Urethane rollers are essential to a variety of manufacturing processes. Due to their ability to stand up to harsh environments, urethane rollers are an excellent solution for high-stress applications. Additionally, these rollers are wear resistant and can carry higher loads than other materials with similar hardness.
Many industries rely on polyurethane rollers for their outstanding longevity and physical properties. The most common types of urethane rollers include drive, conveyor, idler, ringer, pinch, nip, feed, pulley, and v-rollers. Sectors that often employ urethane rollers include:
- Food processing industry for conveyor systems
- Steel sector to hold large pipes
- Marine industry to pull boats out of the water
- Machine maintenance industry for recovering worn out rollers
- Packaging sector for labeling rollers
- Media sector for newspapers and commercial presses
- Mailroom processing equipment
At PSI Urethanes, we are a trusted provider of custom and standard urethane rollers. With 50+ years of experience, our team has a long history of providing outstanding quality, superior product performance, and excellent customer service. Please contact us to learn more about how our urethane rollers outperform the competition, and the various markets we serve. Additionally, to learn more about PSI’s capabilities for urethane rollers, watch our short video.
Urethane Rollers Deliver Outstanding Properties and Versatility
Urethane rollers offer superb abrasion, chemical and water resistance, setting urethane apart from the competition. Urethane is able to withstand extreme temperatures and has the ability to handle more pounds per square inch than other materials without breaking. Urethane rollers also provide excellent rebound and are non-marring which are often essential properties for rollers. In addition to the functional benefits of urethane rollers, polyurethane rollers are often less expensive to manufacture and deliver longer life spans than other alternatives, making urethane a cost-effective solution.
Polyurethane also has excellent bonding abilities. For this reason, some companies choose to re-cover existing rollers. Compared to purchasing new rollers, the benefits of recovering are typically lower cost and faster lead times. At PSI, our high-quality bonding technology allows for a superior bond, especially to metal cores. No matter what material you currently have on your rollers, PSI has you covered.
How Do Polyurethane Rollers Compare to Rubber Rollers?
Companies, especially those with existing rubber rollers, often ask – should I install a rubber or urethane roller? The following summarizes the key attributes that set urethane apart from rubber. These properties are not an exhaustive list; however, these key advantages lead to significant downtime reductions and cost savings for urethane rollers due to better performance and extended life span.
- Durometer – rubber can be processed in 30 Shore A to 90 Shore A. Polyurethane has a much broader range from 10 Shore “OO” to 70 Shore “D”. Additionally, urethane rollers can be manufactured with a double, or dual, durometer. This means cores or hubs for rollers can be made with a harder durometer then a softer durometer can be bonded to it – giving your part an incredible level of flexibility.
- Chemical Composition Versatility – rubber is derived from sap and fillers can be added to change its properties; however, urethane is much more versatile. There are hundreds of formulations that can be created to provide the necessary urethane properties your specific application requires.
- Wet Environments – polyurethane outperforms rubber in applications that are either submerged or exposed to wet environments for a long period of time. In these conditions rubber rots.
- Abrasion Resistance – rollers can experience a great deal of abrasion, especially when combining dynamic loads and high friction. Polyurethane surpasses natural rubber in both of these instances.
- Tooling and Molding Cost – another distinguishing factor is tooling and molding expense. For rubber, tooling is often expensive and the lead times can be quite long. However, if you process rollers through an open cast process, the lead time and cost for molds is significantly less than rubber.
Would your next project benefit from the outstanding longevity and properties of urethane rollers?
Contact the team at PSI today to learn more and get started on your custom urethane roller.
PSI’s Urethane Roller Solutions
The team at PSI offer standard and custom urethane rollers. Our custom polyurethane rollers are made from tough, premium grade urethane. Our rollers are known for their longevity, reliability, and performance in the field. Below are examples of PSI’s urethane rollers and roller-covering solutions:
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At PSI, our urethane rollers are very customizable. Our in-house engineering and technical assistance staff can help you create custom urethane molded parts that meet your application needs and solve your problems. We have a wide range of formulations that can be geared specifically to your requirements. The specifications that are customizable include:
- Durometer (hardness)
- 25 Shore OO, 40 Shore OO, 50 Shore OO, 70 Shore OO
- 20 Shore A to 90 Shore A
- 50 Shore D to 70 Shore D
- Superior bonding technology
- FDA wet and dry formulas for food processing applications
- Static dissipative formulations
- Variety of Colors
About PSI Urethanes
Since 1966, through our own independent research and activity in the Polyurethane Manufacturers Association, PSI Urethanes has stayed on the leading edge of urethane technology – including developing advances in new materials, comprehensive designs, and processing technologies. Today we are among the most respected and trusted suppliers of custom polyurethane products.
We operate from our 45,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, which houses an extensive stock of polyurethane products. Our fully equipped manufacturing facility includes a versatile range of processing machinery, which allows us to work on unique, one-of-a-kind projects, as well as high volume components. Our in-house engineering, tooling, and custom mold shop, produces custom and stock production orders with exceptionally fast turn-around times. From conception to prototyping, to final production runs, our technical representatives and design engineers will work closely with your staff to meet your critical tolerances and specifications. You are guaranteed to receive experienced, professional, and personalized service from the first contact through your on-time delivery, with complete confidentiality and dedication to protecting your good name.
PSI Urethanes specializes in custom polyurethane products. Contact us today to see how we can help with your next project, or give us a call at 1-800-888-5156.