What Is the Common Use for Rubber Today?

The common use for rubber today is in things like car tires, shoe soles, and gym floors. However, note that these aren’t the only common uses of rubber. Some of rubber’s applications are more obvious, such as rubber’s use in creating car tires. Others aren’t so readily identifiable, like rubber’s use in making children’s toys. Nonetheless, one thing is clear: Rubber is incredibly versatile—infinitely useful. To prove this point, below, we’ve compiled a list of 49 uses of rubber:

1. Shoe soles: Molded rubber is commonly found on most people’s daily footwear. Lift up your own feet—rubber is probably there!
2. Basement flooring: Rubber is naturally water-resistant, so it’s a great material for basement flooring. Basement floods and leaks won’t be as burdensome as before.
3. Sounds studios: Some types of rubber products are designed to reduce noise. Sound studios often employ certain rubber materials to reduce the amount of noise generated beyond the studio, as well as enhance the quality of the audio being produced.
4. Car bumpers: Rubber’s elasticity makes it an excellent material for car bumpers. They aren’t sometimes known as “bump stop rubbers” for nothing!
5. Cushion pads: Because rubber is an elastomer, it works well as an underfoot cushion. Cushion pads made of rubber reduce the likelihood that you’ll become overly fatigued from prolonged standing.
6. Drum pads: Because rubber elongates in reaction to force, thin rubber sheet are great drum pads.

Nitrile – Commercial Grade Black – 60A – 1/4″ x 36″

• Able to resist ozone, making it good for outdoor use
• Our nitrile rubber sheets have a smooth finish
• Can operate in temperatures between -20° F and 170° F
• Our NBR material is available in custom gauges of up to 2” thick and 72” long

Superior Oil Resistance: Buna-N sheet rubber is very popular for use in applications that see a regular presence of natural and synthetic oils and greases. In fact, nitrile rubber was first developed for this purpose in the years after World War I. Over the years, it has gained a reputation for being the go-to elastomer for any application that involves oils. Whereas other rubber materials can be damaged by oils and greases, nitrile exhibits a durable longevity when put into contact with such substances. As a result, NBR material is perfect for commercial, industrial, and automotive uses.

Flexible Rubber: Our Buna-N sheet has a durometer rating of 55-65. It is a medium grade rating that means the elastomer features more flexibility and elasticity than 70 durometer rubbers. It is not the hardest rubber around, but it does have decent resistance to abrasions. However, its flexibility allows it to be better used as seals, gaskets, and bumpers for a large number of different commercial and industrial applications.

Nitrile – Commercial Grade Black – 60A – 1/4″ x 36″

7. Window wipers: Rubber is resilient, soft, and water-resistant, which makes it a great material for window wipers.
8. Car tires: What is the common use for rubber today? Rubber’s most common use is for car tires. Rubber has all the properties that define good car tires: durability, resilience, water-resistance, shock-absorption, abrasion-resistance, and chemical-resistance. It’s clear that rubber is the best material for making tires.
9. Fire hoses: The interiors of fire hoses typically experience tremendous amounts of pressure. Rubber’s elasticity makes it the preferred material for fire hoses because rubber can expand in response to the pressure of flowing water.
10. Electrical wiring: Rubber is an insulator, which means that it does not conduct electricity. Thus, electrical wiring uses rubber as a barrier to protect itself, as well as the surrounding environment, from electrical misadventures.
11. Rubber bands: Ever shoot a rubber band out of your hand? Rubber’s elasticity is what makes this possible, and it’s this elasticity that makes rubber bands as useful as they are.
12. Rubber ducks: Rubber is water-resistant, so it makes sense that rubber ducks are almost always made of rubber.
13. Latex gloves: Rubber is used for disposable gloves because of its elasticity, resilience, and affordability.

EPDM – Commercial Grade – 60A – 3/8″ x 36″

• EPDM rubber with a smooth finish
• A black weather resistant rubber that is ideal as an outdoor liner or pad
• EPDM material is in stock in 1/16″, 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″ thickness
• A blend of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM rubber) and SBR

Excellent Chemical and Weather Resistance: The special properties of EPDM sheet rubber allow it to withstand chemicals in addition to weather-related hazards such as UV rays and ozone. As a weather resistant rubber, this EPDM sheet rubber is commonly used in industrial applications and machinery that are exposed to the elements. Damage from rainstorms, pollution, and the sun will occur at a slower rate compared to a fully exposed EPDM rubber when compared to other elastomers like SBR, Nitrile or Neoprene.

Excellent Industrial Sheet Rubber: EPDM rubber has adequate elastic and pliable qualities. The material has a durometer of Shore 55-65A but on average, has a Shore 60A measurement. A Shore A scale measures the hardness of the rubber. For example, a soft pencil eraser has a durometer of Shore 20A. Although higher than an eraser, the durometer of EPDM still maintains a good amount of flexibility for all of your necessary projects. In addition, EPDM rubber has a minimum elongation of 300%.

14. Cooking utensils: Many gastronomical tools are made of rubber, such as cookie cutters, spatulas, and spoons. This category of items alone could constitute its own list of the uses of rubber. We’ll save that for another time.
15. Rainboots: Again, rubber is naturally water-resistant, so the fact that they are used for rainboots isn’t surprising.
16. Teething toys: Since rubber is elastic yet durable, it’s a perfect material for teething toys—whether these toys are for a dog or an infant.
17. Bicycle tires: Rubber the preferred car-tire material, so it shouldn’t shock you that it’s also the preferred bicycle-tire material.
18. Watches: Nowadays, rubber watchstraps are becoming increasing popular. It’s a comfortable material to wear, and—in some cases—it can complement your overall appearance, depending on your style.
19. Jars: Rubber lids are something we’ve all seen. Because rubber is elastic, it works well as a way of sealing jars.
20. Gaskets: Rubber is the main material in gaskets because rubber’s elasticity ensures that harmful chemicals will not leak beyond your car’s pipes, even when strained under large amounts of pressure.

Recycled Rubber – 60A

• Available in several different speckled color options
• Easily cleaned with common household soaps
• Provides better insulation against cold and damp surfaces

Eco-Conscious Product: This product is perfect for both the environmentally aware consumer and the budget shopper. The reason behind this is due to the recycled rubber material used to make each roll. Recycled rubber is made using mostly vehicle tires. Since rubber is non-biodegradable, it is healthier for the environment if it is taken out of landfills and reused in flooring rolls. Not only will benefit the environment’s health, it will also lower costs for you because recycled rubber is often a more affordable material than synthetic rubber.

Durable Protective Rubber: Another important benefit of having recycled rubber sheets is that they are very durable. This is thanks to the recycled tire material used to make the product. Vehicle tires are a hard rubber product because they are expected to function in a variety of extremely abrasive conditions. This recycled rubber roll can be used for any application that is physically demanding. It can handle the repeated physical stresses of both heavy foot traffic and solid machinery. It is hard to beat this quality level of durability.

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21. Hair ties: Like why rubber is used in rubber bands, rubber’s elasticity makes one of the preferred materials for hair ties.
22. Flip-flops: Like how most shoe soles are made from rubber, many flip-flips are made from rubber, too.
23. Phone cases: Rubber is among the most popular materials for phone cases because it’s shock-absorbent, durable, and water-resistant.
24. Medicine balls: When compacted, rubber can actually be pretty heavy. This makes it a great material for medicine balls since these balls need to be heavy enough to service a workout, while still being soft enough to be tossed and dropped without worry.
25. Bouncy balls: Almost all bouncy balls are made from rubber. It’s elastic, so it tends to bounce when it’s molded in certain ways—especially in the form of a small ball.
26. Cameras: Like how rubber works as an airtight seal in other applications, rubber protects the chambers separating a camera’s lenses from the intrusion of unwanted particulates.
27. Refrigerators door seals: Often used as a material for lining a refrigerator’s doors, rubber’s protective qualities are ideal for a refrigerator door’s seal.

Pure Gum Rubber – Commercial Grade – 40A – 1/4″ x 36″

• Has a very high tensile strength
• Can resist most organic salts, ammonia, acids, and alkalis
• Able to operate in temperatures between -20° F and 170° F
• Pure gum rubber can be used for some medical applications
• Not recommended for use with strong caustic oils and chemicals

Soft and Elastic: Pure gum rubber is valued for being a softer, more elastic type of rubber. It has a low durometer rating of 35-45, meaning that while it is not a very hard material, it is very elastic. This high elasticity gives it a level of adaptability for various seal and gasket applications that is hard to beat. This flexible rubber material can be stretched further than other elastomers. It is the prime reason why natural gum rubber is used as squeegee blades, industrial skirting, and drum practice pads.

Non-Marking Rubber: A very useful characteristic of pure gum rubber is that it is non-marking. No matter what type of color variation it comes in, brown to light tan, a natural rubber product will not leave any stains or marks on the places where they are used. This feature is especially useful in applications like window cleaning.

28. Airplane cabins: Rubber is typically used in a plane cabin’s seals, minimizing the amount of air the leaks out of the plane.
29. Trampoline: Trampolines use rubber’s elasticity to propel people into the air.
30. Pacifiers: Rubber is chewy. That is, it’s elastic, and it’s resistant to tearing—making it great for an infant’s pacifier.
31. Windows seals: People often use rubber window-seals to prevent air from traveling through the crevices lining their windows.
32. Halloween masks: Many Halloween masks are made from rubber since rubber, produced a certain way, can be lightweight—easy to wear through a harrowing night in your neighborhood.
33. Garden hoses: Like how fire hoses are made of rubber, garden hoses are made from this material, too.
34. Playgrounds: Rubber absorbs shock and enhances traction. These two factors are the central reasons for why rubber is the preferred material for a playground’s surface. You can call it soft rubber, a non-slip rubber sheet, or a waterproof rubber sheet—either way, it’s safe playground flooring!
35. Street sweepers: Rubber is durable, elastic, and water-resistant, making it a top choice for street sweeping applications.

Skirtboard – SBR Rubber – 70A – 1500 PSI – 1″ x 6″

Skirtboard – SBR Rubber – 70A – 1500 PSI – 1″ x 6″

• Blended with natural gum rubber
• Operates in temperatures between -20° F and 212° F
• Good resistance to certain chemicals, but not meant for use with oils
• Available in a large assortment of thickness and widths

A Very Hard Rubber: This is one of the toughest and most durable rubber products we have to offer. It possesses a high durometer rating of 65-75. Although its flexibility is very limited, it more than makes up for it in its durability and resistance to physical indentation. You will find that it is very hard to physically dent or damage the surface area of skirtboard rubber. It is an excellent quality to have for applications where abrasion resistance is mandatory.

Meant for Tough Jobs:  Skirtboard rubber is meant for tough jobs that involve a lot of physical abrasions. The SBR rubber used to make the material provides for the enhanced durability that makes it so popular. This thick rubber material is well suited for use as conveyor skirting, belt wipers, blast curtains, bumpers, and street sweeper and snowplow blades. All of these applications involve rough physical conditions that could damage machines. This type of hard rubber is the perfect material to handle such jobs and protect the overall integrity of the application.

36. Erasers: Erasers are made of rubber since rubber effectively ‘absorbs’ lead shavings off of paper.
37. Door mats: Many door mats are made from rubber since rubber is durable and water-resistant. These door mats are often corrugated, and it’s these corrugations that scrape unwanted debris off of shoe bottoms. A rubber door mat may also come in the form of a perforated rubber sheet. Either way, rubber sheet matting works great for covering entryways.
38. Yoga mats: Rubber cushions the body, so it is the preferred material for yoga mats.
39. Table tennis rackets: Because rubber enhances traction, rubber lining is a great addition to racket handles—ensuring that players don’t lose their rackets mid-swing.
40. Braces: We’re talking about teeth braces here. Small, tight rubber bands are used for securing brace wiring since rubber is elastic and water-resistant.
41. Horse stall mats: Rubber works great as horse-stall matting because rubber cushions the horse’s hooves and because rubber is easy to clean.
42. O-ring: This mechanical gasket is commonly made from rubber. It can be found within vacuums or rotating pump shafts.
43. Conveyer belts: Rubber’s flexibility and its naturally high coefficient of friction make it the ideal material for a conveyer belt, sometimes called a “conveyer rubber sheet.”
44. Umbrellas: Umbrella handles are sometimes covered with rubber to reduce the chance that something like a strong gust will send the umbrella flying from the user’s hand. elastic.
45. Ducting: Thermoplastic rubber is a common rubber material used for ducting—especially when it comes to temperature-sensitive applications.
46. Printing presses: Printing presses use rubber rollers to transfer ink between their parts.
47. Stamps: Stamps—the ones that elementary teachers wield—are made from rubber.
48. Pet care flooring: Rubber sheet rolls protect your home’s underlying surfaces from your pet’s claws, and they protect your pet’s sensitive paws from hard surfaces.
49. Balloons: Balloons are often made of rubber since rubber is extremely elastic.

Neoprene – Commercial Grade – 60A – 1/4″ x 72″

• Tasks that require flexible materials
• Industrial gasket, bumper, or sealing applications
• Industrial applications that involve oils, chemicals, ozone
• Applications that involve temperatures between -20° F and 212° F

72” Wide Sheet: This black neoprene sheet is specifically made to be 72” wide. The reason for this is because the standard 36” or 48” wide sheet rolls cannot satisfy the requirements of every application. We make 72” wide sheets of neoprene available so that you do not have to order too many materials for your job. It will help make sure that you have more to work with at a lower cost, minimizing the chances of you being stuck with unused leftover material. A standard roll of 72” wide flexible neoprene is well suited for large-scale industrial applications.

Good Resistance: The oil and chemical resistance of neoprene is in very popular with consumers. Being a synthetic elastomer, it comes with good resistance characteristics against some oils and chemicals. This feature comes in handy for industrial applications that see the presence of abrasive oils and chemicals. As a bumper, pad, or gasket, neoprene is well suited to performing in the presence of such hazards. It also possesses a good level of resistance against ozone.

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What Uses the Most Rubber in the World?

The automotive industry is what uses the most rubber in the world. This industry has been the largest driving force behind rubber’s growth, with its perpetual need for rubber parts, like tires, gaskets, and interior-trims. The 21st century continues to see rubber’s proliferation, especially alongside technology’s takeover. But, because rubber eventually wears, we must ultimately discard our rubber products—especially car tires—for replacements. The problem with this, though, is that many of our rubber products are infused with synthetic rubbers, and synthetic rubbers are non-biodegradable. Confronted with this issue, the logical follow-up is this: What is another use of rubber?

What Is Another Use of Rubber?

Another use of rubber is in tire-derived products (TDPs). Tire-derived products are products which are made from discarded car tires. By using recycled and reclaimed rubber as the raw material for their rubber sheet goods, rubber sheet manufacturers are combatting environmental waste, as well as making rubber products more affordable.

There are many uses of rubber. Some are plain, others are inconspicuous. As you can see, the uses of rubber are endless with the many advantageous qualities that rubber inherently has. So, to answer your question “what is the common use for rubber today?”—rubber materials are all around us, even on our bodies. Although we can sometimes forget this, it takes little effort to realize how much rubber we use on a daily basis. Sheet rubber suppliers produce a variety of rubber items to accommodate the world’s rubber-related demands. With such a large range of applications, rubber has proven time and time again that it is an invaluable commodity. Whether using thin rubber sheets on drum pads or a rubber material for a firefighter’s hose, we hope this article has helped you see how many uses of rubber there really are. With rubber, the possibilities are limitless.

Open Cell EPDM vs Closed Cell EPDM

Closed Cell Rubber – Blend – 39″ x 78″

• Temperature Range: -40 F to +200 F
• Durometer rating of 20-25 Shore C
• Sheets available in size of 39in by 78in
• Ideal for use in shock absorption and gasket related applications

Moderate Weather Resistance: This closed cell sponge rubber benefits from the presence of Neoprene material since each sponge sheet is composed of Neoprene and SBR. A characteristic of Neoprene rubber is its good resistance to outdoor weathering effects such as UV rays and ozone. As a result, it is often employed wherever a rubber part is needed for the outdoors. This blended cellular rubber possesses a moderate degree of outdoor weather resistance.

A Durable Sponge Rubber: As a direct benefit from the SBR rubber used to make it, this closed cell sponge rubber possesses a good degree of physical durability. SBR is known for its superior physical strength and resistance to physical abrasions. It is the reason why SBR is so popular for use in vehicle tires, which are expected to endure harsh physical conditions on a daily basis. Although cellular rubber tends to be a softer material overall, especially when compared to its regular solid rubber counterparts, it is still durable enough to handle some moderate level physical abrasions.