AKRON—The ACS Rubber Division is scheduling a series of courses and webinars, including new offerings as well as some existing favorites.
Most of the courses and webinars are new, and all are available for remote viewing from any tablet, laptop or computer, the group said. The courses and webinars are free for student members, and the webinars are free for members.
Courses include:
• "Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management in the Rubber Industry"—1 to 5 p.m. eastern time, July 15. Designed for risk managers or technical employees working in the rubber industry, this course addresses risk areas including global regulatory compliance and trade secrets. The course also will provide information about how good product stewardship helps mitigate risk.
This course is taught by Denise Kotz of Strategic Realm Consulting L.L.C.
• "RPA Testing of Rubber Processability and Dynamic Properties"—9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. eastern time, July 20. This course helps people understand methods to measure rubber processing, dynamic properties and "fundamental rheological principles on which these tests are based." Changes in rubber compound formulations affect measured processing properties, as well as cured dynamic properties, also will be discussed.
This course is taught by consultant John Dick.
• "Rubber Explained"—9 a.m. to 5 p.m eastern time, July 21. This course for sales and executives working in the rubber industry centers around practical explanations and basic fundamentals. Topics include raw materials, rubber formulation, costs, mixing processes, fabrication processes, interpreting test specifications and results, and testing methods.
This course is taught by Erick Sharp, founder of ACE Products & Consulting L.L.C.
• "Carbon Blacks Manufacturing, Properties & Applications in Rubber Compounds"—1 to 5 p.m. eastern time, July 22. This course centers around carbon black and is designed for both technical and non-technical employees. Topics include carbon black types and manufacturing processes, global industry status, selection of carbon black for various processes, compounding with carbon black and environmental impacts of carbon black.
This course is taught by Irene Yurovska, a consultant and vice president of Himadri Specialty Chemicals.
• "Basic Rubber Compounding"—9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time, July 28. This course provides an overview of rubber compounding and testing. Compounding subjects include elastomers, fillers/reinforcement, plasticizers/process aids, antidegradants and cure systems. Testing subjects include process testing, physical properties testing, dynamic properties testing and aging. Processing subjects include mixing, milling, molding, extrusion and calendaring.
This course is taught by Nicki Hershberger, compound development manager and senior technical advisor, Akron Rubber Development Laboratory (ARDL).
• "Processing and Testing of Rubber"—1 to 5 p.m. eastern time, July 29. This course covers different types of mixing, extrusion, molding and testing. The course is best suited to rubber plant technical personnel. The instructor is Hershberger.
Webinars include:
• "Social Media Marketing in the Rubber Industry"—1 to 3 p.m. eastern time, July 23. The webinar will cover the current status of social media and the rubber industry, including usage, benefits, platforms, and strategies. The webinar will include discussion about creating a social media team, creating content, establishing goals and measuring impact. The instructor for this webinar is Amanda Allen, design and marketing assistant at ARDL
• "The Basics of Mixing: Internal Mixers"—10 a.m. to noon, eastern time, Aug. 6. This webinar is for people new to the rubber industry, those new to mixing or rubber experts seeking a refresher or new insight. The session will examine different styles of mixing utilized across the rubber industry and then focus on the popular internal style mixing. The instructor for this webinar is Frank Pappas, director of sales and business development at ACE Products & Consulting.
More information is available at rubber.org/upcoming-training.