The un-vulcanized natural rubber is sticky, deforms quickly on heating and its brittleness increases on cooling. Under this state, it is not suitable for many applications. In the present work, the performance of vulcanization of rubber has been evaluated in order to improve mechanical properties of the rubber. The experiments were performs as per Taguchi’s mixed level parameter design (L18). The vulcanization load, vulcanization temperature curing time and rubber ratio were considered as process parameters. The mechanical properties viz. rubber strength and hardness were selected as response parameters. The results reveals that the best settings for maximum tensile strength is Curing time 22 mins, NR:PBR is 60%:40%, vulcanization Temperature is 130oC and vulcanization load is 3.5 Tons. Similarly the best setting for max hardness is Curing time 26 mins, NR:PBR is 100%:0%, vulcanization Temperature is 130oC and vulcanization load is 3.5 Tons
