• Design Facilities
• Production Equipment
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Production Equipment
Laboratory and Mixing
 | | CRC mixing building
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Utilizing conventional organic polymers, as well as silicone and fluoroelastomers, CRC’s laboratory can develop compounds to meet customer specifications. The raw materials for these compounds consist of natural and synthetic elastomers, along with dry ingredients such as carbon black, zinc oxide, clay, sulfur and vulcanization accelerators supplied by both domestic and foreign sources. Upon receipt of raw materials and approval by our lab, the materials are blended or “compounded” into a batch according to strict specifications. The batch is then mixed in our state-of-the-art Banbury to predetermined time, temperature and power input specifications. Upon discharge from the banbury, the batch is blended further on a mill and sheeted into long strips for subsequent processing operations.
Rubber Molding Facilities
 | | Press Room #1 |
Our molding facilities include state-of-the-art computer controlled injection presses that are networked together with a master supervision computer. This makes real time process and production data available on the company-wide network. CRC’s fully automated injection molding presses are continuously fed and automatically operated, producing shot after shot of molded product ready for finishing operations. Direct computerized monitoring equipment insures accuracy in regards to heat, pressure and curing time. A computer printout of each shot of parts may be printed and kept on file. Machine conditions in place on every shot of parts is stored in the company database. CRC also utilizes conventional presses for compression and transfer molding. The extrusion facilities include automated extrusion equipment which feeds stock, and forms and cuts extrusions to required diameters, shapes and lengths. This equipment can also automatically imprint customer product information on the extrusion if necessary.
Proprietary Molding Technology
 | | White elastomer is sheeted off the mill in long continuous lengths to be subsequently injection molded. |
CRC has proprietary technology for the sequential injection molding of rigid thermoplastics to flexible thermoplastic elastomers. This technology allows us to bond rigid thermoplastics to flexible thermoplastic elastomers in the same mold while they are being molded. This one-step process replaces the current method of molding the rigid thermoplastic part in one operation in one operation and then molding the thermoplastic elastomeric part in an other operation, which must then be followed by bonding the two together in a third operation. The bond strengths obtained through the use of CRC’s process typically exceed the strength of the thermoplastic elastomer. CRC has an excellent success rate in bonding very dissimilar thermoplastics such as nylon and santoprene together using this proprietary process. The process is ideally suited to replacing rubber to metal bonded parts.
The Environment
A Binks automated chain on edge paint machine is used to apply a water-based rubber to metal adhesive to metal parts which are then over molded with rubber. The Binks machine allowed CRC to switch from solvent-based rubber to metal adhesives. This has resulted in the elimination of approximately 15,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds being put into the atmosphere annually. CRC’s use of water-based adhesive allows only water to evaporate into the atmosphere during the spraying process. A second Binks spray system is utilized for manual application of rubber to metal adhesives on larger parts (15 to 50 pounds).
CRC takes pride in its extensive production capabilities, environmental concerns, and dedication to continually modernizing its operation to meet growing customer requirements.
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