White Paper Series - #3.

MANUFACTURING AND CURING. ADVANCED PERFECTION.

This paper highlights a practical approach to a decisive, quality-critical step in the fender industry and describes in detail the various different methods for manufacturing and curing with a focus on the quality-determining parameters pressure, temperature, and time. 
Manufacturing is the process of bringing the sheeted rubber compound into the shape of a fender by either using a mold, wrapping the rubber sheets on a pipe mandrel, or extruding the rubber through a die. 
The next step is curing, the process of hardening the rubber, i.e. transforming the rubber condition from plastic to elastic. 

Download your version below, it is available in: 

English: White Paper - Manufacturing and curing

Spanish: Boletinos Técnicos - Fabricación y Curado

French: Dossier Technique - Fabrication et Durcissement

1-Click Download of entire series: English | Spanish | French | Swedish 

The four-part SFT White Paper Series:

• aims to provide an unbiased view of what exactly makes a good fender
• is unbiased
• presents full facts 
• is a contribution to state-of-the art fender manufacturing standards 

Paper #1 focuses on the raw materials used in rubber production, the physical properties of a fender and their correlation with the compound’s composition. Download White Paper 1 - Compounding (available in English, French, Spanish, Swedish and Polish). 

Paper #2 examines the complex interaction between materials and their processing, presenting the various available mixing devices. Download White Paper 2 - Mixing (available in English, French, Spanish, Swedish).

Executive Summary 'Manufacturing and Curing - Advanced perfection'

The ShibataFenderTeam Group pursues the four-part White Paper Series on fender manufacturing with an in-depth illustration of the various manufacturing and curing processes. Paper #3 of the series presents two of the most quality-critical steps in the fender manufacturing process.

While White Paper #1 and #2 established the complex inter-dependencies between compounding and mixing, the third publication reveals the wide variety of manufacturing and curing methods and how the respective process needs to be adjusted to the fender type, its required performance, and the chosen compound. Since the chosen manufacturing and curing methods directly reflect on the properties of the fender, a responsible and experienced manufacturer always prioritizes the quality of the product and settles for the optimal method.

In Paper #3 of the series, SFT examines manufacturing and curing methods with a focus on the quality-determining parameters pressure, temperature, and time. On this basis, the various possible procedures are introduced. It should be pointed out that more than one method can be used to produce the exact same type of fender but not every method  results in the same quality. This fact makes choosing the ideal method subject to long-standing expertise. 

Looking at the careful consideration of important parameters for both manufacturing and curing, the available methods that reflect in the quality aspects of the fender, establish this part of the SFT White Paper Series as the third cornerstone in high-quality fender production.