Natural rubber is created by processing the latex of a plant, Hevea brasiliensis, which is indigenous to the Amazon valley and is the only known plant to produce high — molecular-weight linear polymer. The latex is ‘tapped’ from the tree then collected and treated with a stabiliser and brought to a processing centre. There are many different types and grades of natural rubber varying with colour, cleanliness and uniformity of appearance.
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As with most elastomers, natural rubber can be readily bonded with cyanoacrylates although in these trials [2] the adhesion achieved with the toughened cyanoacrylates was relatively low (Table 4.7).
Table 4.6 Adhesive shear strengths (fluorosilicone rubber)
Notes: * Substrate failure |
Adhesive type |
Description |
Shear strength (N/mm2) |
Cyanoacrylate |
Standard ethyl |
>2.1* |
Toughened |
0.9 |
|
Ethyl + primer |
>1.8* |
|
Two-part acrylic |
MMA |
0.3 |
Silicone |
Alkoxy silicone |
0.3 |
UV acrylic |
Visible light cure |
1.6 |
Table 4.7 Adhesive shear strengths (natural rubber) |
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