Once the polymer selection has been made our technologists will be able to design and develop a compound around the chosen polymer to meet the required application..

For example, legislation has required automotive manufacturers to reduce the amount of hydrocarbon emitted from a vehicle. One area where this is possible is the rubber components used in the fuel system. Conventionally this has been achieved by making components, such as fuel filler neck hoses out of fluoroelastomers, which offer very good permeation resistance compared with conventional elastomers, but which are very expensive.

Our technologists were asked to help develop a component which gave good permeation resistance but without the high cost of the fluoroelastomer.

The solution was to develop a composite product utilising two elastomeric compounds, one providing a thin inner barrier layer with excellent permeation resistance based on the expensive fluoroelastomer, and a low cost less resistant outer cover based on PVC/Nitrile.

A further requirement was that the component should be manufactured by co injection molding without the need for a bonding agent between the interface of the two layers.

Our technologists with input from polymer suppliers were able to successfully develop two compounds, which met all the requirements such that a component is now in production.