Rubber Part Manufacturing Info

[Markley]

I am looking for any info or suggestions on having a rubber part made. We currently produce a product with a storage bin that is lined with carpet. We want to replace this carpet with a one-piece rubber liner. The liner has to offer some cushioning but also be non-porous and cleanable. The items that are stored in the bin contain liquid and may leak. The size of the bin is about 22” x 15” x 10” deep. The required thickness of the liner is about 1 1/2" at the base and 1/2" for the sidewalls. The problem is the volume of bins we require is pretty low (about 200 per year). I’ve looked into moulding the part but tooling cost for a steel mould is kind of high for such a low volume. The tolerances for the part are very loose and the volume is low so maybe another manufacturing process would be better? I don’t have much experience with rubber parts so any help would be appreciated.

 

[btrueblood]

PVC plastisol might be a good fit here - pour the stuff into a bin, roll it around to coat the sides, dump into the next bin, etc.