Custom Rubber Bellows
Custom Rubber Bellows also known as Rubber Expansion Bellows, Rubber Bellows, Silicone Rubber Bellows or Expansion Joints, Square Rubber Bellows, or Rubber Dust Boots,which are usually used as connector elements, and dust covers & dust boots in automotive industry, refrigeration industry and other areas.
Custom Rubber Bellow is usually made from silicon, NBR, EPDM, CR, Liquid Silicone Rubber by compression molding, extrusion mould or liquid silicone rubber injection molding.
Rubber Bellows in different shapes: Tapered Rubber Bellows; Square Rubber Bellows; Straight Expansion Joints.
Silicone rubber bellows that used as a connector or a sleeve and do not have strict requirement on the size tolerance, and do not have special material requirement, compression molding is enough.As compression molding is the most cost effective way. While if the structure of the bellow is complicated, and compression molding can not achieve the design structure and can not demold, then will need to choose liquid silicone injection molding to produce.
Rubber Bellows by compression molding's advantanges:
The molding cost is cheap.
Can test mold with different colors and shore hardness easily.
Produce different property rubber materials according to working environment.
Custom rubber Bellows by compression molding's disadvantanges:
Material Wasted because large of rubber flashing.
Hard to achieve automation unless the product structure is quite simple & production volume is large. When flash (the extra resin that escapes between two parts) occurs, it must be manually trimmed, thus slowing down production efficiency.
Slower Cycle Time: Longer cycle time than LSR injection molding.
Lower Productivity: Need time to place material for ecah mold time. Also take time to trim the flashings, slowing down productivity.
Silicone Bellows by Liquid Silicone Injection Mold:
Liquid Silicone Injection Molded Silicone Bellows are much expensive than compression molded Custom Rubber Bellows.
Can have good parting line and without rubber flashing on it.
High productivity can almost achieve automation and semi-automation.
Custom Molded Rubber Bellows Manufacturing Process :
According to different working environment, special properties material can meet different demands:
Silicone Rubber Bellows' Advantages:
Wide Working Temperature Range: -40℉ / -40℃—248℉ / 120℃
Excellent Elongation: Up to 600%
Good Tensile Strength
Good Aging Resistance
Oil & Grease Resistance
Chemical Resistance: Acid and alkali can hardly destroy the neoprene material.
Weather Resistance: Excellent performance in anti-ozone and anti-weather.
Better flame resistance: Neoprene is the best flame-resistance material among general rubbers. Neoprene cannot combust spontaneously. It burns when contacting flame, but puts out by itself once isolating the flame.
