

THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



-i 1. 1915. 



WILLIAM H. SMITH. 



William H. Smith, who for twenty .wars was connected with 

 the Manhattan Rubber Manufacturing Go., of Passaic, New 

 .. died June 30, after a long illness, at his home in that 

 city, at the agi irs. He joined the Manhattan company 



in October, 1894, and had charge of its calender room until he 

 \va> retired on a pension in October, 1913. His wife survives 

 him. 



JOHN L. MOTHERSHEAD. 



[ohn Leland Mothershead, tor many years associated with 

 The (irasselli Chemical Co., died suddenly at his home in Cleve- 

 land. Ohio, July lo. 



Mr. Mothershead came from a family of Kentucky pioneers. 

 He early moved to Indianapolis, where he was prominent in 

 business and politics. Previous to his connection with The 

 Grasselli Chemical Co., he was engaged in the manufacture of 

 Silicate of Soda at Fortville, Indiana. Mr. Mothershead was 

 well known throughout the chemical trade. He was a Knight 

 'Templar and a Thirty-second Degree Mason. He is survived 

 by his wife, a daughter and two sons. The interment took place 

 at Indianapolis. 



JAMES MAC aUAID. 

 James MacQuaid, for many years treasurer of the National 

 Conduil >V Cable I o., of New York, died of heart disease. July 

 10, at his home in Twickenham, London, after an illness ,,f sev- 

 eral months. Mr. MacQuaid, with two partners, founded the 

 Conduit company over a quarter of a century ago and he was 

 very active in its affairs until his retirement ten years ago. Since 

 that time he lias made his home, for the most part, in England. 

 I te purchased the historic place at Twickenham known as "Pope's 

 Villa" from the fact that it was in this house that Alexander 

 Pope wrote the "Essay on Man" and other famous poems nearly 

 200 years ago. 



ORIGIN OF RUBBER FOAM. 



""THE origin of rubber foam or rubber froth, as it is some- 

 ■*• times called, has been much discussed and it may he 

 interesting to state a few facts concerning this discovery. 



Rubber foam was first patented in Germany, on August 1(1, 



cember 30, 1913. Practically all the properties of rubber 

 foam known today were enumerated in tlic-< litttrs patent. 



The manufacture of rubber foam is based upon the obser- 

 i. hi 'ii that rubber as well as gutta percha and balata are not 

 homogeneous or impenetrable substances, but represent a 

 microscopic reticular structure into which gas can penetrate 

 and remain under certain conditions. Rubber foam can be 

 produced either in the form cif soft rubber or in the form 

 of hard rubber. 



lo make soft rubber foam, rubber is subjected in an auto- 

 claw to the high pressure (80 to 300 atmospheres) of an 

 optional gas and is vulcanized. Under the high pressure the 

 gas penetrates the rubber so that when vulcanization is suffi- 

 cient and the gas pressure removed the rubber thus treated 

 swelK into a foam-like mass the volume of which is from 

 13 to 18 times that of the original rubber before treatment. 

 This foam-like mass is made up of a multitude of closed 

 cells, each of which contains, under pressure, a portion of the 

 gas that was forced into the rubber during the vulcanization. 

 The size of these cells and the pressure of the gas they con- 

 tain can be varied indefinitely by manipulations of the manu- 

 facturing process. For making hard rubber foam the process 

 is continued by placing the soft rubber foam in iron retorts 

 and subjecting" it to heat and pressure, continuing the vul- 

 canizatii n until the desired degree of hardness is obtained. 

 The shape and conformation may also be equally \aried. 



it is very light (about 100 pounds per cubic yard of vol- 

 ume ), is both gas and water-proof and affected only by strong 

 acids. The cost of production varies with the price of crude 

 rubber, and is rather higher than the final cost of good soft 

 or hard rubber. It must, however, be borne in mind that 

 1 pound of rubber foam has the same volume as 18 pounds 

 of solid rubber. 



A variety of practical applications is claimed for rubber 

 foam due to its bulk and cellular structure. The list includes 

 its use as a substitute for cork in life belts; filling for pneu- 

 matic tires and playing balls, imparting resiliency regardless 

 of punctures; insulation of heat and cold in clothing for auto- 

 ists and aviators and in walls of refrigerators; also for up- 

 holstery and other cushioning purposes. 



While not affected by acids generally, rubber foam will dis- 

 solve in ammonia, which can be used to soften hard foam to 



Rubber Foam Stock Before 

 Vulcanization. 



Soft Rubber Foam with 

 Large Cells. 



Soft Ri/bber Foam with 

 ill Cells. 



Hard Rubber 

 Foam 



1910, by Fritz Pfleumer, an Austrian engineer residing in 

 Dresden. Saxony. A United States patent (No. 1,038,950) 

 was granted to Mr. Pfleumer for his invention of rubber 

 foam on September 17. 1912, and reissued (No. 13,667) De- 



facilitate working it. When the ammonia is evaporated hard 

 foam regains its original hardness. It is -aid to be suscep- 

 tible of fireproofing and is soon to be produced commercially 

 at the rubber works in Flkhart, Indiana. 



