Hello all
we had a problem at the moment is that one Europe supplier supply us a rubber part ( not complete rubber part, first plastic injection using PBT, then over-moulding with NBR rubber).

we total received 6 pallets at the same time, when we used up 3 pallets out of 6, we found remaining parts have a special smell, like dead mouse, it is strong, nobody can stand it.

i seeked answer in internet and some answer said the possible cause is rubber is reborn rubber but supplier explained possible cause come from transportation.

anybody can give me some idea?

thanks very much!

Hello all
we had a problem at the moment is that one Europe supplier supply us a rubber part ( not complete rubber part, first plastic injection using PBT, then over-moulding with NBR rubber).

we total received 6 pallets at the same time, when we used up 3 pallets out of 6, we found remaining parts have a special smell, like dead mouse, it is strong, nobody can stand it.

i seeked answer in internet and some answer said the possible cause is rubber is reborn rubber but supplier explained possible cause come from transportation.

anybody can give me some idea?

thanks very much!

Is the rubber natural or artificial? If natural rubber is exposed to moisture, it will mildew and rot and smell bad. It may be that the containers of rubber somehow got wet during shipment (a common occurrence with overseas shipments) and have begun to mildew.

I'm not sure that there is anything that can be done to correct it at this point. Perhaps you can look at a different method for shipping/transport or possibly protecting the rubber parts by wrapping securely in plastic to seal out moisture during transport.

Hope this helps.

Just for reference: Nitrile rubber. It's a synthetic rubber.

As for the smell, it could simply be bacterial growth.

Can you transfer the parts to another container and look for signs of bacteria?

Edit: I moved this out of the Lean forum - doesn't have anything specifically related to Lean.

Some labs that have capabilities to evaluate bioburden in sterile medical device production processes, also have an ability to determine what specific bacteria or fungi are predominant in an organism-contaminated context.

If all of the product is predominately contaminated with the same bacterium, you thereby know (1) that probably the contamination is somehow procedural rather than a random occurrence, and (2) how you might be able to change product chemistry, packaging or environmental conditions to inhibit that contaminant.

With regard to the existing product, does the smell go away after it's been dipped for ten minutes in a 10% solution of household chlorine bleach in water, then rinsed in a continuous flow of drinking-quality water, then allowed to air dry in (ideally) a warm, dry location?

The are many potential causes for a strong odor in rubber of all types. Some of these include overcuring and excess chemicals that were unused in the cure process, particularly sulfer.