This course will introduce the attendees to the basics and most important topics related to thermoset rubber compounds. About 15 billion kilograms of rubber are produced ever year. Rubber finds its way into wide range of applications in the automotive, medical, appliance, electrical, and chemical industries. As a class of materials, rubber has many useful properties because of its unique molecular structure. These include being soft and relatively flexible, high ultimate elongation coupled with good elastic recovery, useful over a wide temperature range, and good chemical resistance.

A part of the presentation the following topics will be covered:

• Introduction to polymers – how rubber is different than plastic
• Overview of rubber properties
• How rubber compound recipes are created
• The essentials of rubber mixing and molding
• Specification of rubber compounds

This course is designed for anyone who works with rubber materials or rubber-based components and needs a solid foundation in how rubber is formulated, processed, and specified. It is especially valuable for:

• Product Design Engineers: Those responsible for specifying rubber parts such as seals, gaskets, vibration isolators, hoses, or medical components—and who need to understand how rubber behaves differently from plastics.
• Materials & Polymer Engineers: Professionals who work with material selection, performance evaluation, or compound development.
• Manufacturing, Process, and Production Engineers: Individuals involved in rubber mixing, molding, or curing who need to understand how processing affects material performance and final part quality.
• Quality, Reliability, and Failure Analysis Teams: Teams who evaluate rubber component failures, inconsistencies, or compliance issues and need to understand the underlying material science.
• Sourcing, Procurement, and Supplier Quality Engineers: Those who purchase rubber components or manage supplier relationships and need to interpret specifications, verify materials, and understand formulation differences.
• Technical Sales, Application Engineers & Customer Support Teams: Professionals who must communicate rubber properties and performance to customers or troubleshoot application issues.
• New Engineers and Technicians Entering the Rubber Industry: Early-career professionals, lab technicians, or students who need a clear, structured introduction to rubber materials and processing.

Do you work with rubber materials but find their behavior difficult to predict or understand?Are you unsure how rubber compounds are formulated, processed, or specified—and how those decisions affect product performance?Do you need a stronger foundation in rubber technology to communicate effectively with suppliers, designers, or manufacturing teams?If these challenges sound familiar, this course was designed for you.

Everyday Problems You’ll Address

• Why does rubber behave so differently from plastics—and how does that affect design and performance?
• How do I read, interpret, and compare rubber specifications?
• What makes one rubber compound more flexible, durable, or chemically resistant than another?
• How do mixing, curing, and molding influence the final properties of rubber parts?
• How are rubber compounds formulated—and what does each ingredient actually do?
• What should I consider when selecting materials for automotive, medical, industrial, or consumer applications?

If you've wrestled with these questions, this course will give you the practical clarity you’ve been missing.

What You’ll Learn

• How rubber differs from plastics, and why this distinction is essential for engineering and design.
• The key properties of rubber, including elasticity, elongation, compression set, temperature resistance, and chemical behavior.
• How compound recipes are created, and the roles of base polymers, fillers, oils, activators, accelerators, and curatives.
• The fundamentals of rubber mixing and molding, including the factors that drive quality and consistency.
• How to specify rubber compounds for real-world applications and performance requirements.

You’ll leave with a solid technical foundation you can directly apply in your work.

Why This Course Matters

Rubber is used in thousands of critical applications—from tires and seals to medical tubing, vibration isolators, and electrical components. Yet for many professionals, rubber remains a “black box” material, with complex formulations and processing steps that are poorly understood.This course changes that.

You'll walk away with:

• A clear, accessible understanding of rubber materials and their behavior.
• Insight into how compounds are developed to meet specific performance targets.
• Greater confidence in evaluating and selecting rubber materials for your products.
• Improved communication with suppliers, processors, and internal teams.
• Knowledge you can immediately use to improve quality, reduce failures, and optimize designs.

If you're ready to understand rubber at its foundation—and make better, more informed decisions—“Basic Rubber Technology” is your next step.