Choosing the Right Rubber Material-The Science of Selection: How Elbex Engineers Your Success
David Garman • October 31, 2025
Choosing rubber materials can make all the difference for the performance and longevity of your rubber extrusions. The wrong choice can lead to compromised performance and even product failure or costly redesigns – so it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by this decision. Fortunately, with Elbex’s data-driven material selection criteria for specific rubber extrusion applications, you don’t have to leave this chance. Here’s how we help you pick the right materials, every time.
The Guiding Questions: Elbex's Strategic Selection Process
Choosing the right materials largely comes down to asking in-depth questions to understand the application and its operating environment. Our engineers ask critical questions like:
- What will the part’s primary function be?
- What are the application’s temperature requirements (both high and low)?
- Will the part be exposed to specific chemicals or fluids?
- Will the part be located indoors or outdoors (UV, ozone, weather exposure)?
- Does the part need to meet any regulatory requirements, such as food-grade, fire-retardant?
- What is the target cost per part?
The answers to these questions allow us to select the right compound for each extrusion, ensuring optimal performance while still fitting within your budget.
A Closer Look: Key Elastomer Properties & Their Applications
When selecting rubber materials for different applications, we look at their distinct characteristics. For example, durometer (or hardness) directly impacts a material’s sealing and abrasion. You generally want a softer material for better sealing, but harder for durability.
Here’s how some of the most common elastomers compare:
- Silicone rubber: Silicone rubber properties include solid performance in both extremely hot and very cold temperatures, excellent flexibility, and strong UV/weathering resistance. Silicone is often used in high-heat applications, as well as the medical and food industries.
- EPDM rubber: Common EPDM rubber applications include outdoor seals, gaskets, and weatherstripping. This material’s resistance to water, ozone, sunlight, and weathering make it great for outdoor use.
- Neoprene rubber: Neoprene rubber applications can be quite varied thanks to its resistance to oil, heat, and flame. This versatile, all-purpose material is often a good fit for industrial and automotive applications.
- Nitrile rubber: Like neoprene, nitrile rubber applications often include the automotive and manufacturing industries thanks to its excellent resistance to oils, fuels, and many chemicals.
The Elbex Advantage: Expertise at Your Service
Choosing rubber materials is a critical step in any project. With Elbex on your side as a true collaborative partner, you get the unparalleled expertise and guidance you need to make the right choice, every time. Our goal is to empower you with useful information and help you find value-driven solutions that balance your cost and performance needs.
With our material selection criteria for specific rubber extrusion applications, you can have confidence that the final product will meet every performance, cost, and environmental need you have.
Contact us today to get started!
Sharp edges, constant stress, and high friction in industrial environments can make tearing a constant threat for rubber components. Left unchecked, these tears can lead to leaks, downtime, and costly repairs, which makes understanding the physical properties of rubber elastomers a top priority. At Elbex, our focus on the tear resistance of rubber, combined with our capabilities for selecting elastomers with high tear resistance for industrial applications, helps ensure dependable results for your industrial seals. Defining the Challenge: What is Tear Resistance in Elastomers? Tear resistance in elastomers is an essential quality that allows the rubber to resist the growth of a cut or notch, especially under tension. Though related to tensile strength, tear strength specifically applies to an elastomer’s resistance to cracks. Tear resistance directly impacts a rubber component’s durability, performance, and safety. Tear resistance is vital in high friction environments such as conveyor skirts and equipment bumpers, where components constantly move over rough surfaces. It is also important for seals and gaskets that are compressed against sharp edges, such as metal flanges or structural seams. Parts that are frequently stretched or flexed in dynamic stress environments also need high tensile strength. Material Analysis: Elastomers Known for High Tear Resistance Different rubber elastomers offer different performance levels. In applications where high tear resistance is a priority, natural rubber stands out for its superior tear resistance and high abrasion resistance, making it a common pick for impact zones and other heavy-duty applications. Other good material options include nitrile, which also offers excellent resistance to petroleum-based fluids; and silicone, which pairs tear resistance with temperature stability and vibration dampening — ideal for sealing high-purity or high-temperature environments. With the right formulation, polyisoprene (IR) and styrene butadiene (SBR) can also provide good tear resistance. Elbex's Expert Criteria for Material Selection To understand what will work best for your application, our engineers ask targeted questions to precisely match the compound to your performance needs. For example, knowing if an extrusion is exposed to oil or weathering, or if its main threat is friction or cutting, can affect which material is recommended. We also consider the hardness (durometer) of the rubber. Harder compounds usually have greater abrasion resistance, but a softer elastomer is usually needed to seal irregular surfaces. Our team finds the optimal balance to control costs and achieve the desired level of tear resistance. Why Choose Elbex for High Tear Resistance Applications When you work with Elbex, you get unmatched material knowledge paired with custom extrusion capabilities to give you maximum tear resistance for your application. By overseeing everything from material selection to manufacturing, we can produce custom rubber extrusions, seals, and profiles that have been specifically engineered to prevent tearing. By prioritizing tear resistance in elastomers, Elbex can help you ensure safety, durability, and operational longevity in industrial settings. Contact our expert extrusion engineers today to discuss your project and get results that can withstand the cut.
Extreme heat, constant moisture, and air barrier requirements are common challenges in architectural, manufacturing, and industrial applications. While many materials can’t hold up under these conditions, silicone sheeting offers the perfect solution for these situations thanks to its superior temperature resistance and sealing properties. At Elbex, we specialize in high temperature silicone rubber sheeting, delivering dependable and customizable results for all of your silicone sheeting needs. Here’s a closer look at what we can do for you. The Unmatched Power of High Temperature Silicone High temperature silicone rubber sheeting is essential in applications where other materials would fail or degrade quickly due to extreme heat. This is because silicone is able to maintain its physical properties and sealing effectiveness across a much wider temperature range than other materials. This makes it especially well suited for creating water and air barriers. For example, you’ll typically find silicone in glazing systems, seals, and environmental barriers in architecture and construction thanks to its protective sealing power and energy efficiency. In manufacturing, it is used in pipe ramps, expansion joints, and protective sheeting when extreme heat is a factor. And when a non-reactive material for gaskets or seals is needed for water control applications, silicone is the ideal solution. Elbex's Commitment to Custom Silicone Sheeting Solutions At Elbex, we take pride in making customization our standard. We welcome design challenges that require custom-manufactured products, including silicone sheeting. In addition to our custom capabilities, we often have standard translucent silicone sheeting available in various widths for quick shipment — just call to check our current availability! Regardless of whether you need custom or standard silicone sheeting, you can expect quality work from Elbex. As an ISO Certified facility, our silicone sheeting offers consistent quality and structural integrity for every application. Comprehensive Support for Your Project Needs When you work with Elbex, you get dedicated engineering resources and expert assistance from start to finish. We firmly believe that your success drives our success. By offering guidance and troubleshooting assistance for your designs, as well as in-house tooling for the efficient production of silicone sheeting profiles, we help your project get finished on time and on budget. Even more importantly, we’ll help you choose the correct silicone grade and thickness for your desired performance levels. For projects that require the extreme durability and sealing power of high temperature silicone rubber sheeting, you can count on Elbex. With our comprehensive silicone sheeting solutions and top-quality customer support, we’ll help you start solving your sealing problems today. Contact us to check our current stock or to get started with your custom project.
Public transit vehicles see rigorous use day in and day out. Because of this, they have a continuous need for durable transportation rubber profiles that can hold up under extreme environments, constant movement, and heavy use. Quality mass transit rubber extrusions, such as bus door seals and train window gaskets, are essential for vehicle performance, as well as passenger safety and comfort. Here’s how Elbex provides high durability rubber extrusions for transportation industry leaders. Engineering Comfort and Integrity in Motion One of the most important functions of mass transit rubber extrusions is to improve passenger comfort. Rubber components help keep out weather and water and limit vibrations throughout the vehicle for a more comfortable ride. They can also reduce noise from outside sources, further improving the passenger experience. With Elbex, you can count on finished components to provide lasting support, as they are manufactured to withstand mass transit’s toughest conditions, including direct sunlight and extreme temperature changes. Specialized Sealing and Safety Solutions Sealing applications like bus door seals, bus window seals, and train window gaskets also play a vital safety role. In addition to protecting passengers from the elements, extruded rubber components also protect vital vehicle systems. For example, extruded rubber bumpers cushion and reduce movement from impacts, while D-sections help eliminate vibrations for smoother vehicle operation. Similarly, U-Channel profiles such as edge guards and protective sleeves and gaskets help secure and protect essential components throughout the vehicle. Custom Manufacturing: The Key to High Durability At Elbex, our ability to provide high-durability rubber extrusions for the transportation industry comes from our commitment to quality throughout the entire custom manufacturing process. Rather than carrying inventory, we offer custom manufactured transportation rubber profiles to meet your unique project requirements. Custom components (available in continuous lengths and precise shapes) created for a precise purpose deliver superior stability and protection for these high-use environments. This is true whether you need us to help with the creation of D-sections, U-channels, or hollow tube profiles. A Collaborative Approach with Transit Engineers At Elbex, we believe in actively collaborating with transportation engineers to ensure that transportation rubber profiles meet your exact specifications. We offer comprehensive design assistance, material selection support, custom on-site tooling, and value-added services like vulcanized splicing and high-speed auto cutting. Our aim is to ensure that your finished mass transit rubber extrusions meet all regulatory standards and applicable codes. With our precision products like bus door seals and train window gaskets, you can have confidence that you’ll get the results you need when you work with our team. Contact us today to discuss your project requirements or to learn more about how we can elevate your mass transit vehicle performance.
