Rubber sheeting is a very inexpensive material that has excellent strength and high insulation properties. It’s also fairly resistant against water and extreme weather. This helps explain why it’s become quite a popular choice in many places. This includes everything from residential properties to commercial offices to even industrial factories.
Contrary to popular belief though, there’s no universal type of rubber sheeting.
There are many different types of rubber sheeting available on the market that it becomes difficult to find the right kind of rubber sheeting for whatever you want to use it for.
What Are the Different Types of Rubber Sheeting?
Rubber sheeting can be made out of synthetic or natural rubbers. Of the two, rubber sheeting made out of synthetic is considered superior. This is because it can be engineered for specific applications. However, to get the most out of rubber sheeting, you need to use the right type for a particular application.
In general, there are 6 different types of rubber sheeting
Natural
Natural rubber sheetings are characterized best by their elasticity. This makes them great for sealing open gaps in many materials, such as gaskets and shock mounts, as well as hoses and tubing and more. This is the most commonly used type of rubber sheeting in the market and can be used in all kinds of environments without having to meet specified requirements.
Neoprene Rubber Sheets
Neoprene rubber sheets are highly resistant to oil, acids, alkalis, and other kinds of petroleum products. This makes them ideal in industrial settings as a base for many different types of adhesives, as well as electrical applications.
EPDM Rubber Sheets
EPDM stands for Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer and is a type of synthetic rubber that possesses high resistance to alkali, ketones, and acids. EPDM rubber sheets are commonly seen used in high zone environmental and outdoor applications.
Silicone Rubber Sheets
Because of their resistance to high temperatures, aging, chemicals, and ozone, as well as low permeability, silicone rubber sheets are used a lot within the pharmaceutical industry and/or in medical settings.
Nitrile Rubber Sheets
Nitrile rubber sheets are specifically designed to possess high oil resistance and be resistant to solver products. As a result, they’re commonly found used within the food industry and in the manufacturing of electrical transformers. Nitrile rubber sheets are also sometimes used for installing electrical wiring and equipment.
Fabric-reinforced Rubber Sheets
This material is made out of a combination of natural and synthetic rubber. It is then reinforced using a layer of fabric. This results in better resistance against high pressure. Thus, fabric-reinforced rubber sheets are used commonly in high-pressure applications.
Where Is Rubber Sheeting Used?
Rubber sheeting is everywhere around us. Most of us don’t need to go further than our arm’s length to find a material where some form of rubber sheeting used. For example, rubber sheeting is used in many drainage systems, residential garages, dryer pans, and many more.
The most common general use of rubber sheeting is for flooring.
As already explained earlier, rubber sheeting can possess different qualities. It all depends on how it was engineered. However, in general, rubber sheeting is considered to possess high resistance to oxidation. In addition to this, rubber, as a material, is also resistant to damage from exposure to the elements like the weather and UV rays, petroleum, oil, and more.
Rubber sheeting can even maintain its form at both cold and warm temperatures. This makes the material ideal for all sorts of applications.
We literally see rubber sheeting all around us. We can see it even in applications most of us wouldn’t expect to find it used. This includes everything from shower mats to prevent tripping to chemical-resistant padding used in laboratory settings and as the underlayment for carpet spreads and mattresses to promote the circulation of air.
The adoption of rubber sheetings in various industries is only going to continue to grow in the future. The main reason for the growing popularity of rubber sheeting is very simple: cost-efficiency.
Compared to other materials, rubber sheets are economical for a number of reasons. For one, it’s not expensive. Second, it can be engineered specifically depending on your application. Third, rubber, as a material, is easy to combine and use in conjunction with other materials. This is why rubber sheeting is used in residential, commercial, and industrial settings.
Conclusion
No industry today doesn’t use rubber sheeting in some form or way. It can be residential (shower mats), commercial (sound-proofing mats), and industrial (electrical insulation mats), and you’d still find rubber sheeting used.
With that said, due to the daily advancements in technology, the functionality of rubber sheeting is only going to grow. If it doesn’t expand, then the material is going to become even more effective. Thus, we, the end-users, will benefit from the already numerous advantages of using rubber sheeting that’s only going to grow.