4 Steps In A Custom Rubber Parts Manufacturing Project

Posted on: 19 May 2022

Rubber parts manufacturing is critical to the production of a wide range of products. Oftentimes, customers also need custom rubber part manufacturing work. If you're planning such a project, you should understand these steps in the process.

Design

One of the first things customers need to do is deal with core design issues. This goes beyond deciding what the shape of the rubber component will be. One of the main arguments for custom rubber parts manufacturing is creating products that can operate in specific environments. If you need a rubber stopper for a piece of equipment that will go in a walk-in freezer, for example, the design needs to include specifications for temperature and humidity tolerances. You can work with the rubber parts manufacturer to determine what mixture would work best for the design.

Preparing the Manufacturing Process

Most products in custom rubber part manufacturing will be injection-molded. This generally requires the creation of the molds for the product. Likewise, the manufacturer may have to tweak the solution for the rubber to both meet your specifications and allow the materials to fit into the mold. They will then have to determine how many manufacturing lines are necessary to meet your demand. Where possible, they may want to adjust the process to improve efficiency as much as possible.

Quality Control

As you head toward the first production run, it's important to establish quality control standards. You should never leave this job entirely to the manufacturer. Ask for prototypes and even a small production run so you can test the results. It may cost a bit more money upfront, but both you and the manufacturer need to be confident in the quality of the product before you begin aggressively pushing through a larger run.

It is also wise to maintain quality control checks in the long run. After you scale up production, keep pulling a few units for quality control checks so you can ensure every item will be up to your specifications for years to come.

Scaling Up

Once you're satisfied with the quality of the rubber parts, you can begin scaling up production. This usually means establishing a contract so you can order a specific number of units within a timeframe. Likewise, there should be options in the contract for expanding production if demand increases.

Be clear about the delivery process, too. If you need deliverables packaged and shipped a certain way, include those requirements in the agreement.

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