24

The Jargon of the Rubber Industry

S E W A R D G. ΒYAM 1

Elastomers Department, Ε. I. duPont de Nemours & C o . ,

W i l m i n g t o n , D e l . 19898

The jargon in the rubber industry, as in any specific group

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or industry, consists chiefly of common words or phrases

Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

to which special and not common meanings are ascribed.

To individuals within the group or industry, jargon is color­
ful and expressive, often connoting ideas or effects difficult
to describe in more precise language. Jargon has been used
too long to be abandoned. It is too expressive to be frowned
on and often is so concise that it is a great aid to readability
or hearability. When used with understanding, its use may
be encouraged.

The crude was broken down i n two passes i n the Gordon using 0 . 1 %
peptizer. It was later banbury mixed by the upside down method
because of the heavy pigment loading. T o avoid scorching the cure
was left out of the batch and added on the warm-up mill. T h e green
stock had little nerve and tubed smoothly. W h e n molded it d i d not
back-rind or blow. The cured stock had a Shore of 65.

H ere are 75 words, 18 of them jargon, that are understandable to rubber

technologists but w o u l d mean little to people not familiar w i t h the rubber
industry. T o be understood by others it was rewritten i n about 350 words.
The use of jargon i n industry is not new. It was undoubtedly used by the
early guilds to protect their secrets from outsiders. These special terms were
to have meaning only for guild members. However, whether jargon consisted
of new words coined to describe a condition, or of existing words to w h i c h
special meanings were given, the net result was descriptive, colorful, and espe­
cially meaningful to a select few. It is doubtful if jargon is purposely created
to add color to a language, though this is certainly a net result. It is also doubt­
ful if such words are coined or given special meanings deliberately because they
convey so much meaning concisely. Jargon is created by accidental or even
ignorant usage, sometimes by people too uneducated or inarticulate to describe
something precisely. In some cases it might be called the caricature of a
concept, burlesquing a salient feature of an idea. A n example of this might be
1
Retired. Present address: 303 Canal Rd., Sarasota, F l a .

429

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 430 LITERATURE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

fish eyes or cat eyes, w h i c h are undissolved bits of rubber i n a solvent solution.
They are probably the gel portion of incompletely broken down rubber, the
balance being sol. A s long as a person conveys his meaning clearly to another
the result is good.
T h e jargon of the rubber industry begins w i t h the Amazon Indians w h o
discovered the rubber tree long before America was discovered. They called
it cahuchu or cauchu, w h i c h means, the weeping tree. V i c k i B a u m told the
story of rubber most interestingly i n her book, " W e e p i n g W o o d . " I n 1736
L a Condamine, a French scientist who had spent several years i n South A m e r -
ica, reported rubber to the French Academy. It is not surprising that the
French name "caoutchouc" was adopted as a variation of the Indian name
"cauchu." W i t h respect to the English name "rubber," E . C . H o l t ( U . S. D e -
partment of Commerce, "Rubber Industry of the U n i t e d States" 1939) says that
" i n 1770 Joseph Priestley, the English chemist and discoverer of oxygen, invited
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Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

attention to a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of w i p i n g from

paper the marks of a black lead pencil. It is believed that others, not Priestley,
gave the substance its English name—rubber."
Although jargon is concise, it is not always precise. It has meaning only
i n context, and its meaning often varies with context. Consider the w o r d cure,
one of the most widely used i n the rubber industry. A s a verb, it means "to
vulcanize," a n d as a noun, "the act of vulcanization." It means a condition
causing vulcanization, as i n " a cure of 10 minutes at 307° F . " It is also used
more loosely to mean the ingredients w h i c h cause or contribute to vulcanization
as i n , "the cure was added on the warm-up m i l l , " referring, of course, to the
accelerator, zinc oxide, a n d / o r sulfur.
F o r our definition we may say that jargon consists of words or phrases
w h i c h are given meanings other than, or additional to, those commonly used.
Hence, jargon may properly be used only when readers or listeners belong to
the group, class or industry familiar with the special meanings. T o use it with
others is confusing, and to define the terms is cumbersome. However, definitions
of jargon should be available and included i n a glossary. T h e rubber industry,
or elements i n the industry, have produced several helpful glossaries and have
recently, through the American Society for Testing a n d Materials ( A S T M ) ,
formulated a very comprehensive one. O f course, glossaries are not limited to
jargon, but practically all words considered to be common jargon should be
included.
Let's drift around the gum shop w h i c h is, of course, jargon for rubber
shop or rubber manufacturing plant. " G u m shop" suggests that the user of
the term may be from A k r o n since the term was more prevalent there some
years ago than i n N e w E n g l a n d . T h e W o l f brothers i n their book " R u b b e r "
even refer to "Akron's gum mines," and they didn't mean synthetic rubber pro-
ducing plants because none existed there at that time. In the storeroom w e can
see the bales of natural rubber and bags of synthetic—now referred to often
as elastomers, a word coined to cover both natural a n d synthetic materials
capable of being vulcanized to have elastic properties. This distinguishes them
from plastics. Sometimes the difference between elastomers and plastics is hard
to define.

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 24. BYAM Jargon of Rubber Industry 431

W e w i l l see packages of all the ingredients that help give rubber the
specific characteristics of the final product. " T o the rubber m a n , " say the
Wolfs, " a l l of these materials are pigments, no matter what they are or what
their use." This statement applies to usage in A k r o n , more than i n other parts
of the country. It is still a fact that "pigment" is not limited to mean " a coloring
matter." The word is commonly used to mean a l l manner of dry powder com-
pounding ingredients, and especially those used for reinforcement and dilution.
Fillers is another w o r d for these dry components. This is not too "jargony,"
yet most of us would never say a stock was "filled" w i t h whiting, clay, or
carbon black. W e w o u l d say loaded. Conversely, the dry ingredients w o u l d
not be "loaders" but rather fillers or loading materials.

A l l of the compounding ingredients are taken to the mill room—not just

a room i n a rubber m i l l — b u t one i n which are located the mixing devices on,
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or i n w h i c h , the ingredients are incorporated into the rubber matrix. M i x i n g

Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

mills consist of two heavy, horizontal rolls between w h i c h the rubber and
powders are ground and mixed. The banbury, an internal mixing machine name
for its inventor, is probably located here also. The rubber is first broken down,
jargon for masticated, or mechanically plasticized, to render it soft enough to
take up the fillers and other ingredients. This operation eliminates or reduces
the nerve of the rubber. This w o r d is usually applied to un vulcanized rubbers
or compounds and refers to a degree of toughness or resistance to deformation.
V i c k i B a u m expressed this most colorfully. " W h e n the sheets (rubber) are
brought to the m i l l room they've got to be broken up. ( W e say broken down.)
For this they're fed to the mills by the mill hands. There are mills and mills
i n a long row, and it's very hot i n the m i l l room, because the rubber gives off
an awful heat and a burning stench and an angry crackling when it's broken up.
The rolls turn and turn and take the rubber between the bite and chew it and
chew it and chew it. W h e n it's been through several mills it comes out all
sizzling hot and angry, but it's a soft, pliable, tacky mass."
Nerve is a state that must be experienced personally to be understood.
B a l l says nerve is "synonymous with elasticity i n the uncured state." Out of
context this definition oversimplifies the meaning. The m i l l man who physically
manipulates the rubber on the breakdown mill understands it well. Nerve is
destroyed or reduced by mechanically working (breaking down) the rubber or
by using a chemical plasticizer, sometimes called a peptizer. A peptizer is not
a pepper-upper but quite the reverse, a deadener, a plasticizer. A petroleum
oil softens rubber but it is not a peptizer, or nerve reducer. W e would like to
measure nerve accurately but just don't know how. W e may m i l l rubber and
note how long it stays rough or lacy, and call it a measure of nerve. W e distort
a piece of rubber and time its comeback, and call that a measure of nerve.
These measurements may show part of the effect but not a l l .

Master batch is rubber jargon. It does not have a meaning like master list
or master key, however. A master batch is a mixture of rubber w i t h a particular
compounding ingredient (sometimes more than one ingredient) i n a higher
concentration than that i n w h i c h it occurs i n a normal mix. Master batching
provides a convenient means for handling small amounts of critical ingredients

Smith; Literature of Chemical Technology

Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 432 LITERATURE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

like color pigments or accelerators and for making dispersions of carbon black.
Accelerators and sulfur may be master batched and withheld from the balance
of the mix to avoid scorching or burning the batch during mixing. The ingre- 1

dients that produce scorch are thus held out while mixing temperatures are high
and added at a time just prior to further processing when the batch is cool.
Scorch means premature vulcanization, w h i c h renders an un vulcanized com-
pound tough, nervy, a n d less capable than otherwise of being processed
smoothly. T h e heat of mixing may cause a stock to scorch but with some
ultrafast acting accelerators—hot accelerators—scorch can occur at room
temperature.
Usually, i n banbury mixing, the fillers a n d other ingredients are added
after the rubber is partially masticated. Sometimes when the filler load is
unusually great the fillers are put into the mixer first and the rubber added a
little later. This is upside down mixing—more jargon. T h e mixed stock may
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be calendered next. A calender is a machine with steel rolls arranged vertically

that forms the stock into a sheet to be applied to fabric or taken from the
machine as an unsupported film. "Calender" is a good dictionary w o r d and
not jargon. Prior to calendering, the stock passes through a warm-up or feed
mill where the cold compound is replasticized b y milling and from w h i c h the
w a r m , soft stock is fed to the calender. A special type of m i l l is a refiner, w h i c h
John B a l l says "is similar i n construction to a mixing m i l l , but is operated w i t h
the rolls held very close together b y tremendous pressure. T h e tight rolls
grind down a n d iron out the mass into a smooth sheet free of devulcanized
particles or tailings, thoroughly dispersing any compounding ingredients pre-
viously added during blending." Since B a l l put "tailings" i n quotes, he evi-
dently considered i t jargon.
W h e n rolls of a calender are adjusted to run at certain differential speeds,
it is called a friction calender. It is used to push a soft stock into the weave of
a fabric. V i c k i B a u m describes it; "Next it (the rubber compound) goes into
a three-roll calender where it's squeezed into a strip of fabric. T h e calender
men call it frictionizing; and (tire) casings are made of this fabric." I think
we w o u l d always say "frictioning" not "frictionizing." It is a means for applying
an adhesive coating to fabric. Bicycle or tire tape is often called friction tape be-
cause the coating is applied b y the friction calender. Friction is jargon that re-
quires context to define specifically. A friction may be the soft, sticky stock, the
operation for applying i t , or the coated fabric. It is also used to mean adhesion,
though this use of friction seems erroneous enough to be discouraged. T h e
term friction pull, however, is used often to denote adhesive strength, whether
determined i n shear or peel.
W h e n calendering or frictioning SL smooth rolling bank gives the best
results. Bank is jargon for the supply of stock held at the bite of the rotating
rolls. A pencil bank is the size of a pencil or a bit larger i n diameter. It sug-
gests a nicely mixed, w e l l plasticized stock to roll uniformly at such a small
diameter. Defects on the surface of the calender sheet, are known variously
as crows feet, air marks, pockmarks, chatter marks or spits. These are caused
perhaps b y poor stock condition, too little or too much heat on the calender
rolls, imperfectly ground calender rolls, or poorly meshing drive gears. T h e

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 24. ΒY A M Jargon of Rubber Industry 433

surface effects noted are significant to experienced operators. They suggest

what he may have to do to improve the final product. T h e n too, the calendered
film, whether applied to fabric or taken off as a film, may shrink and hence
distort badly when it cools. This is nerve again—or a manifestation of nerve.
Tack is rubber jargon. In one rubber glossary tack carried the comment
"see tackiness." After tackiness it said, "the property of being tacky." Most
enlightening. In the dictionary, tack means to fasten with a small nail, the
small nail itself, or to change the course of a sailing vessel. But to the rubber
man it simply means stickiness. Tack i n raw rubber or an uncured stock is
generally good, except when there is too much of it, and the stocks stick to the
mixing mills or calender. Tack can be a surface characteristic of cured rubber,
where generally it is not good. In adhesives, stickiness is of course a prime
property, so much so that we are not likely to use the term tack i n connection
w i t h such cements—unless possibly there is a deficiency of stickiness. In
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adhesive cements we may talk about legs, short and long. Short legs i n a
cement or adhesive bond connotes bond strength, a good property. L o n g legs
suggests a weak adhesive that stretches out. A cement w i t h long legs w o u l d
be very sticky, like molasses, but w i t h little strength i n the strings or legs.
W e referred to chatter marks on calendered sheet as resulting from vibra­
tion from poorly meshing drive gears. This is quite understandable jargon—if
it be jargon. However, I encountered chattering i n a book on rubber processing
w i t h this explanation, "chattering is a type of distortion resulting from continued
thermal expansion of the center of a large article after the surface has cured."
W i t h this definition, chattering is surely jargon—of the k i n d that confuses me.
I had not previously known of such chattering.
A n extrusion machine is like a meat grinder or spaghetti machine. It is
referred to as an extruder, tuber, or strainer, depending on its purpose. Extruder,
which is probably not jargon, is the better word for broad usage, because many
extruded products are strips with odd shaped cross-sections like window chan­
nels and refrigerator door gaskets. N o longer is the process limited to produc­
tion of hollow tubes or round solid rods. The strainer is the same machine
w i t h a screen i n the head, i n front of the die plate, to remove, or strain out dirt
and foreign material of mixed compound. It accomplishes what a refiner m i l l
does. Tuber and strainer can be considered jargon.
W h e n we get to molding, we find some real jargon. Back-rind is a nice
example. Jargon synonyms for back-rind are back-flash and suck-back—terms
w h i c h are descriptive of distortion at the parting or separation line of a mold,
usually i n the form of a ragged or torn indentation. It is not easy to describe,
but no rubber man who has experienced back-rinding and excessive defective
parts has any difficulty i n understanding what back-rinding is. Flash and rind
are somewhat synonymous and denote material, often a thin fin, protruding
from the surface of the molded part, appearing at the mold parting line or
mold vent points. W h e n the flash or rind partly sucks back or curls under we
have b a c k - r i n d — a k i n d of inverse rind or flash.
In molding we deal again with "cure." W h e n we time the vulcanization
to include the mold loading, the period during w h i c h the mold is i n the press,
and the time of removal and unloading of the mold, we have the vulcanization

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 434 LITERATURE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

or curing cycle. W e say we can get χ number of cures per hour or day. Here
cure denotes more than the act of vulcanization or the exact time and tempera­
ture of vulcanization. A synonym for cure i n this sense is heat. A n d we could
say, " w i t h a 4 minute cure, 10 heats per hour can be obtained." Heat is jargon.
W e shouldn't leave "cure" without mentioning CV or CV cure. This means
continuous vulcanization, a system pertaining to the vulcanizing of insulation
on wire or cable. A n d we have a l l kinds of cures—overcure, undercure, precure,
aftercure, semicure, optimum cure, cold cure and many others.
A mold-wash is not a mold cleaner; it is a coating w h i c h prevents adhesion
of the rubber mix to the mold surfaces during cure. It is a mold lubricant or
release agent. It is the butter or grease on the cake pan. T h e industry is
gradually dropping the term mold-wash and using the more precise term
release agent but the jargon term w i l l no doubt persist for a long time.
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The hardness of rubber, usually cured rubber, is measured w i t h an instru­

Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

ment called the Shore Durometer. Actually it measures the resistance to the
penetration of an indenter point into the surface of the rubber. The resistance
is provided by a standardized spring so that a numerical value can be recorded
over a range from 0, soft or no resistance, to 100, or so hard there is no indenta­
tion. This Shore Durometer is so universally used i n the rubber industry that
the statement " a hardness of 6 5 " means 65 on the Shore Durometer scale. W h e n
we say, w h i c h is very common, a durometer of 65, we mentally do not capitalize
the " D " and hence have jargon. W e often say also, 65 Shore.
Our cured rubber product may bloom, bleed, chalk, frost, blush or crock.
There are similarities and differences i n the condition these jargon words de­
scribe. A glossary might define them as follows: bloom is a surface appearance
or change i n appearance caused by the migration of a l i q u i d or solid to the
surface. Bloom must not be confused w i t h surface dust or a coating from an
external source. Waxes used i n excess of their solubility point i n rubber m i ­
grate to the surface. Sulfur and many organic chemicals also do this. Bleeding
is the migration to the rubber surface of an o i l , wax, or plasticizer as a film or
i n drops. Sometimes called "sweating," it is similar to bloom but not usually
applied to powder materials, except i n case of organic colors if they migrate
into adjacent stock of a different color, or when they are removable at the
surface by water or other solvent. A n inorganic pigment like red iron oxide
may crock but not bleed. Crocking is the color i n rubber w h i c h may not appear
at the surface as a bloom but w h i c h w i l l rub off and thus discolor an adjacent
surface. This is again a migration of a material to the surface and hence very
similar to bloom. Chalking is the formation of a powdery surface condition
that might look like a bloom but is not caused by migration i n the rubber. It is
caused by oxidation or some k i n d of deterioration of the rubber surface or
binder, generally from weathering, that permits the fillers a n d / o r color p i g ­
ments to appear at the surface. It is definitely a condition different from that
w h i c h causes crocking. Frosting is another surface effect that appears as a
whitening or graying, sometimes like a clouded surface. It is probably caused
by a chemical reaction at the surface. Frost is often seen on so-called trans­
parent rubber as cloudy effect, perhaps from the accelerator used. It is not

Smith; Literature of Chemical Technology

Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 24. BYAM Jargon of Rubber Industry 435

a bloom for it cannot be scraped off or removed w i t h a solvent wash. In some

cases it might be referred to as a blush. Blushing is usually a cloudiness caused
by moisture condensation on the surface of a wet cement film from evaporation
of solvent. It disappears usually when solvent is completely evaporated.
Another series of jargon words having related meanings includes cracking,
crazing, checking, and alligatoHng: Cracking is a fissured surface condition
w h i c h develops on rubber articles exposed to light, heat, or repeated bending
or stretching. It is generally caused by oxidation or ozone. W h e n the fissures
(cracks) are very small, the condition is called checking. T h e use of antioxi-
dants, proper cure, elastomer itself, and compounding ingredients influence
cracking and checking. Crazing is very similar to checking but often applied
to appearance and growth of minute cracks i n rubber held under strain i n
sunlight and weather.
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Another group of words whose meanings run together relates to creep:

Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

Creep is the deformation occurring w i t h the lapse of time, i n both cured and
uncured rubber, i n a body under stress i n addition to the immediate elastic
deformation. The glossary giving this definition then refers us to hysteresis,
damping, flow, compression set viscosity, cold flow, and drift. Naunton says,
"Creep, sometimes called drift, is the increase i n strain due to flow under con-
tinued stress." Drift, i n addition to being continued deformation under strain,
is the term applied to change i n a given durometer reading after a period of
time. Hysteresis occurs when stretched or deformed rubber is allowed to re-
tract, and the energy given up by retraction is less than the energy applied i n
stretching the rubber. The difference i n energy of deformation and retraction
is hystersis loss. Fatigue is the weakening or exhaustion caused by constantly
repeated stress. This meaning is, of course, exactly what one w o u l d expect.
Stress relaxation and also creep relaxation, stress decay as the loss of stress
accompanied by constantly decreasing compressed thickness—decrease i n stress
from internal relaxation under strain.
T o use a language peculiar only to one industry, we don't always need
to call it jargon. As Naunton says, "the engineer and the rubber technologist
do not even speak the same language. A n engineer uses the term resilience to
denote strain energy per unit volume; applied to rubber it is a measure of
rebound properties." A g a i n he says modulus applied to metals means either
the shear or elastic modulus and is a measure of stress to strain; applied to
rubber, modulus means a stress to cause a somewhat arbitrary elongation and
is used loosely as a synonym for stiffness. Flexure means bending to an engi-
neer, but i n the rubber field the term is applied widely to all forms of straining."
T h e term, shelf life needs context to indicate its meaning. If it refers to a
cured specimen or product, it means the change or lack of change that takes
place over a considerable period of time. Room temperature and no more than
indirect light are implied. This is shelf aging. W h e n an uncured compound
is involved, shelf life is the time it remains soft, millable and decently process-
ible. It has not set-up; has not become partially cured. However, if the uncured
stock is a tread for recapping a tire, it is likely that shelf fife means the time
the stock w i l l stay vulcanizable through retention of accelerator activity. This
is quite the reverse of the former meaning.

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 436 LITERATURE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

T o a rubber man camelback would never mean transportation. The u n -

cured recapping tread referred to previously is known as camelback, a name
derived from the humped shape of the cross-section.
W i t h rubber cements the terms pot life and can life might be presumed
to have the same meaning. However, pot life is the time during w h i c h an often
can of cement w i l l stay brushable or free from excessive thickening or gelation.
If the cement is highly accelerated to cure rapidly at room temperature, the
pot life w i l l be short. Pot life is usually a matter of minutes, hours, or days.
C a n life is measured i n terms of weeks, months, or perhaps years because it is
the time sealed cans of cement may be stored under good conditions and be
tisable when opened.
In recent years popcorn has crept into rubber jargon. Popcorn is a product
of synthetic rubber manufacture—literally and figuratively. Actually, it means
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hard, tough, insoluble, and nonuseful particles formed by overpolymerization

Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

of dienes i n fractionating columns, storage containers, or other places where

complete polymerization should not take place.
Of course only correct jargon must be used or there w i l l be confusion.
T h e W o l f Brothers tell of Christner, an A k r o n " p u g , " who once won a fight with
Jack Sharkey and who was the idol of the gum workers. The A k r o n molders,
m i l l men and other rubber operators were baffled by references of Eastern sports
writers to the " A k r o n rubber puddler," a term that d i d not exist i n their
language.
As material was gathered for this paper, and more so as it was written,
it became increasingly clear how important jargon is. So many words h a d to be
used to express or try to express the meaning of the special terms of jargon.
If a l l words called jargon were discarded, we w o u l d soon create a new set
just for ease of expression. It is probably true that as rubber technology passes
from its old status as an art and approaches that of a science, we w i l l use new
descriptive words, possibly very precise words, and perhaps colorful ones.
However, they w i l l include many that w i l l fall i n the jargon category.

GLOSSARY

Accelerator—An organic or inorganic chemical which hastens the vulcanization of

rubber, natural or synthetic, causing it to take place in a shorter time or at a lower
temperature. Accelerators, particularly organic, are not mere catalysts of vulcaniza-
tion, however, because they produce different and generally beneficial states of cure
and different degrees of stability or resistance to chemical attack in the vulcanization.
Activator—A chemical which may act on the accelerator to change the rate of cure
and the properties of a vulcanizate—activators may be organic or inorganic—They
may be zinc oxide or other metallic oxides, fatty acid like stearic, organic com-
pounds which are mild accelerators if used alone.
Alligatoring—A type of crazing or surface cracking of a definite pattern, as indicated
by name. The effect is often caused during weather aging.
Anchorage—Adhesion of rubber to fiber, fabric, metal or other material to which the
rubber compound is applied by calendering, welding, cement spreading, or other
means.
Apron Mill—An endless, wide fabric belt, partly under rolls, used carrying rubber
compound during mixing to the bite or bank between the mixing rolls.
Back-Rind—Also flash-back and suck-back—Distortion of a mold cured product at the
mold line, usually in the form of wrinkles, folds, tears, or indentations. The effect is

Smith; Literature of Chemical Technology

Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 24. ΒY A M Jargon of Rubber Industry 437

often caused by sudden release, on opening of the mold, of internal pressure result­
ing from thermal expansion of the compound during rise to curing temperature.
Bleeding—Migration to the rubber surface of an oil, wax, or plasticizer as a film or
in drops, sometimes called sweating. Also a term applied to organic pigment colors
if they migrate into an adjacent stock of a different color, or when they are remov­
able at the surface by water or other solvent.
Blocking—Immediate adhesion of layers of mixed compound when they touch each
other.
Bloom—Similar to bleeding, in that it is migration of liquids or solids to the surface
of a rubber compound to cause a change of appearance in color cloudiness at the
surface. Waxes used in excess of their solubility point in rubber come to the surface
as a wax bloom, as does sulfur that remains as an excess over the amount actually
chemically combined with the rubber.
Blush—A surface effect similar to bloom, but often a cloudiness due to moisture
condensation on the surface of a wet cement film from evaporation of solvent. This
type of blush occurs when the solvent has completely evaporated.
Boot-legging—Separation of plies progressively occurring in conveyor, transmission of
other belts made of separate plies of rubber and fabric.
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Blowing—Porosity or sponginess occurring during cure, either deliberately through

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use of a gas releasing material to form sponge or expanded rubber or inadvertently

due to entrapped moisture to cause undesirable porosity.
Bank—rubber mill—A relatively small amount of unvulcanized rubber compound
rolling in the space between two mill rolls, while the major portion of the compound
is bonded around the first roll. A pencil bank is a small, smooth rolling amount of
compound between a calender roll and fabric surface being surface or frictioned
coated.
Breakdown—To soften or plasticize rubber by working it on a rubber mill or in an
internal mixer. Also same as to mill or masticate.
Chalking—Formation of a powdery surface condition due to oxidation of surface of
rubber and release of pigments and fillers at the surface. Not to be confused with
bloom which looks similar.
Camelback—Uncured recapping tread. So called from humped shape of cross section.
Cat eyes—Also called fish eyes. Undissolved gobules of rubber in a cement generally
made from only rubber and solvent.
Chatter marks—Appear on surface of calendered rubber due to poorly meshed gears
or vibration of machine.
Checks—Rough surface due to fine cracks from weathering. Also roughness formed
on calendered sheet when temperature of calender rolls is too low or when the
sheet is chilled too suddenly.
Cracking—Surface condition formed by weather aging, also by repeated flexing or
stretching. Also called crazing. Cracking is also the treatment of rubber, uncured
and cured, by passing it through moving corrugated rolls, as in preparing tires and
other vulcanized rubber for reclaiming.
Crawl—Shrinkage of milled and calendered stock after removal from rolls.
Crazing—Surface pattern produced on rubber articles exposed to weather, caused by

Creep—Deformation occurring with lapse of time, in both cured and uncured rubber,
in a body under stress in addition to the immediate elastic deformation. Also called

Crocking—Color pigment in rubber which may not appear on the surface as a bloom
but which will rub off and discolor an adjacent surface. Staining of a white cloth
by rubbing lightly over a colored surface.
Cure—Synonymous with vulcanize as a verb and vulcanization as a noun. It includes
time and temperature of Vulcanization.
Air Cure—With the use of ultra or fast acting accelerators, vulcanization can take
place at room temperature.
Acid Cure—through use of sulfur monochloride in liquid or vapor form. This is a
surface effect only suitable for thin articles like fabric coatings or sheet gum like
dental dam, bathing caps, and similar articles. Often called a cold cure since no
heat beyond that necessary to vaporize the sulfur chloride is necessary.
Bin Cure—is partial or complete vulcanization of a mixed compound while stored in
a bin or pile waiting for molding or further processing. Also called pile burning or
premature vulcanization.

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 438 LITERATURE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

After-cure—is a continuation of the process of vulcanization after the cure has been
carried to the desired degree and the source of heat removed, generally resulting in
over-cure and a product less resistant to aging than properly cured products.
Over-cure—Caused by an after-cure as above or by being subjected to too high a
temperature or too long a period at a proper temperature and resulting in a product
less resistant to aging.
Ammonia cure—A modification of a hot air pressure cure, often used for footwear,
in which ammonia gas is used to accelerate vulcanization and to prevent the
deteriorating effect of air.
Semi-cure—A preliminary, incomplete cure given to certain rubber articles to cause
the rubber to set in some desired shape. Full vulcanization is subsequently com-
pleted by a final cure.
Tight cure—Sufficient vulcanization to give a product good tensile strength and good
snap or elasticity.
Dumbbell—A piece of rubber cut in the shape of a dumbbell used for physical testing.
Fin, Fhsh or Rind—Overflow material protruding from surface of cured, molded
rubber articles, usually appearing at mold separation line or mold vent points.
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Fillers—Any compounding ingredient, usually in dry, powder form, added to rubber

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in substantial amount to improve quality or lower cost. Fillers have various effects;
some are relatively inert, like whiting or barytes, and provide loading for cost reduc-
tion; others, like carbon blacks, have a definite and desirable reinforcing effect with
improvement in abrasion resistance and other properties.
Frosting—A clouding of the surface of some rubber and synthetic rubber goods,
appearing within a few hours or days after vulcanization. The frosted appearance
is different from bloom or blush and cannot be readily removed by washing with
a solvent. It may disappear if the article is heated moderately but will generally
reappear on cooling. It is thought to be caused by ozone in the air which produces
a maze of minute cracks. Some antioxidants have definite anti-frosting effects.
Green Stock—Raw or uncured rubber stock, ready for vulcanization. The term is not
applied to crude rubber or synthetic rubber that has not been compounded.
Inhibitor—A negative catalyst which prevents or retards vulcanization or oxidation.
A good inhibitor will retard vulcanization at room temperature to prevent pre-cure
but will not retard at normal curing temperatures.
Legs—The stringy effect that is apparent when cemented surfaces are separated
shortly after the bond is made. Long legs or strings are indicative often of a weak
bond whereas short legs indicate a strong bond.
Logy—Sluggish, low snap or recovery. A condition formed in poorly cured or over-
loaded vulcanizers.
Mold Wash, Mold Lubricant, or Release Agent—A material that will prevent adher-
ence of cured rubber to a mold and will facilitate removal of the cured product.
The material is often a water solution or slurry of a suitable material sprayed or
brushed on the hot mold prior to filling it with the rubber to be molded.
Masticate—To work rubber on a mixing mill or in an internal mixer until it becomes
soft and plastic. Synonymous with breakdown.
Nerve—A condition difficult to define fully but commonly used to denote the qualities
of firmness, strength and elasticity in crude rubber. In crude rubber, nerve is re-
duced or destroyed by milling or breakdown.
Peptizing Agents—Substances that act as chemical plasticizers for natural and syn-
thetic rubbers. They act as catalysts for oxidation breakdown of rubber during the
milling or mastication period. Additional plasticization can be accomplished without
further milling by heating the rubber containing the peptizing agent, thus reducing
power consumption in breakdown.
Pigment—Used properly, this term means a dry colored powder for coloring rubber
and other products. In rubber, the word is often used to denote fillers and reinforc-
ing agents, as well as coloring materials.
Pop Corn—A name for non-useful, hard, tough, insoluble polymer, resembling pop-
corn, formed by polymerization in the manufacture of synthetic rubbers.
Proofing—The process of rubberizing fabrics, to render them impervious to water.
It is an operation most commonly done by spreading a rubber cement of high
viscosity or dough on the fabric, allowing the solvent to evaporate and curing in
dry heat ovens or with sulfur chloride.

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Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
 24. BYAM Jargon of Rubber Industry 439

Retarder—A material which in small amount added to a rubber compound retards

vulcanization or slows down the activity of the accelerator. Specifically phthalic
anhydride and salicylic acid are retarders. The most valuable retarder is one which
slows the vulcanization at processing and early curing temperatures but does not
affect or may even activate the rate of cure at full curing temperatures.
Refiner—A machine similar to a two roll mixing mill, operated with rolls very close
together to crush undispersed ingredients and hold them in the bite of the rolls for
removal and discarding when the mass has passed through. Refiner rolls are shorter
and have a much greater diameter than mixing rolls, and are operated at a higher
surface speed ratio to provide more grinding effect.
Reversion—The softening of vulcanized rubber (natural usually but sometimes syn­
thetic rubber) when heated too long or at too high a temperature. Reversion is
evidenced by increase in extensibility, decrease in tensile strength, and lowering of
the stress to produce a given elongation. Extreme reversion results usually in
tackiness.
Scorching or Burning—A term denoting premature vulcanization of a rubber com­
pound, occurring during the mixing operation when the compound is calendered
or extruded. Scorch is often controlled or prevented by selection of proper acceler­
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ators or by use of retarders. Scorched or burnt stock is generally not processible.

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Set-up—In an uncured compound, set-up due to incipient vulcanization occurs and

is akin to scorch in a lesser degree usually. Set-up stocks are difficult or impossible
to process smoothly and will not dissolve completely in solvent.
Staining—Discoloration produced by a rubber stock on organic finishes, lacquers and
fabrics, owing to presence of discoloring type antioxidants in the compound. The
condition is aggravated by exposure to heat, pressure, or sunlight. Also discoloration
of a surface due to migration of an ingredient from one rubber compound to an
adjacent compound even though they may not be in actual contact with each other.
Strainer, Tuber, Extruder—An extrusion machine in which unvulcanized rubber or
reclaimed rubber is forced through a screen backed by a perforated plate, to rid
the stock of contaminating particles.
Tack—The natural adhesiveness of rubber in raw state. Also the property of raw or
compounded rubber which causes layers of stock to cohere. It is a desirable prop­
erty only when adhesion or cohesion is desired.
Warm-up—A milling operation to platicize uncured rubber compounds before cal­
endering, extruding, or molding.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

" A S T M Standards," American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race St., Phila­
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"Standard Universal Dictionary," 1940.

Smith; Literature of Chemical Technology

Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.
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Thompson, D . C., "Mechanical Molded Goods—Neoprene and Hypalon," Elastomers

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RECEIVED August 7, 1964. Presented on the symposium, "Literature of Rubber," spon-

sored by the Division of Chemical Literature and the Division of Rubber Chemistry
at the 130th Meeting of the American Chemical Society at Atlantic City, Sept. 18-19,
1956. Published in limited edition by the Division of Rubber Chemistry and re-
printed by permission of the Division. Updated 1968.
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Publication Date: January 1, 1968 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1968-0078.ch024

Smith; Literature of Chemical Technology

Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1968.