Cast Polyurethane Tells Its Story

The benefits of cast polyurethane—as well as the market’s lack of awareness of those benefits—took center stage in a recent Modern Plastics article titled “Polyurethane: Cast Urethane Makes Its Case.”

Mike Katz, VP of the PMA and president of custom urethane and rubber processor Molded Dimensions, emphasized the need for the industry to educate designers, engineers and the market in urethane’s versatile physical properties, including extreme wear and abrasion resistance.

More education would be a good thing—because the more people learn about this material, the more they like it.

As urethane technology becomes more advanced, traditional barriers to using the material are being lifted. Although polyurethane still can’t handle the high heat of automotive engine applications, it can now be used in warmer applications increasing the service life of products from fan belts to tires. Meanwhile, the FDA has even approved cast urethane to be a replacement for stainless steel. Urethane processors are looking ahead to more advances in the higher heat tolerances of the material.

On the machining side, current metering and mixing equipment represent a vast improvement. The new systems offer greater precision and a more consistent product from part to part for customers.

If you have a cast polyurethane success story that needs to be told, let us know! We’d love to hear from you. We are always looking for PMA member stories to share.

Have an idea? Shoot us an email at rjennings@insidesh.com.