthetic rubber composed of thermoset polyurethane.
  • Typical footwear rubber compound should be selected when using a rubber footwear compound comprised of a blend of synthetic rubber, natural rubber, filler, and additives, and the exact composition is not known.