Low quantities of small custom size latex balloons?

Just shooting from the hip here but at the local Home Depot there is a rubber/latex roof sealant white in color that is good in temerature extremes and advertized to expand/stretch someting a long the lines of 5-10 times its original length even in sub-zero temps. A 5 gallon pale was fairly cheap. If I remember the name of the stuff I will post it.

Thanks! I will check out Lows tomarrow. I found some stuf on Dip Molding but havent found a source for small amounts of liquid Latex.

John

If you Google liquid latex, there is interresting stuff...once you go past adult stuff.

Hi there, a couple of years ago I have been working on a device involving small balloons, and (depending on the intended use) the whole issue can be quite more complicated than you may think!

Consider what shape you want the baloon to maintain once inflated, the inflating pressure, what you want to inflate it with (fluid / gas), how many times you need this to work, to what you want to attach it (Flexible or rigid rod / tube), how you want to do it: string + knot / glue, etc, etc...

If you want to do something very easy, to run some tests, the tip of an latex condom would be ok. If searching for something more sophysticated, you probably need ballons made of polyethylene / polypropylene or (probably the best material: polyurethane). The latter can be welded (radiofrequency) or glued to another material.

I don't have the info here right now, but there are a couple of companies in the US specialized in baloons: they offer a wide range of materials, pressure ranges and shapes (round, cylindricall, "dog bone", square). Price is an issue, cause they charge about 20 to 40 U$ for each (depending on the shape and material). If any of this baloons are OK for you, the can custom make them as well (10,000 / 20,000 U$ in tooling)

I hope this info was of some help. Should you not find the companies I told you about, let me know and I'll see if I still got it!

Good luck, Cosme

Two suggestions for cheap off the shelf solutions.

1. Finger cots used by dentists. They look like really small condoms. Thin walls and easy to inflate.

2. Pipette bulbs for small pipettes. Latex with thick walls.

Either should be in your specified size range and are available from scientific supply houses.

The Canadain Discovery channel show 'How it's Made' did a segment on the making of balloons. If I remember correctly they did as you plan, they dipped the desired uninflated shape into the rubber/latex tank. The 'mandrel' had a hole drilled through it to the end so that the balloons could be removed from the mandrel after dryng by air pressure applied through the hole.

Dear John

It is very simple to do.

Stage 1 Mold Preparation.

a.Take a test tube or Glass Rode , which will give a smooth surface (1/2 inch long and 1/8 of an inch in diameter ).

Stage2 Compound Preparation

a. Take required amount of centrifuged Natural Rubber latex in Beaker.Stirr it well

Add KOH solution 1.5phr

b. Add clay dispersion ( custom available in market ) - 10Phr.Stirr well for 15 minutes.

c. Add Zno Dispersion ( Custom available in market) 2.5 phr, Add under stiring

d.Add Sulphur dispersion ( Custom available in Market) 2.0 phr, Add under stirring.Keep for half an hour.

e.Add ZDEC Dispersion ( custom available in Market) 0.7phr.Stir for half an hour. Reduce the temperature to 15- 18 degree celcius

3.Stage 3 Coagulant Preparation

a.5% calcium chloride solution

b. 25% Ethyl alchol

3.Stage 4 dipping

Transfer the compound to beaker 1 inch long and 1 inch diameter.

Insert the mold first in calcium chloride solution, allow to dry and then slowly immerse the mold into the compound .Allow to drip of latex. and the dip in alcohol.Allow to dry under a Table fan. Dust with normal baby talc to avoid stickiness.

Give a beading at the lower part to give asetics and avoid tear ing .Finally tranfer into a preheated Oven( 60-70 deg Celcius) for 15 - 20minutes.

Strip off from Mold .Your baloon id ready to inflate

From

LILLY. KURIAN

John,

You might consider purchase of an inflatable balloon that is already on the market, and design your application around it. I work for a company that does just that.

Here is a link to our web site. http://www.rudolphkc.com/

Contact us and we may be able to help with your problem.

Best Regards,

drdave

Hi Frinds,

WoW! So much information so soon. Thank you to everyone.

I started looking for natural latex rubber on the web and all I found was

latex for body painting. I am going to try that as well as visit my dentest.

Again thanks to all of you

John

Hi John,

dentists do not use latex: they use heavy and light silicone for impression taking. (our company manufactures this products). I have the feeling that it will not be of use for making a baloon, as it is a paste; instead of a fluid.

John,

The material used in our balloons is silicone. The cylindrical design inflates to about 3 times diameter (maximum inflation) with about 6 psi. Relaxed diameter is about .49 inch.

Best Regards,

drdave

Consider looking up companies that make angioplasty ballons: they're already working in the small size and uniform wall territory, are used to making custom shapes, and obviously know the material properties and processes well. You might even be able to find something that doesn't meet specification [for angioplasty] that can be obtained as samples. They MIGHT be willing to do the molding at low cost, and let you know what sort of mandrel is needed. On the other hand, they may be used to costs and pricing that are exhorbitant by standards of any other field!