NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0.

2, JUL-DEC 2016 24

Productivity Improvement of Rubber Roller

Mixing Process using Cause and Effect
Analysis: A case study
Gaurav S Patel, and Bimal Kumar Mawandiya
 to knead the rubber between rollers and the process of
Abstract—Productivity plays an important role in any
industry which enables a firm to compete in a competitive
global world. Productivity provides an idea about how
efficiently resources in a company are utilized. This paper
addresses the application of cause and effect diagram for a
mixing process of rubber roll manufacturing. Rubber roll is
an essential component which is used in a textile, plastic,
rayon, paper mill and printing industry. For a product to have
a good quality, the product should be made with standardize
process and with consistent quality. Rubber roll and other
rubber products are made by mixing process of various
ingredients within specific temperature limits. The purpose of
this paper is to examine the rubber roll manufacturing
process for productivity improvement. The concept of work
study for detailed observations is used to improve the
productivity. The mixing process is taken into consideration,
by taking number of trials, problem related with the mixing
process are identified. Corrective actions are taken to improve
the effectiveness of the equipment used for mixing process.
Based on the observations, a detailed cause and effect diagram
is constructed. With the help of this study and after the
necessary modifications, the goal is achieved by a proposed
standardized mixing process, which in turn leads to
productivity improvement.
softening by mechanical shearing of rubber which is also
known as mastication. Natural rubber in its ideal state has
high viscosity therefore any ingredients used for enhancing
the rubber property is unable to mix with the rubber and by
mastication process natural rubber is soften and its
viscosity and molecular weight reduces. Thus allows
ingredients to be mixed homogeneously with rubber. The
mixing process is basically done on two machine a) Open
mixing mill and b) Kneader machine.
Open mixing mill: A mixing mill consists of two hollow
metal cylinders (rolls) placed horizontally and rotating
towards each other as shown in Fig. 1. The two rolls are
revolving with different speed where front roll rotates
slower than the back roll. The difference in speed of two
rolls is called as friction ratio. Rubber is masticated due to
shearing action between the two rolls and friction ratio
allows this shearing action at nip to disperse different
ingredient with rubber and to hold the rubber compound on
one roll that is front roll.

Index Terms—Rubber manufacturing process, Work study,

Method study, Cause and effect diagram.

I. INTRODUCTION

R ubber coated rolls, blanket and rubber lining (e.g.

natural rubber, SBR, Nitrile rubber, Neoprene, EPDM,
silicone and Hypalon) are an important component
Fig. 1. Mixing process on open mixing mill

used in paper mill, textile, plastic, rayon and chemical
industry. In rubber roll industry for making a rubber roll or
rubber lining, formation of rubber compound is an
important task. These rubber products are made by mixing
of different ingredients which provides specific properties
to the final product. Depending upon the end use of rolls
and temperature conditions, the rubber has to be
compounded with different ingredients. Rubber
compounding is carried out to provide desired physical
properties, like hardness, resilience, elasticity and tensile
strength to the final prepared compound.
Kneader machine: It is basically a closed chamber
mixing machine as shown in Fig. 2. It has two rotor which
operates at a slight differential speed. Mixing of rubber and
ingredients occurs between the rotor and sides of chamber.
The ingredients are loaded from top opening of chamber.
Pressure is applied by the ram which closes the opening
gate of the chamber. Shearing action of ingredient and
rubber is done by two rotors and side walls of the chamber.

The first step in manufacturing of any rubber product is

G. S. Patel was with the Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad 382 481, Gujarat,
India (e-mail: 14mmcc16@nirmauni.ac.in). Fig. 2. Mixing process on kneader machine
Dr. B. K. Mawandiya is with the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad 382
481, Gujarat, India (e-mail: mawandiya@yahoo.com).
The mixing process was reviewed at rubber roll
industry. Process flow chart of rubber roll manufacturing
NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0. 2, JUL-DEC 2016
process is shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. Process flow chart of rubber roll
In this paper, mixing process of rubber compounding is
studied for making a rubber compound on open mixing mill
and kneader machine. Research paper includes the basic
process of preparing rubber compound, Cause and effect
analysis of mixing process on open mixing mill and
kneader machine and remedies to increase the productivity
of mixing process. [1] Productivity is the ratio of output
and input. Higher productivity provides higher standard of
living including larger supplies of consumer goods and
capital goods at lower cost, higher real earnings,
improvement in working and living conditions and
strengthening of economic foundation of human well-
being.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
M. Tapiwa1 et.al. [2] used work study technique to
optimize the manufacturing plant maintenance process for a
fertilizer manufacturing plant. They have shown the
relationship between the plant maintenance management
principle and the ergonomics which imparts better
maintenance workspace for the worker. They have also
developed charts for workforce versus productivity of plant
and recommended the future scope and possible changes
for engineering, production and the support sections.
Authors have highlighted the main areas of improvement in
fertilizer manufacturing plant maintenance system by
updating the work space for maintenance, improved
efficiency, and product quality and reduced downtime.
I. Bhiradi et al. [3] used work study technique to improve
productivity of a heavy machine shop. They studied rear
covering housing line, differential housing line and gear
box housing line of a tractor. They calculated the cycle
times of each machine in different assembly and
manufacturing lines. They used method study for preparing
time study sheet. After critical examination and the
analyzing the data of time study of exiting method, they
proposed a new method after eliminated all the non-value
added activities and improved the productivity by 35% of
the system.
C. Duran et al. [4] used the technique of time and motion
study for calculating process time of a tea glass
manufacturing process. In this work, micro element study
of tea glass process was carried out and subsequently the
25
standard time of the process was established after analyzing
the obtained data and by eliminating unwanted activities.
After successfully implementation of the recommendations
they achieved an overall improvement of 53%.
A. Mariajayaprakash and T. Senthilvelan [5] have
applied principle of cause and effect diagram, Taguchi
method and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) for
identifying the causes and its effects of failure occurring in
a sugar mill industry. They have used the concept of
Ishikawa diagram for listing the reasons of failures such as
human, mechanical, electrical and temperature sensor
failure. They used Failure mode and effect analysis
technique for analyzing the failure occurred in cogeneration
process in sugar mill and found the main parameter which
affects the process. Concept of Taguchi method was used
for reducing the failure in fuel feeding system of
cogeneration process and for optimizing the process
parameter.
A. Gunasekaran and P. Cecille [6] showed how the
productivity of a small and medium scale industry can be
improved. They took three aspects for improving the
productivity, first aspect was improvement of tools used in
the workstation, second aspect was implementation of
kanban system between hose assembly and hose cutting
workstation and last aspect was development of
autonomous cell. They have also discussed about 5S and
control of inventory level in order to have low capital
carrying cost and proposed to have a customer oriented
assembly line.
A. P. Puvanasvaran et al. [7] highlighted the method to
improve overall equipment efficiency (OEE) of an
autoclave operating process by using technique of time
study. They performed two time study techniques, first by
using stop watch to validate OEE standards and second
technique was Maynard’s Operating Sequencing Technique
(MOST) which is then revealed in terms of Value added
and Non-Value added activities. They analyzed the data
obtained and by eliminating unwanted activity contributed
to reduce in cycle time of process. After evaluating the
process, standard process sequence was driven and about
4.64% increment in efficiency was found without
compromising the quality of product.
D. Boothby et al. [8] discussed about the increasing of
companies’ productivity by providing exposure of new
technology in the field of manufacturing and by providing
training to operator to adopt new technique, which will help
the firms to achieve better productivity and economic
performance. Authors have created awareness about
training programs which helps to enhance skill of a person
working on machine and ultimately leads to better
performance of a company.
A. R. Sharma [9] described about the compounding
techniques used for making a rubber compound, which is
further processed to form a rubber tire. He identified
various controllable factors like batch size, rotor speed,
sequence of addition, mixing time, ram cylinder pressure,
temperature of the mixer, finished mix and discharge speed
and subsequently he performed the experiment and found
its effect on production. He also discussed about further
processing of rubber compound to final product tire.
NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0. 2, JUL-DEC 2016
D. P. Mishra et al. [10] show how productivity of a coal
mine industry can be improved. Authors have applied Time
and motion study technique for data collection of mining
process. They have identified the factors affecting the cycle
time and productivity of coal mine such as cycle time of
operation, manpower allotment and machine efficiency.
They analyzed the collected data and then unwanted
processes were eliminated for reducing the overall
operation time. They have also highlighted the measures
for reducing breakdown of machine.
N. U. I. Hossain et.al. [11] have applied principles of
fishbone diagram, total quality management and control
charts to improve quality in a pharmaceutical company.
They developed fishbone diagram for weight variation and
thickness variation of tablet and analyzed the data of
Cefotil 500 tablet for weight variation and thickness
variation and plotted control charts showing upper control
limit and lower control limit and calculated variance of
defects arising in tablet. They discussed about possible
changes required in order to lower the waste due to
defective tablets.
M. Hekmatpanah [12] described how the potential causes
in an oil company can lead to major problem and how the
waste in the company can be reduced using technique of
fishbone diagram and six sigma. He used fishbone diagram
to represent the cause and effect of production line of
canning and filling process. He also conducted FMEA of
plate cutting section and developed fishbone diagram and
analyzed data of plate cutting process and prepared Pareto
chart. After evaluating the process and eliminating the
causes of potential defect, the generation scrap is reduced
from 50000 ppm to 5000 ppm.
N. Patel [13] utilized time study technique to monitor the
production in a bearing manufacturing company. He
determined the standard time for each process involved in a
bearing manufacturing industry and applied concept of
OEE tool for each process to measure performance of
equipment per shift. He analyzed and evaluated the
collected data and then by eliminating non value added
activity, finishing time and spark out time of the process
were reduced. He proposed the use of auto cone checker to
detect the missing roller instead of manual cone check to
reduce inspection time per bearing assembly for improving
the overall productivity.
III. METHODOLOGY
A Pilot study was carried out to observe and understand
the whole mixing process of rubber compounding. Work
study of rubber compounding on kneader machine and
open mixing mill was carried out. After work study of
mixing process, all the observations regarding mixing
process was analyzed in terms of value added, non-value
added and idle time of man, machine and material. Based
on the work study, a detailed cause and effect diagram was
developed. Factors affecting the causes of low production
and inconsistent quality were identified and corrective
actions were taken to ensure good quality product and then
accordingly mixing process on kneader machine and open
mixing mill was revised.
26
A. Process description of mixing process on mixing mill
1) Set nip roll opening to 2 mm (thinning) and maintain
roll temperature up to 40-45°C.
2) Add rubber to mill nip and allow it to band as a
continuous sheet on front roll.
3) Make ¾ cut from both side of roll with hand knife and
allow rubber to pass through nip till smooth rolling
bank is formed on nip.
4) Set the nip opening to 3 mm (thickening) and add
sulphur to masticated rubber then allow it to roll till it
get properly mixed with rubber.
5) Add antioxidant to rolling bank and make cut from
both side of roll for proper mixing of ingredients.
6) Make cut from one side to other side, remove it and
then place the bank in nip at other end of roll for
homogenous mixing.
7) Add filler to rubber bank sequentially in three to four
times in equal quantity.
8) Add processing additives like wax, polymer, blowing
agent and tackifying agent.
9) Make a small cut from both side of the rubber
compound after mixing of all ingredients.
10) Add lubricants like mineral oil, resin blends, fatty acid
etc. Add reinforcing filler to the compound.
11) Add activators like zinc oxide, stearic acid
according to the recipe of the compound and then
allow the compound to mix properly.
12) Make a small cut from both side of rolling bank
after adding heat resistive agent to the rubber bank,
remove it and then feed to other side.
13) Allow the compound to mix properly till it get
uniformity.
14) Add accelerator to rubber bank and make a small cut
from both side of rolling bank.
15) Cut the compound, reduce the gauge between rolls
and then cut the sheets from this gauge setting.
16) Cut the sheet from roll, remove it and feed it to roll
nip. Repeat this step for 3 times.
17) Cut rubber through one side and remove it from roll,
make nip setting thick. Feed rubber bank to nip and
make small cuts and mix it properly.
18) Cut sheet of required length using knife and place
sheet on the table one by one.
19) Cut two samples from sheet taken out of mixing mill
and then write the details on sample like date,
compound number, and batch number on sample.
Send that sample for Rheometer test.
20) Send Second sample to autoclave for vulcanization
process of 6-7 hrs. Grind the sample on grinding
wheel for smooth surface finish and check the
hardness by using Durometer shore A and shore D
for soft rubber compound and hard rubber
compound, respectively.
B. Process description of mixing process on kneader
machine
1) Raise the ram and insert the elastomer into the
mixing chamber.
2) Close the chamber with ram and cover and then
allow the elastomer to disperse up to 1 minute.
NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0. 2, JUL-DEC 2016 27

3) Stop the machine and then raise the ram and Observations identified during the method and time
subsequently tilt the chamber and add filler to the study and corrective actions taken for mixing process on
kneaded rubber. open mixing mill are shown in TABLE I.
4) Tilt the mixing chamber to its original position. Close
the chamber with ram and cover and then start the TABLE I
machine. OBSERVATION AND CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN FOR MIXING MILL
5) Lower the ram into mixing chamber by its half stroke Sr. Observation Remark Action Taken
No.
and allow compound to mix for 3 minutes.
6) Lower the ram till its full stroke and allow the 1 Breakdown of Limit switch Limit switch
stock blender plunger jammed changed
ingredients to mix properly. due to impact of
7) Stop the machine and lift the cover and ram. Add oil rubber
to the compound and close the chamber with ram and 2 Temperature of Circulation of Thermocouple
cover. Start the machine. roll increases cooling water fixed at inlet and
blocked outlet unit of
8) Lower the ram up to its half stroke and mix for some water
time. 3 Raw rubber not Cycle time Temporary stock
9) Lower the ram till its full stroke and allow the available at increases as of rubber for two
ingredients to mix properly. workstation waiting time of mixture kept at
rubber is added workstation
10) Stop the machine and lift the ram up to its half stroke, to it
lift the cover and feed the powder spread on top of 4 Variation in Quality gets Sequence
ram to mixing chamber. sequence of affected variation is
11) Lift the ram to its full stroke and feed powder by procedure rectified
5 Variation in use of Cycle time varies Stock blender
cleaning on side of ram face to chamber. stock blender used in each
12) Lower the ram and cover to its full stroke and start the compounding
machine and then wait for 2 minutes. 6 Jamming of Pipe jammed due Filter changed at
13) Place the tray near the discharge door. Lift the cover cooling pipe to rubber particle foot valve of
water pump
and piston to its full stroke. 7 Mixing time is Roll nip kept less Nip setting
14) Tilt the mixing chamber and discharge the compound more while mixing change
in tray. 8 Mixing time is Fatigue of Nip setting
15) Tilt the mixing chamber to its initial position and stop more operator motorized
the machine. 9 Heat built up in Insufficient 5 way valve
bushing of rolls lubrication changed,
16) Wait for the mixing chamber to cool down for next greasing hose
batch. changed
17) Take the compound from tray and take out sheets by 10 Undispersed Improper mixing Proper mixing
adding accelerator in compound and mix it on open chemical cycle
mixing mill.
18) Cut two sample from sheet taken out of mixing mill. Observations identified during the time study and
Write date, compound number, and batch number on corrective actions taken for mixing process on kneader
sample. Send the sample to check quality in machine are shown in TABLE II.
Rheometer.
TABLE II
19) Send the second sample in autoclave for 6-7 hours. OBSERVATION AND CORRECTIVE ACTION TAKEN FOR KNEADER MACHINE
After removing from autoclave the rubber gets hard. Sr.No Observation Remark Action Taken

IV. CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM 1 Cooling time of Waiting time for Descaling and
machine is more next batch cleaning of
The cause and effect diagram is a tool to display increases mixing chamber
graphically the causes of any problem. It is also called as 2 Mixing chamber Pneumatic 3 way valve
Fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram. On the basis of the cover lifting is pressure is not changed at FRL
detailed observation made while carrying out method and slow uniform unit
time study on mixing mill and kneader machine, a detailed 3 Temperature drop Non – uniform Strainer changed
cause and effect diagram is developed. of mixing chamber cooling in cooling tower
is slow
The cause and effect diagram shows all the possible
4 Variation in Quality gets Sequence
modes of causes for the defect and the factors which affects sequence of affected variation is
the quality of the rubber compound. With the help of cause procedure rectified
and effect diagram, problems related with the inferior
quality of the rubber compound can be easily traced and After implementing the suggestions provided for kneader
solved. machine and mixing mill, the results obtained are discussed
As explained in methodology, work study of mixing in the subsequent section ‘result and discussion’.
process on kneader machine and open mixing mill was
carried out for AA75, AH39 compound and same V. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
procedure was followed for different compounds. A The observations of analysis of mixing process and the
detailed cause and effect diagram was developed as shown improvement achieved on kneader machine are as follows:
in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.
NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0. 2, JUL-DEC 2016 28

Fig. 4. Generic cause and effect (fishbone) diagram for mixing process

Fig. 5. Generic cause and effect (fishbone) diagram for mixing process on kneader machine
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NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0. 2, JUL-DEC 2016

a) As shown in Fig. 6, average idle time of man is d) Average machine idle time reduced from 188 to 10
reduced from 738 to 345 seconds. seconds as shown in Fig. 9.

Idle Time of Machine

Idle Time of Man
250
Time (sec)

1000 200

Time (sec)
800 150
600 100
400 50
200 0
0 1 2 3 Avg.
1 2 3 Avg.
Time (old) 212 117 235 188
Time (old) 809 696 710 738
Time (new) 8 11 12 10
Time (new) 304 328 402 345

Number of Readings Number of Readings

Time (old) Time (new) Time (old) Time (new)

Fig. 9. Comparison of idle time of machine

Fig. 6. Comparison of idle time of man

b) Average value added time of man reduced from 635 to e) Average machine non - value added time reduced
470 seconds as shown in Fig. 7. from 425 to 314 seconds as shown in Fig. 10.

Value Added Time of Man Non - Value Added Time of

Machine
Time (sec)

800
Time (sec)
600 500
400 400
200 300
0 200
1 2 3 Avg. 100
0
Time (old) 475 712 719 635 1 2 3 Avg.
Time (new) 384 483 542 470 Time (old) 346 464 464 425
Time (new) 286 306 349 314
Number of Readings
Number of Readings
Time (old) Time (new)
Time (old) Time (new)
Fig. 7. Comparison of Value added time of man
Fig. 10. Comparison of Value added time of man
c) Average non-value added time of man reduced from
595 to 332 seconds as shown in Fig. 8. Takt Time Calculation (For Kneader Machine)

It is the rate at which a product is to be manufacture in

Non - Value Added Time of Man order to satisfy the customer demand. Following steps are
carried out to calculate the cycle time for making one
Time (sec)

800
600 rubber compound on kneader machine:
400
200 1. Total available time = 2 shifts per day * 25 working
0 days in a month.
1 2 3 Avg.
2. Demand per day = 36 Mixtures.
Time (old) 602 539 643 595
3. Available working time per shift = 450 minutes
Time (new) 296 339 361 332 (Excluding lunch and tea break) = 27000 seconds
4. Available time per day = 27,000 * 2
Number of Readings = 54,000 seconds
Time (old) Time (new) 5. Takt time = Total available time per demand
=54,000 / 36
Fig. 8. Comparison of Non - value added time of man =1500 seconds (25 minutes) (Can be
achieved)

NIRMA UNIVERISTY JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY VOL. 5, N0. 2, JUL-DEC 2016
From the past records of June - Nov 2015, the
production of kneader machine was 12 mixtures per shift.
After analyzing the cause and effect diagram of kneader
machine, probable solutions were identified and
implemented which are discussed in TABLE II. After
implementation of the suggestions, the utilization of
machine was increased as evident from the production data
of Dec 2015 – March 2016 as shown in Fig. 11 and it is 15
mixtures per shift without compromising the quality in
comparison to the earlier production of 12 mixtures per
shift. The Takt time calculation shown above shows that
the cycle time per mixture which can be achieved without
affecting the quality of product and therefore 18 mixtures
per shift can be made.
Production per month (2015-16)
Production of rubber
468 445
500 429 422 439
379
331 358
compound
400
300
200
100
0 kneader machine increased from 12 to 15 mixtures per
AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR
Month
Fig.11. Production detail of rubber compound on kneader machine (2015-
16)
Takt Time Calculation (For mixing mill)
1. Total available time = 2 shifts per day * 25
working days in month.
2. Demand per day = 24 Mixtures.
3. Available working time per shift = 450 minutes
(Excluding lunch and tea break) = 27000 seconds
4. Available time per day = 27,000 * 2
= 54,000 seconds
5. Takt Time = Total available time per demand
= 54,000 / 24
= 2250 sec (37.5 minutes)
The available takt time for open mixing mill is 37.5
minutes per compound. Since the time for each compound
is different i.e. it may be less or even more than the
available takt time, hence the proposal of making the
compounds which have similar production cycle time for
production can be taken together and the production per
shift should be based on the production cycle time for that
particular shift. In this way the overall weekly production
requirement can be met.
For mixing process on kneader machine, after the
analysis of the cause and effect diagram, problems related
with the equipment as well as human error were identified
and resolved which resulted in increase of production of
30
kneader machine from 12 mixtures per shift to 15 mixtures
per shift and by providing proper training to the operator it
can be increased up to 18 mixtures per shift.
Another study was also carried out on different mixing
mill and after time study; the problems related with the
breakdown of machine and human error were rectified. A
proposal for attachment for nip setting on mixing mill was
made, which will reduce the fatigue in operator.
VI. CONCLUSION
In this case study, time study was performed for kneader
machine and mixing mill. The time study data were
analyzed in terms of man, machine and material chart and
non-productive and redundant activities were eliminated.
From the time study of kneader machine it was found that
the machine takes more time between productions of two
batches due to slower cooling of mixing chamber.
Therefore, a detailed cause and effect diagram for the
mixing process was prepared and problems related with
equipment and human error were rectified. Mixing process
on kneader machine and mixing mill was revised.
A proposal for attachment for nip setting on mixing mill
was made, which will reduce the fatigue in operator. After
implementing necessary changes in machine, production of
shift which can be further increased up to 18 mixtures by
providing the proper training to the operator. A proposal of
producing one particular compound on one machine per
shift was made which helps in better utilization of the
machine with increase in production with less number of
days.
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Industrial Engineering and Management from Indian
pdf/AA1143816550 Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur in 1996.
[13] N. Patel, (2015). Reduction in product cycle time in bearing Subsequently, he obtained Ph.D. degree from Indian
manufacturing company. International Journal of Engineering Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur in 2016. He
Research and General Science [Online]. 3 (3), pp. 466-471.
Available: http://pnrsolution.org/Datacenter/Vol3/Issue3/62.pdf.
has published 12 research articles in International/National
journals and conferences.