Vulcanization is the process of converting natural rubber and similar elastic polymers into durable by cross-linking the polymer molecules, i.e. building additional bridges between them through the addition of sulfur or other equivalent “curatives.” Uncured natural rubber is sticky, deforms easily when warm, and is brittle when cold and hence is very poor in elasticity. Vulcanized materials are less sticky and have superior mechanical properties. The process is named after Vulcan, the Roman God of Fire. A vast array of products are made with vulcanized rubber including tires, sealings, shoe soles, hoses etc. This process of rubber vulcanization can be carried out by the following 2 heating systems:

• Infrared Heating System
• Microwave Heating system

Infrared Rubber curing systems is highly efficient for the pre-vulcanization of profiles and hoses. Arranged between the rubber extruder and the continuous vulcanization line, the high power infrared radiation pre-cures the surface of the rubber products. This is related to a better dimensional stability and an excellent surface quality. Typically these systems are about one meter long and have got a heating capacity of about 30 kW. However, rubber is a poor conductor for thermal energy and hence there was a high demand of microwave heating systems.

Rubber vulcanization has been a vastly popular application of Microwave Heating. While there are also types of cold vulcanization, microwave systems are always used for hot vulcanization. The continuous vulcanization of rubber profiles is the main application of microwave vulcanization systems. As the heat transfer in other heating systems only takes place through the surface of the product, the heating process is time consuming and can lead to negative effects like over-curing etc. In order to shorten down the vulcanization time and to avoid possible problems, these parts can be pre-heated using microwave ovens, as the radiation penetrates the rubber and heat the material from core to surface simultaneously and hence microwave curing is very fast.

KERONE Engineering Solutions Ltd. is a pioneer in application and implementing engineering solutions with its vast experience and team of professionals. Since last 42 years, it has been into designing, manufacturing & installing of Industrial machinery for various processing needs. The engineers & professionals at KERONE have in depth knowledge of different heating technologies and provide solutions applying them in a huge no. of Industrial machines.