About Polyurethane

We can formulate urethanes in a wide range of durometers (hardness) from bowling ball hard (70 on the D scale), as well as, full A scale, to marshmallow soft (below 10 on the “OO” scale).

Urethane resists abrasion and holds up in high-impact applications.

• Abrasion resistant. When resistance to abrasion is critical, our high-performance urethane products stay on the job. In fact, our urethane products often outwear other materials from five-to-one to fifty-to-one when severe abrasion is a factor.
• Impact resistant. Are your parts subject to high impact or repeated impingement? Our urethane products remain elastic even in the hardest formulations.

• High Load Bearing Properties. Urethane parts formulated by PSI Urethanes have higher load-bearing capacity than any conventional rubber. This makes urethane ideal for items such as high load-bearing wheels, heavy-duty couplings, metal forming pads, shock pads, and machine mounts.
• High Flex Properties. Our urethanes make great hinges and diaphragms. Because of the inherent strength and toughness of our precision cast urethane, we can make parts extremely thin at the flex point, which greatly reduces the risk of cracking that comes with thicker parts made of other elastomers.

Friction against non-lubricated surfaces generally decreases with harder formulation and increases with softer formulations. We can formulate urethanes with low coefficients of friction for a variety of surface types.

Our urethane can be bonded to a wide range of materials during or after the molding process. Bonds on metal, wood, and plastic substrates are especially strong. In addition, our precision cast sheets can be manufactured without the use of mold-release or a wax base. Unlike other manufacturing processes that run the sheets through a secondary cleaning operation before bonding, our sheets go through a special process that allows them to stay mold-release-free (or wax-free). This technical advancement ensures an end product with even greater bonding properties than ever before.

• Harsh environments are no contest for our urethane products. Our sheets, pads, rollers, tubes, rings, and more stand up to temperature extremes and exposure to water, ozone, oxygen, oil, grease, and chemicals.
• Flexible at low temperatures. We can formulate urethanes to remain flexible in Arctic-like conditions or through sudden drops in temperature.
• Stable up to 250° F. Our experts can formulate urethanes to withstand continuous use up to 200° to 250° F.
• No swelling or deterioration in water. Our urethanes remain stable even when immersed in water as warm as 120° F for very long periods. (Although we don’t recommend continuous use in water hotter than 180° F.) Our precision-cast sheets, pads, rollers, tubes, rings, and other products absorb practically no water: approximately 0.3 to 1.0 percent by weight with negligible volume swell even after prolonged immersion.
• Electrical conductivity control. Customers frequently request our urethanes because of urethane’s excellent insulating properties. We can increase electrical conductivity to suit your needs.
• Resistant to ozone and oxygen. Our urethanes are virtually immune from attack by ozone and oxygen. Therefore, they’re the ideal performer around electrical equipment without the cracking and hardening associated with conventional elastomers and plastics.
• Resistant to oil, grease, and chemicals. Our urethanes resist a wider range of chemicals and substances than most rubbers and plastics. They perform well under contact with solvents, oils, and chemicals.

Unlike rubber, urethane can be formulated to give a very wide range of resilience. For shock absorbing applications, our urethanes can be formulated with rebound values as low as 5% to 25%. For quicker recovery, rebound values of up to 70% can be formulated.