RADO's machinery and equipment
The size and diversity of our stock of machinery and equipment enables us to bring finished mixes to market in a wide variety of different forms, for example as:
- free-flowing pellets
- large, thin (calendered) sheets, or
- screened (strained) strips
- Blanks with precise weights
Elastomers, rubber and polymers
RADO's main focus is on technical rubber items. We deal with complex speciality products, quite deliberately avoiding the mass and tyre compound markets.
Our rubber compounds are made up of a variety of raw materials. In addition to the main component, rubber, of which there are some 20 to 25 different types, our formulations contain all sorts of different chemicals, such as light-coloured fillers or carbon blacks, coloured pigments, plasticisers, accelerators or crosslinking agents. Thanks to our expertise, we know the exact properties of each raw material and how these affect the individual formulation.
Kneaders, rollers and batch-off units
Our company operates complete mixing lines, which consist of kneaders, rollers and downstream batch-off and packaging units. Here the raw materials are mixed in the closed kneader to form a homogeneous mass before being transferred to an open roll mill for further homogenising. The mix is then removed from the actual mixing plant via the batch-off unit, cooled and then dispatched in the required format, for example in 40-millimetre strips or 400-millimetre sheets.
To prevent the finished material from sticking, we apply a film coating to one side or wet the surface by dipping it in a special liquid batch containing release agent. Once the material has passed through the batch-off unit, it is packaged.
Standalone, open roll mills
RADO produces some compounds in standalone, open roll mills without an upstream kneader. In this case the raw materials are introduced directly onto counter-rotating rollers, where they are mixed together, homogenised and then once again removed from the mixing plant and packaged.
In both variants, all essential production processes are controlled by means of tailor-made computer systems.
Packaging to customer specifications
Our wide range of packaging options enable us to meet individual customer requirements. The commonest methods include:
- placing sheets in pallet cages or in cartons of a similar size
- stacking the materials on special pallets, or
- continuously winding strips onto special devices (similar to cable drums), which the customer can then introduce into its machines for onward processing.