A review of the manufacture of automotive sponge body seals will be presented. A brief historical listing of the various types of materials such as closed cell, open cell, latex foam and urethane foam will be discussed.
General compound information will be presented. The rationale between compounding and the balancing of the blow and cure rates will be covered.
The processing of sponge rubber body seals is with respect to mixing, extrusion, molding of corners and details sometimes containing inserts via compression transfer and injection techniques and painting will also be reviewed.
The SAE Classification of Sponge Rubber will be explained in so far as it is related to sponge body seals, their physical properties and characteristics.
New and future developments in seal design and manufacturing techniques will be discussed.