The applications for custom urethane parts have grown significantly over the years and urethane can be found in many different sectors including the automotive industry. Automotive environments are often harsh and materials used in these applications are vulnerable to chemical and physical deterioration. These factors make material selection a critical decision that directly correlates to the effectiveness and longevity of automotive products.
PSI Urethanes is a leader in the manufacturing of custom urethane parts used by professionals in the automotive industry. Polyurethane parts serve many benefits to the automotive industry such as cost-effectiveness and durability. Our in-house engineering and technical assistance staff can help you create custom urethane 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. 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. Visit our website to learn more about our custom urethane solutions.
Advantages of Urethane for Automotive Parts
Usage for automotive applications is expanding rapidly due to urethane’s desirable properties. Urethane parts deliver important advantages over conventional materials such as metal and plastic, and below are several of the benefits of employing urethane parts in the automotive industry. It should be noted that nearly all of the properties below contribute to an increased lifespan for urethane parts compared to other material options.
- Superior Abrasion and Impact Resistance: urethane parts offer excellent abrasion and impact resistant, and deliver great vibration and shock absorbing properties, which are all necessary for applications in the automotive industry.
- Excellent Strength and Durability: urethane exhibits superb tensile strength and load bearing capabilities, allowing it to withstand more stress than many other materials. This means urethane parts are much less likely to fail due to wear-and-tear.
- Outstanding Resistance to Contaminants: compared to other material options, urethane parts are more tolerant of and less likely to degrade when exposed to greases, oils, fuels, salts, solvents, rust, and chemicals – making urethane an excellent option for the automotive sector. Urethane is also able to maintain its shape with little swelling, if any, when exposed to, or submerged in, water or oils. These characteristics prolong part life and set urethane apart from other alternatives.
- Elastomeric: urethane can be compressed up to 25% of its normal size and still rebound back to its original size. Conversely, metal is not an elastomer and has no ability to flex or compress. High flexibility is important to the automotive industry as it results in less damage and a longer lifespan for parts.
- Improved Reliability: urethane delivers a better value than parts made with other materials that often crack, break, tear, swell, deteriorate, and abrade. This is important in the automotive industry where vehicles must be highly reliable and remain operational.
- Outstanding Sound Dampening: urethane parts offer great shock absorption and noise reduction, resulting in a much quieter operating environment – especially when compared to metal parts.
- Lighter Weight: it is not surprising that urethane parts weigh less than metal. This offers a huge advantage in many sectors including the automotive industry where manufacturers are constantly looking for opportunities to reduce vehicle weight.
- Cost-effective Solution: urethane parts are typically less expensive to mold than metal, especially for low volume runs.
- Readily Customizable: urethane parts are very easily customized. Custom urethane can be manufactured to a variety of customer-specific specs including color, size, formula, and durometer just to name a few.
Would your automotive application benefit from the longevity and reliability of a custom urethane part?
Contact the team at PSI to learn more about our custom urethane solutions and our extensive experience serving the automotive industry.
Best Uses of Urethane for the Automotive Industry
PSI Urethanes is proud to manufacture American-made urethane automotive parts. Our team of experts serves performance, sports, off-road, and other automotive applications with high quality components. Below are some of the best uses of our urethane parts within the automotive industry.
- Engine Mounts: a mount fixes an object in its operating position and helps prevent the transfer of noise, vibration, and movement from one piece of machinery to another. At PSI, our urethane mounts are the industry standard replacement for rubber factory mounts that degrade, wear, and cause vibration.
- Rollers: urethane rollers are utilized in a range of applications including automotive assembly lines. The demand for urethane rollers continues to grow as urethane products exhibit more durability and longevity compared to plastic, rubber, and metal alternatives.
- Washers: urethane washers are known for their excellent mechanical strength, good wear resistance, and aptitude for sealing and cushioning. Custom urethane washers are fundamental to the function of many engineering processes and machinery and are especially useful when assembling mechanical parts using bolts and nuts.
- Gaskets: polyurethane gaskets are a great option for high-stress, high-load applications and are often used within automotive assemblies.
- Bushings: urethane bushings provide excellent shock absorption and sound dampening – both delivering big benefits for automotive applications.
- Other: some additional automotive uses of urethane parts include table top pads, bumpers, metal forming pads, and custom assembly line parts such as L bracket door holders.
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 urethane 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 urethane products. Contact us today to see how we can help with your next manufacturing project, or give us a call at 1-800-888-5156.