Mid American Rubber uses three manufacturing processes depending on each specific project. No two jobs are alike. We give each project, whether we are creating new rollers or recovering old rollers to like-new, our utmost attention to ensure that the rollers are of superior quality and durability.
- Sheet-built is used for prototype and very low volume.
- Extrusion is used for small volume up to 1,000 pieces per month or more.
Extrusion and sheet-build usually require minimal to zero tooling charge and make us very competitive in the prototype and initial phases of production.
Our Steps
Journal inspection
- All incoming cores go through an extensive inspection process
- Customer supplied cores are individually tagged to ensure each is returned to the proper owner
- If necessary, cores are repaired in Mid American’s on-site machine shop
Strip and Prep
- Old rubber is stripped away from the core and adhesive is applied to the metal surface to ensure full adhesion of the rubber to the metal core
- New cores are degreased, etched, and adhesive is applied to the bond area
Roll Building
- Rubber is applied to the core, then wrapped tightly to ensure no air pockets remain that could affect bonding
Curing
- Wrapped roll is placed in a pressurized steam chamber
- At this stage the rubber is “cured” to its final properties in a controlled pressure vessel
Trimming
- Cured roll is fixtured in lathe where the roll is cut to your specified length
Grinding
- Roll is built slightly oversize and ground to precision tolerances in state-of-the-art, high-speed grinders
Polish
- Roll is carefully polished to the desired surface finish
Final Audit / Pack out
- All rolls go through final inspection before packaging for key print dimensions
- Rollers are packaged securely for timely delivery using custom packaging
- Pick up is available
Interested in learning more about Mid American Rubber and our capabilities? Contact us today to request a quote or more information.