neoprene bulb 1

[opticsman]

Hi all, I am interested in the technology behind the hand squeezed bulb type air blower used for blowing dust of items. I was suprised that there arent that many references to such items when searching online. I think giotto make something called a rocket blower ( silica gel is the material). I am wondering if blower bulb could be made from neoprene and if so what would be the best manufacturing process (manufacturers)? Would such a bulb take a similar number of squeezes (i.e. would it be as robust as silica gel or rubber (other types i have seen are made of this i think).
Id appreciate any advice. Many thanks in advance. Opticsman.

 

[GrahamBennett]

Good morning Opticsman. It depends on what type of bulb you are looking for. The small, low cost pipette-type rubber bulbs are normally made by dipping formers into suitably compounded NR latex, but those for medical, pharmacutical, etc, use are blow moulded PE these days I think.

The larger bulbs, such as those used by industrial chemists for pipetting large volumes of liquids and by photographers for removing dust from lenses, etc, are normally moulded from natural rubber compounds because of NR's high hot tear resistance. Neoprene does not have the same levels of this property so the bulb diameters would have to be smaller to allow the formers to be removed. Or the hole at the end must be larger to allow for former removal. Apart from this, I see no reason why CR cannot be used.