ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book provides a guide to modem compounding, describing the materials involved as well as why and how they are used to build up a compound. It is fashioned to serve the needs of the beginning compounder as well as to provide a useful reference for more experienced readers or those who serve the rubber goods industry—for example, suppliers. The compounding, mixing, and testing of rubber stocks covers a formidable array of materials and techniques. The book is concerned only with five general-purpose rubbers and three specialty rubbers. The general-purpose rubbers are natural, styrene-butadiene, polybutadiene, butyl, and ethylene propylene. The three specialty rubbers are neoprene, butadiene-acrylonitrile, and polysulfide rubbers. Training for rubber compounding is usually on-the-job training in the United States, with entry level jobs often taken by science or engineering graduates.
