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	Downstream Engineering & Product   Design Unit Advanced Rubber   Technology Unit Latex Science &   Technology Unit Upstream Crop Management Unit Crop Improvement and   Protection Unit Biotechnology Unit			Advanced Rubber Technology Unit Continuous Microwave/Hot Air Vulcanisation Continuous vulcanisation is being increasingly used today in the manufacture of extrusion profiles. In the continuous vulcanisation process, shaping, curing and finishing are all done in one single, continuous operation; therefore, there is little scarp generated, negligible energy loss between production steps and comparatively less manpower is needed. Presently, there are several continuous vulcanisation systems being used by the industry viz., vulcanisation in hot-air tunnel, liquid curing media or salt bath, fluidised bed, however, the most modern method is the continuous microwave vulcanisation process. Extruder The equipment at the LGM consists of a vacuum extruder, microwave tunnel, hot-air tunnel, cooling trough and take-up conveyor and cutting equipment. The microwave has an available power of 10 kW. The microwave energy is generated by 4 magnetrons with a nominal rating of 3 kW each, but which are used at a maximum of 2.5 kW. The power can be infinitely adjusted up to 10 kW. The tunnel has a total of 6 cavities with the first and last cavities being empty or not fitted with magnetron. At the entry and exist of tunnel, adjustable metal gates are fitted as wave traps for blocking any possible remnants of radiation. The tunnel which is 8.5 m in length is also conditioned with hot air at a temperature which is adjustable up to 200° C in order to ensure against possible radiation of heat generated with profile to the surrounding atmosphere. Microwave Tunnel The hot-air tunnel is 12 m in length. Heating of air by electric heating elements and hot air is distributed by ventilators. The conveyor belts used in both the microwave and hot-air tunnels is Teflon reinforced with glass fibre. Hot Air Tunnel The Unit has utilised the equipment to enable development work to be carried out so as to assist the local industry in upgrading to this automated process. Besides Unit’s development work, the equipment has been rented by local manufacturers for their R&D work.
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