Custom Polyurethane Products
Engineering Support to Help You Beat Tough Problems.
PSI Urethanes, Inc. welcomes the challenge that custom polyurethane products can bring. When other companies have turned away potential clients, we welcome the opportunity to do the unusual and, the seemingly impossible.
PSI Urethanes makes custom polyurethane products to fit your application, from one-off prototypes to production runs. Our in-house engineering team helps you choose a formulation, refine the part design, and create custom molded urethane parts to your specifications. With a broad range of resins and hardness options, we can tailor cast urethane parts to the size, shape, and performance your project requires.
Ask Our Experts.
Contact us today to learn how we can meet your project’s requirements.
Materials
In-house resins for cast urethane parts include TDI ethers and esters, MDI ethers and esters, and aliphatic resins. With these resins, we can manufacture durometers from 25 shore OO (soft as a marshmallow) to 75 shore D (hard as a bowling ball). All our formulations can be produced in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. If you require a resin that we do not carry in-house, we can order it and manufacture your products.
Custom Formulations:
- Static Dissipative material is available in 25 OO to 70D
- Graphite Embedded
- FDA Dry & Wet Food Approved
Custom Molds
Our in-house mold shop uses a CNC mill and multiple CNC lathes to produce intricate aluminum molds for custom polyurethane products. Making molds in-house gives our team more control over tooling and can shorten lead times for custom production orders. In some cases, the mold design also allows us to produce finished parts without a separate machining step.
If you have a unique, one-of-a-kind project that requires only a few parts or if you are needing to test out a part prior to purchasing a multiple cavity metal mold, PSI Urethanes now offers 3D printed molds for producing small runs. There can be some limitations, such as design, size and surface finish, however the cost is significantly lower and lead time is faster than producing a custom metal mold. Ask your sales associate if your project is a good candidate to be produced with a 3D printed mold.
PSI produces cast urethane products and parts ranging in size from less than a gram to over 2500 pounds. We are known for our willingness to do short-run production, prototypes, as well as high volume components.
Cast polyurethane is an ideal material for constructing parts that require tough physical properties and superior impact resistance.
Rapid Prototyping
Need to test a design before committing to a multiple-cavity metal mold? PSI Urethanes offers 3D-printed molds for small runs and one-off prototypes, at a lower cost and faster lead time than machined tooling. Some limitations do apply around design, size, and surface finish, but for most projects it is still the fastest path from concept to a working custom molded urethane part.
Ask your sales associate if 3D printing is a good fit for your application, and we’ll help you weigh the trade-offs against a traditional machined mold before you commit.
Bonding and Recovery
We have the capability to bond our polyurethane to metal and many other substrates. If you have rollers or wheels that need to be recovered, we can strip off the old material and recover them with the polyurethane formulation that best fits the application. That is a cost-saving for many customers, especially when the cores or inserts are intricate or costly.
Multi Durometer Urethanes
PSI Urethanes offers multi durometer urethane products for complex applications that may require multiple levels of hardness in a single component. Our open casting process gives us the ability to layer two or more durometers in a single urethane sheet or custom part.
Multi durometer products combine characteristics from differently formulated cast urethanes into a single product by layering the durometer to adjust features including impact resistance, abrasion resistance, vibration dampening, and co-efficient of friction. Urethane products can be produced with multiple colors as well to be used as wear indicators in highly abrasive applications. Custom urethane parts, sheeting, rings, gaskets, rollers, and bushings are just some of the items that can be designed with multiple durometers.
Some applications of multi durometer urethanes include the following:
- Multi durometer urethane rollers and tubes – Dual durometer rollers and wheels allow for a core to be made of a rigid urethane while the outer diameter can be made of a softer urethane. This removes the need to source aluminum or steel cores, leading to cost savings in materials and processing.
- Multi durometer urethane seals and gaskets – Dual durometer seals can be utilized in applications that require vibration dampening or shock absorption without having to sacrifice abrasion or wear resistance.
- Multi durometer urethane sheets – Dual durometer cutting pads and sheets can be produced so that one side has a tacky, higher grip surface while the harder cutting surface side can remain uncompromised.
Our technical representatives and design staff will work closely with you to meet your specifications, from concept to prototype to production. PSI has spent over 50 years setting the industry standard in custom urethane products, staying on the cutting edge of advances in new materials, designs, and processing technologies.
Why Custom Polyurethane Parts Are Essential for Your Business
Struggling to find the perfect part for your application? You’re not alone, and there’s a reason top companies turn to PSI Urethanes.
In this video, we break down why custom urethane solutions are a necessity when off-the-shelf parts fall short. Learn how PSI Urethanes works closely with customers to engineer precision parts tailored to your most extreme requirements. From special environments to post-processing needs, we factor in every detail.
Backed by 60+ years of expertise and a top-tier R&D team, PSI delivers high-performance parts that last longer, perform better, and save money over time.
Don’t settle for “almost right.” Get the exact solution you need, built from the ground up.
Standard and Custom Durometer Hardness
Here is a list of our standard durometer specifications and our technical brief, to assist you with choosing the correct material.
Polyurethane Durometer Reference Calculator
The easiest way to understand different urethane measurements is by applying them to things that you are already familiar with. That’s why we’ve put together this polyurethane durometer reference calculator, which gives you everyday items that correspond to different Shore Hardness measurements. Give it a try!
Use the slider below to explore: Drag left or right to see how hardness levels compare to everyday items.
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Pencil Eraser
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Gummy Bear
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Gel Shoe Insole
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Rubber Band
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Pencil Eraser
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Tire Tread
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Shoe Heel
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Shopping Cart Wheel
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Hard Hat
For reference, this hardness is as soft as a Bone
Custom Applications
Most simply defined, a mount fixes an object in its operating position. Mounts help prevent the transfer of noise, vibration, and movement from one piece of machinery to another
Urethane isolators, with their shock-absorbing ability, work to extend the life and effectiveness of machinery and its internal components while improving work environments by limiting harmful vibration…
Urethane sheeting is the preferred material for covering the cutting surfaces of work benches, table tops, and more in the manufacturing and food industries.
Impellers are an essential component in the operation of many forms of machinery, both big and small.
Springs are simple, but beautifully complex when it comes to their versatility and usefulness.
Recommended Reads
How can you ensure that a custom urethane provider is able to meet your needs? Here is a handy checklist of specific qualifications to look for when evaluating…
In the custom part/product design and formulation process it is important to communicate critical background and functionality information upfront to your supplier.
When creating a custom urethane part, it is important that a custom urethane formulation is developed and designed as precisely as possible to ensure successful…
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to what engineers and buyers ask us most.
What custom polyurethane products can PSI make?
PSI molds custom cast urethane parts to your exact specifications, including rollers, tubes, rings, gaskets, bushings, scrapers, liners, pads and one-of-a-kind components, in sizes from less than a gram to over 2,500 pounds.
What hardness range can you produce?
We manufacture durometers from 25 Shore OO (soft as a marshmallow) to 75 Shore D (hard as a bowling ball), using in-house TDI, MDI and aliphatic resins.
Can you make a custom part in a small quantity or just one prototype?
Yes. We offer 3D-printed molds for short runs and prototypes at a lower cost and faster lead time than a metal mold, and we handle everything from one-off parts to high-volume production.
Can PSI bond polyurethane to metal or re-cover our existing rollers?
Yes. We bond polyurethane to metal and many other substrates, and we can strip and re-cover worn rollers and wheels, often a significant cost saving when cores or inserts are intricate or costly.
What is a multi-durometer urethane part?
It’s a single component that combines two or more hardnesses. Our open casting process layers different durometers to tune impact resistance, abrasion resistance, vibration dampening and friction in one part.