Did you know nearly one fifth of the UK workforce is dedicated to engineering? It’s a global, growing industry that, in spite of a challenging few years, is set to reach a huge market size of 2.04 trillion dollars by 2029.
That’s a lot of engines, machines and structures to be made, maintained and operated in diverse subsectors ranging from architecture to telecoms. And one material they all need? You guessed it: rubber.
Whether it’s rubber extrusions to seal the doors of an industrial dredging vessel, or glazing seals for the 1,700 tonne steel and glass dome at London’s iconic King’s Cross – during 80+ years manufacturing components for businesses up and down the UK, we’ve seen first-hand that our engineering customers need rubber parts that do exactly what they should. Especially in the demanding and often business-critical applications for which they’re required.
Why is Reliable Rubber So Essential in Engineering?
Rubber’s integral role in engineering largely boils down to its versatility as a material, making it suitable for myriad applications both within equipment used for manufacturing and being manufactured. This also means rubber parts can have multiple functions at once – such as how anti-slip matting provides friction, noise insulation and floor protection simultaneously.
In engineering, common uses of rubber include sealing and conducting liquids and gases, transferring energy, and providing shock absorption, among others. When it comes to sealing for example, rubber parts can both support plant operations by ensuring liquids and gases reach the correct destination, as well as safety, by preventing these sometimes-harmful chemicals escaping and coming into contact with people.
As a leading rubber supplier in many subsectors of engineering, some of our most popular products include:
- Glazing seals
- Machinery gaskets and washers
- Vibration dampening strips
- Impact protection extrusion
- Anti-slip matting
Which Type of Rubber Will I Need in Engineering?
With a wide range of polymer families and compositions offering individual characteristics, there are many types of rubber to choose from such as EPDM, Neoprene, Silicone, Nitrile and, of course, Natural Rubber.
The type needed for a specific engineering application all depends on the environment and function it will ultimately occupy. Consider factors like:
- Does the part need to be flexible in cold temperatures, or have good flexibility over a range of temperatures?
- Does the rubber need to be resistant to corrosive liquids or repeated impacts and abrasions?
- Will it need to be flexed and contracted hundreds, possibly thousands of times per hour, or will it hold fast in one spot?
The easiest and quickest way to identify the right type of rubber for your application is to speak to an expert. Whatever your situation, our knowledgeable team can help you identify, design and manufacture bespoke rubber products that you can rely on to perform under your unique set of conditions.
This is vital because the wrong type of rubber can lead to failure, loss of plant productivity and downtime — with knock on effects felt by customers and, ultimately, your bottom line. All easily avoidable by working with an experienced rubber manufacturer.
Source from Walker Rubber: A Trusted UK Rubber Manufacturer
At Walker Rubber, we are proud to offer our engineering customers reliable rubber solutions with full transparency of the entire process. We prioritise quality in our production. Using first-rate virgin rubber and precision manufacturing to deliver products our customers can rely on for almost any use case.
We’re able to do this because, unlike other rubber suppliers and resellers, we manufacture all extrusions and gaskets in-house at our Norwich-based production facility. From design to dispatch, as our customer you’ll receive the highest level of service to make sure that not only your product, but your entire experience with us, is top-notch.
If you’re in a hurry, sourcing your rubber with us also gives you the ability to speed up the process and reduce your order’s lead time by paying an expediting charge. And with over 70 different stocked materials, we can often ship gaskets, strips and cut sheet on the same day. Giving you the certainty you’ll have the right rubber part, in the right place, at the right time to keep your equipment operating as it should. And, of course, the peace of mind that comes with it.
Unpack your standard rubber extrusions in as soon as 72 hours, or bespoke tooling extrusions from just 20 days.
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