A neoprene pad is a thick, durable, and synthetic elastomeric protective barrier that is used to protect equipment, objects, or floors from impact damage. Neoprene rubber rolls are the ideal material to create protective padding due to their enhanced strength. Neoprene is a durable and resilient material that is often used to create oil-resistant industrial rubber parts. Neoprene retains excellent chemical and physical properties that make it ideal for producing heavy-duty rubber parts for chemically and physically demanding applications. Industrial neoprene retains outstanding tensile strength, compression set, and resistance properties that make it the best and most reliable material for protective purposes. A neoprene pad, bumper, and bearing pad will provide superior shock-absorption, chemical-resistance, and all-weather resistance to offer a reliable protective barrier for both indoor and outdoor industrial applications. The properties of neoprene rubber rolls allow them to be the perfect versatile material for creating neoprene bearing pads, bumpers, and protective padding.

What is the Purpose of Neoprene?

The purpose of neoprene is to provide a softer and protective surface between hard surfaces such equipment, floors, machinery, in order to reduce impact or damage. Neoprene’s reliable protection from oil, chemicals, moisture, and extreme temperatures in industrial applications for both indoor and outdoor industrial settings allows it to be used in a wide variety of applications. Although nitrile, another synthetic rubber, retains more oil-resistant properties, neoprene is a more versatile material that can be used outdoors without worry of damage. Unlike most materials, industrial neoprene will not be hindered by corrosive solvents, such as chemicals and oil, making it a reliable material that will not break down in chemically intensive applications. Due to these physical and chemical properties, a protective neoprene pad, seal, or gasket are popular products found in many industrial workplaces. Many industrial applications require seals and gaskets made of durable materials that are able to withstand harsh conditions to prevent breakages that can lead to workplace hazards. Industrial parts made of neoprene, such as a neoprene pad, bumper, or bearing pad, are designed to withstand both chemically and physically abrasive conditions while remaining a reliable material that will promote a safe industrial workplace and a long-lasting application.

What is Made Out of Neoprene?

Protective padding, bumpers, seals, gaskets, conveyer belts, soundproofing mats, military equipment, athletic supports and braces, rubber cleaning gloves, weatherstrips, and abrasion-resistant hoses. are some of the products that are made from neoprene due to the material’s excellent shock-absorption, abrasion-resistance, resistance to chemicals and weathering, high tensile strength, and low compression set. A protective neoprene pad is often used in caustic industrial environments, or even outdoors, due to the material’s ability to resist chemicals and damaging environmental conditions. Most protective industrial applications require a resilient material that can withstand corrosive chemicals and impact-heavy applications making a neoprene pad the ideal material for protective industrial applications. Other times, a neoprene pad can be used outdoors where factors, such as direct sunlight, ozone, ad moisture, can deteriorate or weaken other materials. Neoprene is a durable synthetic rubber material that is often used to make protective padding, bumpers, and bearing pads due to its superior chemical and physical resistance properties.

What is Neoprene Pad?

A neoprene pad is a protective layer made of strong synthetic rubber that is ideal for industrial applications involving moisture, oil, chemical solvents, extreme temperatures, and repeated or heavy impacts. A pad essentially serves as a protective barrier between two objects, or between an object and the floor, to prevent damage from shifting or clanging of the objects. Neoprene’s high tensile strength and low compression set enables it to provide a sufficient barrier between damaging forces and the object it is protecting. Neoprene padding is often used as shock absorbing mats to prevent damage to floors and reduce noise produced by falling or vibrating equipment. A neoprene pad can be found underneath mechanical equipment and industrial machinery to help cushion vibrations that can eventually cause damage to the floor. The neoprene material will flex upon contact with a moving force and will then rebound once the pressure is relieved. The structure of a neoprene pad allows the energy of the initial force to dissipate which, in turn, reduces the force of the vibrations produced. In addition, a neoprene pad will resist damage caused by shifting or sliding equipment and impacts.

What is a Neoprene Bumper?

A neoprene bumper is an impact-absorbing pad that is used between two objects to prevent damage caused by the objects colliding or scraping against one another. Much like a neoprene pad, a neoprene bumper utilizes the material’s inherent shock-absorption capabilities to protect the object, or objects, from any damage. A neoprene bumper is generally preferred over most materials because it is an extremely versatile material that can be used in almost any setting. For example, due to its all-weather resilience, neoprene bumpers are popularly used in marine settings as protective dock bumpers to protect the docks, as well as incoming boats, from damage upon collision. Other times, neoprene bumpers are used indoors in industrial workplaces where they can be exposed to degrading chemical solvents and oil. Neoprene is the best material for this application because its resistance against outdoor factors, oil, and chemicals allows it to remain a durable and long-lasting product. Additionally, a neoprene bumper can also be used in residential applications, such as protective wall bumpers, to protect household items. Neoprene’s shock-absorption and abrasion-resistance makes it the perfect material for use as protective bumpers.

Is Neoprene a Durable Bearing Pad?

According to AASHTO, a bearing pad is “a structural device that transmits loads while facilitating translation and/or rotation” and, due to its high tensile strength, low compression set, and resistance to weathering, neoprene is the perfect versatile material for making bearing pads (dot.ca.gov). Bearing pads are commonly found in the structure of concrete bridges, between the bridge itself and the structure holding it up. Neoprene bearing pads essentially “function as buffers between the separate concrete members to prevent damage and facilitate movement (much like cartilage between bones at joints)” (constructionspecifier.com). As an elastomer, neoprene retains the flexibility needed to provide an elastic buffer that will allow flex and compression according to the movement on the surface of the structure. Neoprene bearing pads retain a high tensile strength which allows them to bend and stretch to extreme lengths without breaking or losing its strength. This is an important feature to have in bearing pads as this is what gives the structure of the bridge a degree of flex to accommodate movement and excessive weight that may be on the bridge. Neoprene bearing pads also reduce vibrations that can eventually cause dangerous cracks to form in the concrete of the structure by dispersing the energy within its composition, thus weakening its force.

Neoprene is a highly recommended material for use as bearing pads because it meets the standards put forth by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or AASHTO. According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, it is recommended to “provide a virgin neoprene (Polychloroprene) pad. A Shore A Durometer hardness of 60 ± 5 and an AASHTO low temperature grade 3 elastomer is required” (ksdot.org). Neoprene is considered a hard rubber with durometer ratings ranging from 45A to 80A. In addition, neoprene is resistant to outdoor damaging factors, such as ozone and extreme high and low temperatures, that causes cracks to form in the bearing pad itself which can lead to extremely dangerous circumstances. High temperatures can melt other rubber materials and low temperatures can cause it to become brittle; however, neoprene has a wide operating temperature of -20 degrees Fahrenheit to 212 degrees Fahrenheit making neoprene bearing pads more reliable than bearing pads made of other elastomers. Neoprene is the most recommended material for bearing pads due to its wide working temperature range and resilience against breakage and ozone cracking.

What are the Benefits of Neoprene?

Neoprene can offer benefits other elastomers are unable to meet, such as oil-resistance, chemical-resistance, excellent outdoor life, wide operating temperature range, enhanced strength, and a large selection of durometers ranging from as soft as 45A to as firm as 80A. Neoprene is one of the only rubber variations that has the ability to resist degradation caused by oil while most elastomers will deteriorate. For example, “The tire rubbers (natural rubber, SBR), when placed in oil, absorb the fluid slowly until either the oil is all gone, or the rubber has disintegrated… The so-called oil-resistant elastomers absorb some oil, especially at elevated temperature, but only a limited amount. With some it may be negligible. Most end uses requiring oil-resistant elastomers can tolerate appreciable swelling or volume increase” (sciencedirect.com). A neoprene pad will resist swelling caused by oil-absorption which weakens most elastomers and will provide a firm application. In addition, as synthetic rubber rolls, neoprene rubber rolls are stronger than natural rubbers due to the chemicals used in neoprene’s manufacturing process. A neoprene pad, bumper, or bearing pad can be offered in a wide selection of soft and hard durometers ranging from the more flexible and pliable 45A durometer roll to the harder 80A durometer roll.

Why is Neoprene Oil Resistant?

Also known as polychloroprene, neoprene rubber rolls are made through the polymerization of a blend of the chemical compounds, butadiene and isoprene, which gives them the capability to resist swelling and damage caused by oil. Normally, rubber products cannot be used in oil-related applications as it will swell up and lose its tensile strength. In industrial applications where eroding chemicals are used, a broken or failing gasket or seal can cause serious health and safety hazards. A protective neoprene pad, bumper, or bearing pad will be resistant to oil-swelling because “the chlorine in the polymer reduces the reactivity to many oxidizing agents and thus improves its chemical resistance. Due to its low reactivity, it displays good resistance to ozone cracking, heat aging and chemical attack. For example, it has good resistance to many chlorofluorocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, mineral oils, greases and ozone…” (polymerdatabase.com). It is important for protective neoprene pad or bumper applications to have good physical and chemical properties to ensure a safe and firm application. The chlorine content not only gives neoprene rubber rolls a high level of oil-resistance, but can also offer resistance to other harsh factors, including chemicals, extreme heat, and ozone, therefore, making neoprene rubber rolls popular materials used in the production of industrial rubber parts.

Is Neoprene Stronger than Rubber?

As a synthetic elastomer, neoprene rubber rolls are stronger that natural rubber and other popular rubber materials, such as recycled rubber, because they are produced through the polymerization of chemicals rather than being harvested from plants or repurposed from old rubber products. Natural gum is a relatively soft variation of rubber when compared to neoprene rubber rolls, which is considered a hard rubber with 65A-70A durometer neoprene being a popular hardness level used in most industrial settings. Recycled rubber is made of repurposed tire rubber and is another popular rubber variation used to create durable industrial rubber parts. However, both natural gum and recycled rubber are susceptible to damage caused by exposure to oil. Neoprene rubber rolls are thicker and denser materials that can withstand more caustic conditions than most elastomers. Natural and recycled rubber are more porous than neoprene and will swell and lose their tensile strength when exposed to oil for extended periods of time. Even recycled rubber, which is made from obviously durable vehicle tires, can be severely affected by oil. Furthermore, natural gum will not be able to last in the outdoors as direct sunlight and ozone will degrade and break. Although both natural and recycled rubber also retains a high tensile strength and low compression set, neoprene rubber is able to withstand overly abrasive industrial environments better. Most importantly, because it is a harder and denser material, a neoprene pad, bumper, or bearing pad will be more resilient shock-absorbers than protective rubber parts made of other popular rubber variations.

Neoprene rubber rolls are ideal materials for making reliable and long-lasting industrial rubber parts over other materials, such as natural gum or recycled rubber. Their superior chemical-resistance properties allow a neoprene pad, bumper, or bearing pad to be used in industrial applications where it can possibly be exposed to outdoor environments or caustic chemical solvents and oil. Additionally, neoprene bearing pads are among one of the most recommended types of bearing pads because neoprene provides all-around protection from ozone and thermal cracking while also being flexible enough to offer a certain degree of flex and compression. Furthermore, a neoprene pad will offer a resilient and durable protective barrier and will not be damaged by moisture or direct sunlight. Overall, neoprene rubber rolls are chemically and physically durable materials that will offer firm applications, both indoors and outdoors.