The lifespan and performance of your custom molded urethane parts heavily depends on many factors, including design, quality, formulation and tolerances. If these factors are lacking, your product performance will as well. To get the highest quality custom urethane products with the best overall performance, there are five key qualifications to look for when selecting a custom urethane manufacturer:
1. Offer Complimentary Product Design Assistance
You may come up with a design that looks good on paper, but may not be feasible to produce. Or, there may be a more cost effective way to design your custom molded parts. Select a provider who is willing to provide the strategic guidance and expertise necessary to ensure your custom molded parts are created with the best, most cost effective design and will deliver the longest life. Find a provider who is willing to:
- Provide strategic guidance and expertise
- Examine your product sketches
- Understand how your product will work and the product environment
- Consult with you about recommendations to increase lifespan
2. Use Custom Formulations with Premium Materials
Not all urethane is created equal. This means, if you are looking for the custom molded urethane parts with the longest lifespan, select a urethane provider that has the versatility to create custom formulations that meet your unique needs and use premium grade raw materials. While lower grade materials may be cheaper up front, they will cost you more in the end. They tend to have lower physical properties, which means they are less abrasion resistant and have a shorter life.
3. Have Tight Standard Tolerances and Can Handle Unique Tolerance Requirements
Precision is key. With some products, tight tolerances may not be important, yet with others there may be little to no tolerance flexibility.
Small standard tolerances mean you are less likely to:
- Need additional customization
- Incur upcharges in pricing
On the other hand, some custom urethane products will undoubtedly require tighter tolerances than the standards. In this case, you need to speak with your custom urethane provider and ensure that they have the machining ability necessary to meet these tight tolerances.
4. Offer In-house Mold Making
Custom urethane manufacturers that offer in-house molding pass along several advantages to their customers. For example, these suppliers eliminate the need to use a third party company which reduces the cost as well as results in a faster turnaround time for the custom urethane products. This means you will have a timely delivery of your products and you will gain the flexibility needed for faster fulfillment on future orders.
5. Have Responsive Customer Service Professionals
Do not overlook the quality of customer service. While a company may meet other key criteria, if their customer service representatives are unresponsive and lack knowledge, you may not end up with exactly what you are looking for. Instead, make sure the company you select:
- Responds to your inquiries quickly (within 24 hours)
- Enthusiastically answers any questions you may have
- Has the knowledge and expertise to meet all your needs
To learn more about the different types of custom urethane products available including sheets, rollers, rings, rods, tubes visit our cast urethane products page and be sure to check out our custom urethane product gallery.