Educational Opportunities

Fundamentals of Rubber Compounding

Instructors: Michael Fath and John Byers
Monday, October 13: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (lunch on your own both days)
Tuesday, October 14: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

COSTS	Before 10/6	After 10/6
Member	$795	$895
Non-Member	$950	$1050
Student/ Emeritus	$25	$25

A Practical Approach to Real World Compounding Problems

This seminar will present a description and review of the functionality of the various compounding ingredients used to formulate a rubber compound, their advantages and disadvantages, in order to achieve a desired level of compound performance properties. Materials discussed include elastomers, fillers, curing agents, plasticizers and antioxidants.

This applied seminar emphasizes practical approaches to real world compounding problems. Theory and mechanisms are presented where they are helpful to allow the compounder to develop a model to predict behavior and responses.

The objectives of this seminar are:

• Overview practical aspects of compounding
• Provide theory where helpful to predict behavior
• Provide opportunities for one-to-one dialog for detail beyond general class interest
• To utilize class expertise as a resource
• Provide references/ contacts for you to use as future questions arise.

Instructor Biographies: Michael A. Fath has 43 years rubber industry experience in R&D, commercial development and management positions with B.F. Goodrich, Goodyear, Monsanto, and Polysar. He is the founder of Elastomer Technology, Inc., a consulting company to the rubber industry. He has broad experience in rubber compounding, primarily in specialty and non-tire applications. At Monsanto, he was a co-inventor of the TPE composition now marketed commercially as Santoprene Thermoplastic Rubber and was involved in the early commercialization of Santoprene and Geolast TPE’s. He earned his B.S. degree in chemistry and M.S. degree in physical chemistry from Kent State University.

John T. Byers has 43 years experience in technical positions with six different companies, including: Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., Ashland Chemical Co., Wyrough & Loser, Inc., PPG Industries, Inc., Degussa Corp., and Rubber World Magazine. In the course of those years he developed expertise in technical service, rubber materials & engineering, problem solving, product development, compounding and applications development for both tire and non-tire rubber applications. In 2000, he retired from Degussa and established Byers Rubber Consulting, Inc. In 2003, he became the part-time Technical Editor for Rubber World magazine. John has written, presented, and published numerous technical articles as well as several chapters in textbooks and rubber compounding courses. He has been a frequent lecturer on filler applications (carbon blacks, silicas & silanes, non-black fillers) in rubber compounding courses at several universities, the Rubber Division, and local rubber groups. He has also received two Best Paper Awards from the Rubber Division.

Introduction to Rubber Technology

Instructor: R. J. Del Vecchio
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM (1 hour lunch on your own)

COSTS	Before 10/6	After 10/6
Member	$525	$625
Non-Member	$680	$780
Student/ Emeritus (book NOT included)	$25	$25

New to the Rubber Industry? Or Non-Technical?

If you are new to this industry, working with engineering, sales, administration, or human resources and you would like a very basic, easy-to-understand introduction to the jargon of the trade and what goes on in the factory and lab, then this one-day seminar is for you. You won't leave a rubber expert, but you will understand the basics of the technology and the language of the business.

Taught by R. J. Del Vecchio, a veteran of the industry who knows its secrets and explains them in laymen's terms, the seminar material will cover:

• What polymers are and how rubber is different from plastic
• How recipes for rubber compounds are created and why
• What's involved in mixing, processing and vulcanizing rubber
• Testing, specifying and quality control of rubber products

The cost of this seminar includes a copy of the book A Beginner's Guide to Rubber Technology (unless otherwise noted).

Instructor Biography: R. J. Del Vecchio (Technical Consulting Services) founded a fulltime consulting service in late 1990 after a career in the rubber industry with companies like BFGoodrich, Lord, and Barry Controls. Much of Del's work is based on his long experience with engineering applications of rubber, and the normal technical skills involved in compounding and processing a wide variety of elastomers. He is a user of, and instructor in, SPC and Design of Experiments, as they apply to the polymer industries. He has published numerous technical papers at ACS meetings, appears in the trade literature both here and overseas, and authored several chapters in technical books. His consulting practice was originally based in the molded goods field, including materials development and process optimization, but he expanded his services into the areas of statistical analyses, test development, failure analysis, acting as an Expert Witness, and giving courses in DOE methodology. His book on practical application of DOE in the rubber and plastics industries, sponsored by SPE, was released by Hanser Press in 1997, and was reprinted several times. He published A Beginner’s Guide to Rubber Technology (October 2001) and edited Fundamentals of Rubber Technology for the Rubber Division (March 2003), and is working on an expanded revision of his text on DOE.