Rubber processing: the operation used to convert rubber into thin sheets or to apply a uniform rubber coating onto fabric is known as what?

Introduction / Context:
Rubber goods manufacturing uses several distinct unit operations. When the goal is to form controlled-thickness sheets or apply rubber films to textiles (e.g., tire cord fabrics, conveyor belts), the process of choice is calendering. Discriminating calendering from extrusion, mastication, and vulcanisation is a core skill in polymer processing.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Objective: create thin, uniform sheets or coat fabric with rubber.
• Equipment: sets of heavy, polished rolls with adjustable gaps.
• Material: compounded rubber mixes at elevated but non-curing temperatures.

Concept / Approach:
Calendering squeezes and stretches rubber stock between counter-rotating rolls, controlling gauge and surface finish while embedding fabric when desired. Extrusion forces rubber through a die to produce profiles or tubing; mastication is mechanical working to soften/shorten polymer chains for processability; vulcanisation is the curing step that creates cross-links, improving elastic recovery, strength, and heat resistance but not used to set sheet thickness or apply coatings by itself.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Process layouts for tire manufacturing show calender lines preparing skim-coated cord fabrics and innerliner sheets prior to building and vulcanisation.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Extrusion: produces continuous profiles, not textile coatings.
• Mastication: conditioning step, not a forming/coating method.
• Vulcanisation: curing, not sheet/fabric gauge formation.
• Compression moulding: discrete part shaping, not continuous sheet/fabric coating.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing the order of operations: calender to make sheets/coat, then assemble, then vulcanise to final properties.

Final Answer:
Calendering