Vulcanized fibre, also known as red fibre, is a laminated plastic composed of only cellulose. This material is a tough, resilient, hornlike material that is lighter than aluminium, tougher than leather, and stiffer than most thermoplastics. The newer wood-laminating grade of vulcanized fibre is used to strengthen wood laminations used in skis, skateboards, support beams and as a sub-laminate under thin wood veneers. A product very similar to vulcanized fibre is leatheroid; however, Leatheroid is made using a different chemical process. Since 2004, the scientific community has regained interest in this material due to its renewability and excellent physical properties, giving birth to the field of all-cellulose composites. These composites are all made of a matrix consisting of dissolved or partially dissolved cellulose, and the reinforcement remains cellulose fibres. A variety of solvents other than zinc chloride has been explored, including sodium hydroxide at low temperatures and ionic liquids. Whereas the original idea was to use long reinforcing fibres (ramie, flax, viscose, etc) in order to confer the composites with anisotropic mechanical properties, the field has also explored the use of nanocellulose.
Applications Vulcanized fibre has a long history in engineering, from the Victorian period onward. Although there are now many materials, mostly synthetic polymers, with higher performance, fibre has been applied widely and still retains many applications. As it is stronger in thin sections between mechanically rigid components, rather than relying on its own strength, it has mostly been used as washers, gaskets, and a variety of shims or packing pieces. Fibre washers are one of the cheapest conformal elastomer gaskets for sealing pipe unions and general plumbing work. They swell slightly with exposure to water, making a good seal. They may also be used with hydrocarbons, provided the temperature is not too high. Unlike rubber, fibre washer seals are considered as a single-use item. Fibre sheet is easily die-cut to complex shapes and so it is widely used for shaped gaskets. These may be used for sealing, as heat insulators, or as mechanical spacers. Until the development of modern plastics from the 1930s, fibre was the standard electrical insulating material for many small components. It could be cut to size easily, either in mass production or hand-trimmed to fit. It was particularly common in the assembly of large machines, such as motor winding. Some early Swiss Army knives used vulcanized fibre handles.
History The British patent for vulcanized fibre was obtained in 1859 by the Englishman Thomas Taylor. He gained the patent after the introduction of celluloid in 1856 and before the invention of viscose rayon (regenerated cellulose) in 1894. In 1871 Thomas Taylor obtained the United States Patent for vulcanized fibre. The first organized industrial company to make vulcanized fibre was the Vulcanized Fibre Company, incorporated first as a New York Corporation formed June 19, 1873 listed with William Courtenay President and Charles F. Cobby Secretary. The first N.Y. corporation was also found in the 1873 N.Y. City Directory which also listed William Courtenay President and Charles F. Cobby Secretary in 1873. From 1873 until 1878 the Vulcanized Fiber Co. had a New York office address of 17 Dey St., while the factory was located in Wilmington Delaware. This can be seen in the many advertisements that were placed in different publications at this time in history. A special charter was granted by the state of Delaware in 1873 until the Delaware corporation was finally incorporated on February 8, 1875 which now listed William Courtenay President and Clement B. Smyth Secretary. In 1884 Courtenay & Trull Co. N.Y. was merged into the Vulcanized Fibre Co. which gave the company control over a new invention called by the trade name "Gelatinized Fibre". On December 4, 1901, during a merger and consolidation the Vulcanized Fibre Co. changed its name to the "American Vulcanized Fiber Co." which was formed for the purpose of consolidating: Kartavert Mfg. Company, Wilmington, Delaware; American Hard Fibre Company, Newark, Delaware; Vulcanized Fibre Company, Wilmington, Delaware. and the Laminar Fibre Company of North Cambridge, Mass. In 1922 the name was changed again when it was directly purchased by the National Fibre & Insulation Company of Yorklyn Delaware (who was also the owner of the Keystone Fibre Co.). The president of the National Fibre Company at this time was J. Warren Marshall, who took the same office after consolidating into the new company "National Vulcanized Fibre Company. In 1965 the name was changed again to the NVF Company in order to avoid confusion over the years with a new and changing product line. The water power of the Piedmont streams in Northern Delaware led to a proliferation of companies in the vulcanized fibre business. Over the years, these companies reorganized and merged. In 1922 National Vulcanized Fiber Company emerged as the main competitor to Spaulding Fibre, which had begun developing vulcanized products in Rochester, New Hampshire and Tonawanda, New York, nearly a quarter century after the industry began in Delaware. Some of the companies involved in vulcanized fibre development in the Wilmington region were the Nunsuch Fiber Company, American Hard Fiber Company, American Vulcanized Fibre Company, Continental Fibre Co., Diamond State Fibre Co., and Franklin Fibre Company. In the 1965 Post’s Pulp and Paper Directory, National Vulcanized Fibre Co. was listed as having two mills' producing rag paper for vulcanized fibre. They were at Newark, producing 15 tons a day; and Yorklyn, producing 18 tons a day. This compares with Spaulding Fibre’s Tonawanda plant, then producing 40 tons a day (Post’s directory). The competitors also produced bakelite, but marketed them under different names: Spaulding’s was Spauldite and National’s brand was Phenolite and Iten Industries' Resiten or Itenite.
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