Natural Rubber

What is Natural Rubber?

Natural rubber is the vulcanised product of latex — the milky sap produced by trees such as Hevea brasiliensis. Once processed (compounded and vulcanised), this material transforms into a durable elastomer widely used for seals, gaskets, dampeners, and many other applications.

Key Properties & Performance

Natural rubber brings a combination of desirable mechanical and physical traits, which make it a valuable sealing and elastomeric material:

• High elasticity & resilience — NR stretches significantly under load and reliably returns to its original shape, making it ideal for dynamic, flexible sealing components.
• Strong tensile strength & tear resistance — thanks to its polymer structure (cis‑1,4‑polyisoprene), NR withstands substantial mechanical stress without failing, even under repeated stretching or flexing.
• Good abrasion and wear resistance — NR performs well even under friction or repeated contact, making it suitable for applications subject to movement or abrasion.
• Excellent damping & vibration absorption — NR’s elasticity and resilience make it very effective for dampeners, vibration mounts, and dynamic isolation components.
• Good adhesion to metals & friction surface — it bonds well with metal parts and provides favourable surface friction, useful for many sealing and gasket uses.
• Broad operating temperature range (typical compounds) — many NR compounds operate effectively from around –40 °C up to +80 °C, making them suitable for a variety of environments.
• Natural origin and renewability — being derived from a plant source, natural rubber is more environmentally friendly and biodegradable compared to many synthetic elastomers.

Common Applications

Thanks to these properties, natural rubber is widely used in:

• Seals and O‑rings — particularly for non‑hydraulic applications and where flexibility and resilience are required.
• Vibration dampeners, mounts & shock absorbers — its ability to absorb vibration and flex under load makes it ideal for machinery mounts, couplings, rollers, and anti‑vibration components.
• Hoses, tubing, belts, and conveyor components — abrasion resistance and elasticity serve well in hoses, belts, and flexible connectors.
• Water‑resistant and air‑sealing applications — NR’s impermeability to water and gases makes it a reliable choice for seals in water systems, pneumatic applications, and where moisture resistance is needed.
• General‑purpose rubber goods — including footwear, gloves, flooring, gaskets, and other everyday items benefitting from NR’s flexibility and durability.

Summary & Guidance

Natural rubber remains a versatile, robust and cost‑effective elastomer — especially well‑suited for non‑hydraulic seals, dampeners, vibration‑absorbing components, flexible tubing, and general‑purpose rubber goods. Its combination of elasticity, strength, abrasion resistance and resilience provides excellent performance for dynamic and mechanical sealing applications — particularly where exposure to aggressive fluids, oils, or high heat is minimal.

However, where oil, fuel, aggressive chemicals, high temperatures or UV/weather exposure are factors, synthetic alternatives often provide superior long‑term performance. As such, careful material selection and verification are strongly advised — ideally consulting chemical compatibility guides, application requirements, and relevant material data sheets before specifying NR for a project.

Not widely used in sealing industry due to poor compression set performance and lack of resistance to many fluids.

Please note: This Material Data Sheet section is to be used as a professional guide only. Eastern Seals (UK) Ltd may source their products from a variety of Quality Approved Suppliers and the data shown should not be relied upon by any purchaser without verification of material source.

Key Information

ES REF	Colour	Temp Range	Hardness	Notes	Data Sheet
NR70	BLACK	-40°C to +80°C	70	High tensile strength, high resilience, high abrasion and high tear resistance properties, with a good friction surface and excellent adhesion to metals	NR70