Rubber processing
Federal Equipment Company buys and sells used rubber processing equipment from more than 1 million sq ft of storage in Cleveland, OH. We handle the machinery that turns raw polymer into finished rubber goods: Banbury and Intermix internal mixers, two-roll mills, batch-off systems, calenders, cold-feed and dump extruders, and compression and transfer molding presses, along with the rheometers that check how a compound cures.
Scope
Rubber processing turns natural and synthetic rubber into compound, then shapes and cures that compound into hose, belting, seals, gaskets, roll covers, and molded parts. Most plants follow the same sequence: weigh, mix, sheet, shape, and vulcanize. The shaping step is what changes from plant to plant, and with it the machines at the end of the line.
A rubber plant that is closing can sell us one press or the whole mixing room.
The plastics side of the same industry is on our plastic processing equipment page, and thermoplastic compounds made on twin-screw extruders belong on our plastics compounding equipment page. Scrap plastics lines are on our plastic recycling equipment page. The polymer itself is made upstream at chemical plants, and that equipment is on our chemical process equipment page.
Most of the rubber equipment we handle comes out of plants that are closing, consolidating, or moving production. Several of our past auctions sold a rubber plant's equipment as one sale, so mixers, mills, and presses often come up together. Ask for what you need even when it is not listed.
Process train
Rubber plants follow one sequence up to shaping, then split by product into calendered sheet and coated fabric, extruded goods, or molded parts. The mill or dump extruder under a mixer is sized to its batch, and after batch-off the compound can wait, cooled, until it is rewarmed on a mill for shaping.
Natural and synthetic rubber arrive as dense bales, and a hydraulic guillotine bale cutter splits them into pieces a mixer can take. Each ingredient is then weighed to the recipe: the polymer, carbon black or other fillers, process oils, and the cure package. We have handled hydraulic guillotine bale cutters.
An internal mixer works the batch between two rotors in a closed chamber under a ram, then drops it through a door in the bottom. Many plants mix in two passes and add the curatives in a cooler final pass, so the compound does not start to cure in the mixer.
The dropped batch goes to a two-roll mill or a dump extruder, which works it into a continuous sheet. A batch-off system draws the sheet through an anti-tack dip, cools it, and stacks it on a skid until it is needed. Compound bound for a calender or a hot-feed extruder is warmed and softened again on a mill first.
Here the compound takes one of three routes, set by the product, and many plants run more than one.
Calendering. A calender presses warm compound into sheet of an even gauge, or presses it into fabric or cord for belting and coated fabric. We have handled two-roll calenders and four-roll machines in inverted L and Z configurations.
Extrusion. An extruder forces compound through a die to make hose, tubing, profiles, seals, and strip. It is fed either warm strip from a mill or cold strip at room temperature.
Preforming and molding. A preformer cuts blanks to a set weight, and a hydraulic press closes them in a heated mold. Compression molding puts the blank straight into the cavity, while transfer molding forces it from a pot through runners, which suits small, intricate parts and parts molded around metal inserts. We have handled transfer molding presses from 63 to 565 tons.
Vulcanizing crosslinks the compound so it holds its shape and springs back, and where it happens depends on the route. Molded parts cure in the mold while the press holds it closed. Extruded hose and profiles cure afterward in an autoclave or a continuous curing line. Calendered sheet and coated fabric often cure in an autoclave, on a rotary drum, or on a continuous line, while heavy conveyor belting cures in long platen presses one section at a time. We have sold a vulcanizer at auction with a rubber belt maker's other assets.
Rubber lab
Sizes and names
The ranges below are examples of what we have handled, not a limit on what we can source. The notes beside them explain the names buyers use most.
| Internal mixers | Lab Banbury mixers, including the Midget, BR, and OOC, to F270 Banbury mixers with 1,500 HP drives |
|---|---|
| Two-roll mills | 4 x 8 inch lab mills to 100-inch production mills at 250 HP |
| Calenders | 16-inch calenders to two-roll calenders with 3,100 mm (122-inch) rolls |
| Rubber extruders | 2-inch cold-feed machines to 10-inch extruders |
| Molding presses | 63-ton four-post transfer presses to 565-ton slab-side presses |
| Batch-off systems | 30 and 38 inches wide, with dip tanks and wig-wag stackers |
Buyers call most internal mixers Banbury mixers, after the Farrel trade name. Intermix, also a Farrel name today, is the intermeshing-rotor design, and a dispersion kneader tilts its chamber to empty. Our internal mixers category lists all three.
A two-roll mill is also called an open mill or a mixing mill, and plants often name it by its job. A sheeting mill takes the drop from the mixer, and a warm-up mill softens compound to feed a calender or a hot-feed extruder.
Slab-side and four-post describe the press frame, not the molding method. A slab-side press carries its load through solid steel side plates, and a four-post press guides the platen on round columns. Our hydraulic presses category lists molding presses alongside lab and general-purpose presses.
We also handle the instruments a rubber lab runs beside the mixing room: cure and torque rheometers, lab Banbury mixers, lab mills, and heated lab presses. Our rheometers and lab equipment categories carry what is in stock.
Services
Rubber buyers and sellers usually need one of three things beyond the machine itself.
Condition
Mill rolls and mixer rotors are cored, and mixer chambers jacketed, for water or steam, so leak and hydrostatic testing are worth arranging before a machine ships, along with motor testing. We run equipment under power where we can, buyers often send an OEM representative, and we offer live video tours when a visit is not practical.
Valuation
Rubber plants need appraisals for lenders, after acquisitions, and when a closing site is weighing an auction against a private sale. Our Certified Equipment Appraisers value the mixers, mills, and presses we trade, whether or not you sell through us. Details are on our equipment appraisals page.
Sourcing
Most buyers are replacing one mixer or press, not a whole line. Tell us the compound, batch size, and product, or the press tonnage and platen size you need, and request sourcing help to start the search.
Manufacturers
These are the makers and model series we have handled at each step of a rubber line.
| Step | Manufacturers and model series |
|---|---|
| Internal mixing | Farrel Banbury mixers (Midget, BR, OOC, F80, and F270) and Intermix (K5) Kobelco Stewart Bolling lab mixers and Mixtron mixers Intercole Bolling mixers |
| Milling | Farrel lab and production mills Adamson United 84-inch mills Kobelco Stewart Bolling lab mills Intercole Bolling lab mills Brabender PM lab mills Comerio Ercole mills |
| Calendering | Farrel two-roll, Z, and inverted L four-roll calenders Comerio Ercole two-roll calenders |
| Extrusion and batch-off | Davis-Standard cold-feed rubber extruders Intercole Bolling extruders Akron Standard Machine (ASM) batch-off systems |
| Molding | Eemco slab-side transfer presses Southwark slab-side transfer presses French Oil slab-side transfer presses West Coast Rubber Machinery four-post transfer presses FH Maloney four-post transfer presses |
| Rubber lab | Alpha Technologies ODR and MDR rheometers Brabender Plasti-Corder torque rheometers |
Buying used
Four things decide whether a used mixer, mill, or press will suit your plant.
On an internal mixer, the rotor tips, chamber walls, and dust seals wear first. Rotors and chambers can often be rebuilt with hardfacing, and dust seals are a routine replacement. On mills and calenders, check the roll surfaces for scoring and the chrome plating for wear.
Open mills and calenders need emergency stops, brakes that halt the rolls quickly, and guarding at the nip. An older machine may not meet current safety standards as delivered, so plan those upgrades into the installation.
Production mixers and mills run large motors through heavy gearboxes, and some Banbury unidrive gearboxes need a pit for the bull gear. Check the foundation, floor loading, and rigging path, and whether your team supports the DC or AC drive.
Mixers, mills, and calenders hold compound temperature through cored rotors or rolls and jacketed chambers, so make sure the rotary unions and water circuits are complete. New machines are built to order. Used equipment can ship in days or weeks once inspection and any refurbishment are complete.
Selling surplus
When a rubber plant closes, consolidates, or moves a product line, we buy its mixers, mills, calenders, and presses outright or sell them on consignment. When a site has a firm date to be clear, we can run an auction.
Past auctions have sold rubber production equipment, the assets of a rubber belt manufacturer, a devulcanized rubber plant, and a thermoplastic polyurethane facility. Our auction archive shows what has sold, and our current liquidations sometimes include grinding and size-reduction equipment used on rubber.
Send the asset list and nameplate photos, call 800-652-2466, or email sales@fedequip.com.
Sell your equipmentIf you are buying, tell us what you are looking for.
FAQ
Still have a question? Call 800-652-2466 or email sales@fedequip.com.
Both are internal batch mixers with two rotors in a closed chamber under a ram, and the difference is rotor geometry. Banbury rotors are tangential: they turn side by side without meshing, which favors fast filler intake, short cycles, and high throughput. Intermix rotors intermesh, so more rotor surface contacts the batch, which gives more even dispersion and tighter temperature control. The right choice depends on the compound. We have handled both under the Farrel nameplate.
Start with the rolls. Look for scoring, worn chrome, and uneven wear across the face, and confirm the cored passages are clear and the rotary unions hold. Then check the gears, bearings, and roll adjustment, and whether the friction ratio suits your compound. Finally, test the emergency stop and the brake, because a mill has to stop its rolls fast, and plan any upgrade before the mill goes into service.
A hot-feed extruder takes compound already warmed on a mill, so it runs a short screw and depends on the mill for a steady feed. A cold-feed extruder takes strip at room temperature and does the warming itself on a longer screw, which takes the warm-up mill out of the line. The cold-feed extruders we have handled run screws up to 24:1 length to diameter, against 10:1 on the hot-feed and dump extruders.
Check the platens for flatness and even heating across the face, the hydraulics for leaks and for holding pressure, and the daylight and stroke against your molds. Confirm the documented operating rating rather than the tonnage the press was built for. Ask whether the platens are electric, steam, or hot-oil heated, because that decides the utilities you need.
A cure rheometer, such as an oscillating disk (ODR) or moving die (MDR) rheometer, heats a small sample in a sealed die while oscillating it, and traces torque over time to show how fast and how far the compound cures. A torque rheometer is a small lab mixer with a measuring drive, used to see how a compound mixes and processes before it is scaled up. Many rubber labs run both.
Our Certified Equipment Appraisers do, and you do not have to sell through us. We value rubber mixers, mills, calenders, extruders, and presses because they are the kinds of equipment we buy and sell, and we stay within that scope. A complete appraisal brings our appraiser to your plant, and a desktop appraisal works from the asset list and nameplate photos you send. USPAP-compliant appraisals are available when your lender or another party requires one.
Start with nameplate photos showing the maker, model, and serial number, and photos of the machine from several sides. For a Banbury or other internal mixer, add the chamber size, rotor type, and drive horsepower. For a mill, add the roll diameter, face width, and drive. Tell us whether the machine is still connected, because removal is part of the plan, and we front that cost and recover it from the proceeds.
Call 800-652-2466 or email sales@fedequip.com. You can inspect equipment in Cleveland, OH by appointment.
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A complete, never-commissioned anhydrous ammonia handling system — (4) 120,000-gallon storage bullets, compressor skid, dual-pump skid, and full railcar & truck unloading stations.
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Well maintained power generation solution available now for redeployment.
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