International Material Data System

IMDS Recommendation IMDS 003

Rubber (Elastomer) Material Compositions

1 Purpose
This recommendation outlines the general requirements for the creation of Material Data Sheets (MDS)
describing rubber and lattices materials. It shall be used to report comprehensive rubber product
compositions thus enabling the automobile manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with legal and
proprietary requirements. The MDS should describe the chemical composition of the product, i.e. in its
cured state. A rubber material product description should include the base substances, the contained
additives, as they remain in the product and possibly contained substance residues (uncured reactants,
by-products, monomer volatile or migrating substance e.g. nitrosamines) that are displayed in the cured
compound material structure.

For general Recommendation setup requirements see IMDS 001. Plastics are described in
recommendation IMDS 010, Thermoplastic Elastomers (Thermoplastic Rubbers) in recommendation
IMDS 013.

2 References
Recommendation IMDS 001, IMDS 010, IMDS 012, ISO 1629, ISO 1043 1-4, ISO 2076, GADSL

3 Definitions
3.1 Simple composed rubber product
A rubber material product for automobile usage is a preparation of a base rubber material and functional
chemicals (additives). The overall composition is dependent on the service purpose and the fabrication
process; it can vary with respect to the base material and to the additives. The IMDS Material Datasheet
is requiring information on the new product’s composition, i.e. in its delivery state.

A rubber material consists of its basic material type (e.g. NBR Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber), which can
generically be described as a pseudo substance. The basic rubber materials are listed in IMDS as
described in ISO 1629 (see chapter 4). The rubber “substance” is shown at the substance level, under the
material level . The contained additives are shown under the same material level.

Typical ranges (Min.(X) – Max. (Y)) for the amount (percentage) of a basic substance may be used. Such
ranges are NOT specifications. Ranges must not be used as a means to avoid declaring the full
composition. Guidelines for acceptable ranges are listed below These ranges are valid for all basic
substances of the elastomers (basic rubber and the additives).

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Portion of basic substance in the material: from X% to Y% Maximum range M = Y% - X%

0 ≤ X ≤ 7.5 M≤3
7.5 < X ≤ 20 M≤5
20 < X ≤ 100 M ≤ 10

Generic terms may be used for highly confidential additives as described in IMDS 001. The unspecific
substances must not exceed the limit of 10%.

3.2 Complex composed rubber product

For complex composed products, containing different rubber or plastic materials (e.g. a fuel hose with
inner layer, intermediate layer, outer layer and a fiber reinforcement between the layers) it is desirable to
add each contained material beneath the material which describes the composite product. The different
components of the product can be described as materials (see chapter 4).

Complex composed rubber component (described as semi component)

Plastic of the inner layer (cf. Recommendation IMDS 010 on Plastic Material Compositions)
Rubber of the intermediate layer
Fiber reinforcement (cf. Recommendation IMDS 004 on Textiles)
Rubber of the outer layer
3.3 Basic Rubber
The rubber and lattices of ISO 1629 are listed in IMDS. You can find them in the substance list by
searching for “basic rubbers” under synonyms. As result you get the complete listing of the basic rubbers
(see chapter 4).

3.4 Synonyms
Elastomer, Caoutchouc, Rubber, Latex

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4 Examples
4.1 Selection of the type of rubber

4.2 Basic Rubber

The symbol of the rubber will be created by the “pull down menue”.

Name and symbol in accordance

with ISO 1629 and IMDS 003

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The ingredients have to be added manually.

Rest
IMDS-Committee
23-27%
2-3%
12-14%
1,5-2%
0,5-1%
1-1,5%
0,8-1,3%
ISO 1629
Complete information on the
substance level
ABC

example for a
Symbol and classification in accordance with IMDS 003 simple composed
rubber
4.3 Example for a complex rubber product (e.g. fuel hose with different rubber materials for
inner/outside layer and a fibre reinforcement)

33-36%
Rest
1-2% IMDS-Committee
2-3%
2-3%
5-6%
0.5-1.5%

Part 1: Intermediate layer ECO

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0.5-1.5%
Rest IMDS-Committee

Part 2: Textile fabric ABC

28-32%
Rest
2-3%
1-2%
2-3% IMDS-Committee
2-3%
0.5-1.5%
3-4%

Part 3: Outside Layer ECO

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40-43%
5-6%
Rest

Combination of the 3 materials

to a composed rubber product

These 3 parts (Part 1:Intermediate layer, Part 2: Textile and Part 3: Outside layer) can be combined to a
complex rubber product with different layers.

5 Release and Revisions

5.1 Release
The recommendation was initially approved and released on September 24, 2003.

5.2 Revision

Rev. Date Description / Reason Originating Organization / Committee

1 March 2007 Ranges added and editorial changes IMDS-SC
2 April 2008 “Pull down menu” added, editorial IMDS-SC
changes.
3 June 2008 Editorial changes IMDS-SC

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