Instruments & Innovation

View of two engineers, Stanley Bilker (background) and Ralph Harper (foreground), operating the calender sheeting machine at the the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. The…

General view of the Latex and Chemical Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. An assortment of laboratory glassware, apparatus, and instruments used for various phases of experimental and developmental work…

View of a worker dumping mixed rubber stock from the Banbury Mixer at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mixer was used to break down and mix rubber…

General view of the Dynamic Test Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station showing forced vibration machines and other equipment used to test rubber articles produced at the Station under simulated service…

View of two engineers, Stanley Bilker (background) and Ralph Harper (foreground), operating the calender sheeting machine at the the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. The…

Assorted latex mixers and stirrers used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Latex and Chemical Laboratory to mechanically froth, foam, and mix latex. The machines depicted in the photograph are identified as follows…

View of a worker closing the hydraulic press in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. This unit is a 200-ton capacity Williams-White Moline machine equipped with three…

View of a worker removing a tensile sheet from a mold used in the hydraulic press at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. The hydraulic press is a 200-ton capacity…

General view of the Goodrich Flexometer used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Dynamic Test Laboratory. The flexometer was used to determine the heat build-up and hysteresis characteristics of rubber specimens…

View of the Banbury Mixer used in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. The mixer is a Farrel-Birmingham Co. size B Banbury Mixer with a 25 H.P. motor and four-speed…

General view of the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Aeronautical Materials Laboratory. Two workers and an assortment of machinery and scientific apparatus, including…

General view of the Mogul Experimental Mixer used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Sealants and Adhesives Laboratory. Equipped with "Z" type agitators and a tilting chamber fitted with a removable,…

General view of the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Aeronautical Materials Laboratory. Two workers and an assortment of machinery and scientific apparatus, including…

General view of the hydraulic press in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. This unit is a 200-ton capacity Williams-White Moline machine equipped with three 24" x 24"…

General view of the Steam Vulcanizer in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. Also known as an autoclave, the vulcanizer was use to cure, i.e. toughen or harden polymer…

View of chemist adding unidentified ingredients to rubber stock in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. The primary purpose of the laboratory was the production of…

View of a worker inserting rubber stock into the Banbury Mixer at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mixer was used to break down and mix rubber…

View of the mixing mill used in the Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station. The mill is an Adamson 6" by 16" two-roll machine powered by a 7 1/2 H.P. motor with chain drive.…

General view of the Physical Properties Laboratory at the Naval Air Experimental Station showing assorted equipment used for the evaluation of rubber and rubber-like materials. Machinery and apparatus used in the…

View of a worker holding a piece of rubber tubing as it is extruded from the tuber machine in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. This tuber, a variable speed H.P. Royle…

View of a worker cutting rubber stock from the mixing mill at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mill was used to mix rubber stocks or warm mixed…

General view of the Weathering Room at the Naval Air Experimental Station. Visible in the photograph is an Atlas Fade-o-meter and several accelerated weathering units used to evaluate the effects of stimulated service…

View of a worker passing rubber stock through the mixing mill at the Naval Air Experimental Station's Rubber Compounding and Processing Laboratory. At the laboratory, the mill was used to mix rubber stocks or warm mixed…

General view of an electronically-controlled constant rate of load tensile machine used in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Physical Properties Laboratory. Tensile machines are commonly used to subject materials…

General view of the Emerson Oxygen Aging apparatus, with two bombs, housed in the Naval Air Experimental Station's Oven and Accelerated Aging Room. Located inside a shelter within the aging room, this apparatus and…