Sponge Rubber – Advantages and Applications

At CB Frost, we offer a large selection of sponge rubber materials to suit our clients’ specific requirements, including a range of specialist products for the rail industry.

Sponge rubber materials are highly versatile and are used across a very wide variety of industries. Generally, a closed cell material, sponge is ideally suited for sealing applications, preventing the ingress of air, water, oils, dust and other particles, depending on the sponge grade used. Inside a sponge rubber is a series of enclosed capsules that are not connected, providing the appearance of bubbles in the material. It is these cell walls that prevent outside bodies from passing through the sponge.

There are many benefits of sponge materials, including:

• Excellent sealing abilities
• Excellent shock absorption abilities
• Controlled compression and recovery
• Available in different densities, from high to low firmness
• It can be cut into sheet material, gaskets, washers and tape/strip
• It can be laminated with adhesive

EPDM sponge and Neoprene sponge are two of the most commonly requested materials by our customers. Both materials feature a closed cell structure and similar advantageous properties.

EPDM Sponge

EPDM sponge is commonly used as a sealing material and is well suited for use in outdoor and automotive applications as a result of its excellent resistance to ozone, UV, extreme temperatures (-40℃ to 110℃), and resistance to general weathering and abrasion.

EPDM sponge rubber is manufactured as blocks and converted/split into sheets or sheets are joined to form rolls in a wide variety of thicknesses. Using our in-house capabilities, we can convert sponge into strip/tape, gaskets, washers, plain and adhesive backed or supply extruded sponge profiles to suit customer needs.

More information on EPDM sponge.

Neoprene Sponge

Neoprene sponge is an excellent sealing material, with a high level of resistance to abrasion. As a chemically inert material, with good resistance to oils, and the ability to withstand temperatures of between -40℃ to 110℃, Neoprene is ideally suited for industrial applications. Like EPDM, Neoprene sponge rubber is a closed cell material with good UV resistance and recovery.

Like EPDM, Neoprene sponge is manufactured as blocks, these are then split into sheets or joined to form rolls of material in a variety of thicknesses, ranging between 1mm and 40mm. CB Frost convert sponge sheets/sheeting into gaskets, washers, tape/strip with or without an adhesive backing on one or both faces. We also supply neoprene sponge as extruded profiles to customers requirements.

More information on Neoprene sponge.

Sponge Rubber Tape and Gaskets

From our manufacturing facility in Birmingham, where we keep large quantities of sponge rubber material in stock, we can convert and supply sponge tape and gaskets in small and large production runs.

For small to medium quantities of tape or gasket products, we use our overhead presses to cut stock material down into the specified shapes. For high volumes, we use our HSC (high speed cutting machine), which operates at speeds of up to 100 strokes per minute whilst maintaining pinpoint precision and helping us to ensure excellent lead times.

To discuss your sponge rubber requirements, please call us on +44 (0) 121 773 8494. Our experienced team will happily guide you through the ideal materials and manufacturing processes to suit your requirements.