What is a Rubber Roller?
Before understanding the hardness of rubber rollers, it is important to understand what a rubber roller actually is. A rubber roller is a component which consists of an inner round or tube shaped shaft which is covered with an outer layer of elastomer compounds. The outer layer of the rubber roller is mainly made of polymers, however, the inner shaft is typically made of aluminum alloy, steel, or other strong and rigid material. Moreover, rubber rollers are being used in a range of applications like film processing, coating, printing, driving, pressing, wringing, squeezing, etc. Rubber rollers are very useful in industries as it offers a range of advantages like compression, strength, deflection, and shock absorption. Advanced rubber rollers like the one made by Arvind Rubber handles the manufacturing goods without causing any product damage. Rollers that are frequently used in industries are bow banana rollers, variable bow rollers, metal bow rollers, lump brake rollers, bottom press rollers, etc.
About the Hardness of Rubber Roller
Now, as we know about the basics of the rubber rollers, let's get into the hardness of the rollers and how it is being measured. The resistance of a rubber roller is determined by its hardness. The hardness of the roller plays a vital role as it ensures the performance and quality of the rubber products. It is important for industries to check the accurate measurement of the rubber roller hardness to ensure that the final product will be as per the expectations. Moreover, it is important as the hardness of the roller verifies whether the product is meeting its final specifications or not. Not only this, the accurate hardness of the roller maintains uniformity in the roller which improves the production and satisfies the customers. Lets understand where high hardness and low hardness of the roller fits.
High Hardness: This is suitable for printing applications that require high pressure or load like metal sheet processing or any heavy printing.
Low Hardness: This is suitable for applications that require a softer contact surface like handling light printing or sensitive material.
How to Measure the Hardness of the Roller
Measuring the hardness of a rubber roller is no rocket science. There are a range of techniques available in the market through which its hardness can be measured, and Shore Durometer is the most common one. This is a handheld instrument which uses a specific force on the surface of the rubber and measures its depth. There are some other techniques as well to measure the hardness like rebound hardness testing and indentation hardness testing. Moreover, this also depends on factors like the type of rubber being used, the applications for which the rubber is being chosen, or the desired accuracy.
During the measurement of the rubber hardness, some misconceptions take place that need clarifications. One of the most common misconceptions is that if the hardness of the rubber roller is higher, it will produce better results. However, this is not true at all. Different applications and products require different hardness in the rollers.
Factors that Affects the Hardness of the Rubber Roller
Measuring the hardness of a rubber roller is not a hard task, but there are still some factors which affect and influence it. One of such factors is the type of rubber compound used. As per rubber roller manufacturer, different rubber compounds carry different molecular structure which creates different hardness values. Moreover, different instruments and operators give different results of the hardness of the rubber roller. In addition, if the material thickness is less than 0.250, then the reading on the durometer will be slightly higher.
The function of a rubber roller is determined by its hardness. So, for business owners, it is important to understand the significance of the rubber roller and its measurement method to make the whole process easier and smoother. As a smart owner, always ask the rubber roller manufacturer to check and maintain the hardness of the roller to not only extend the lifespan of the roller but to also avoid production issues in the future caused by the improper hardness.
