SERVICES.

Contract sheet cutting

This company provides contract cutting services of sheet and rolled goods. The company operates computerized cutting systems at facilities in California and Vermont. A web site describing the company's services is offered at www.cadcut.com. (CAD Cut, P.O. Box 448, Marblehead, MA 01945)

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Color compounding

The company's color compounding line includes an 80-liter mixer with a variable speed 650 hp motor. This level of horsepower is said to enable the company to mix the complete range of polymers. The mixer also has complete temperature control on all zones and a custom-designed control unit. The line is equipped with a temperature-controlled mill with an overhead blender and a hydraulic drive unit controlling each roll independently for different friction ratios. (Preferred Rubber Compounding, 1020 Lambert St., Barberton, OH 44203)

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Molded rubber parts

This small business concern specializes in manufacturing customized molded rubber parts. The company's products are manufactured utilizing transfer, compression and injection molding processes. Many of the products produced within the company's 19,000 square foot facility include grommets, tubes, bushings, washers and motor mounts. The company is also said to maintain strict quality control within its on-site quality control laboratory. Manufacturing and test equipment utilized by the company includes compression presses, injection molding machines, cryogenic deflashers, extruders, rubber mills, rheometers, tensile elongation testers, specific gravity meters, etc. (Mold Tech, 1900 Commerce Pkwy., Lancaster, NY 14086-1735)

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Custom mold designer

This company designs and manufactures steel molds for use in the production of automotive rubber sealing components. Customers are generally tier one automotive suppliers and use these injection molds to produce rubber seals for doors and windows, as well as for other sealing applications. Types of molded parts include glass runs, primary body seals, auxiliary seals, hood to cowl seals, mirror patch, sash seals and trunk seals. Virtually all of the company's designs are said to be CAD produced, and start with a customer's CAD part description. Company designers are said to be knowledgeable not only about mold design, but also about rubber molding and the various mold manufacturing processes. (True North Molds Ltd., 430 Industrial Rd., London, Ontario, Canada N5V 1T5)

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Custom extruded profiles

Complex geometric profiles, custom extruded to tight tolerances from today's most advanced elastamers, are said to be one of the specialties of this rubber products manufacturer. The company's expanded extrusion facility features a new extruder, which is five times more powerful than its predecessor. The unit is capable of rapidly processing larger quantities of rubber, mixing it more thoroughly, screening out impurities, producing larger and more complex profiles and maintaining tighter controls over temperature and pressure, according to the company. Also utilized is an electrically heated autoclave with programmable controls and a horizontal in-line, 25 foot curing oven. With inline curing, the need for talcum powder is said to be eliminated when curing some types of rubber. The addition of an electric autoclave is said to avert still another common extrusion problem - the presence of moisture, which can degrade rubber surfaces. (Pelmor Laboratories, 401 Lafayette St., Newtown, PA 18940-0309)

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Manufacturing course

An in-plant course is offered to help polymer companies dramatically improve cleanliness, increase efficiency and reduce costs. It is based upon a manufacturing philosophy called 5S, little known in North America but widely practiced in Japan and to some extent in Europe, according to the company. This company, in cooperation with a professional training company, has developed a 5S training program adapted to the Western culture and for the challenges facing the polymer industry. (Dynamics International, Ltd., P.O. Box 801, Chagrin Falls, OH 44022)

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Custom silicone mixing

This company specializes in custom silicone and fluorosilicone mixing. The company can mix any silicone to meet any FDA grade or commercial grade and military specification. Extruded, molded, sheets, calendered, die cutting, fabrication and lamination are the forms the company's silicone is offered in. The company also extrudes in solid form only EPDM, Viton and polycholoroprene rubber. A separate company division specializes in extruding thermal plastics such as TPR, TPE, rigid PVC, flexible PVC, HIPS, polyethylene, polycarbonate and ABS. (Reiss Manufacturing, P.O. Box 60, 1 Polymer Place, Blackstone, VA 23824-0060)

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Accelerated testing

Accelerated outdoor testing, offered by the company, is said to provide a reliable method for predicting long-term durability in short time frames. The EMMAQUA+ (equatorial mount with mirrors for acceleration with water) can perform the equivalent of a three-year, real-time Florida exposure test in just six months, according to this testing company. (Atlas Weathering Services Group, 4114 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60613)

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