Batchelor Polyurethanes Ltd has the expertise to design, develop and manufacture polyurethane products. As a polyurethane supplier in the UK the Birmingham West Midlands based polyurethane manufacturer promotes the use of urethane for industrial and commercial use.
What are the advantages of Polyurethane?
Polyurethane is a unique material that offers the elasticity of rubber combined with the toughness and durability of metal. It can be produced in a wide range of colours and is suitable for a wide range of application.
Urethane products can replaced metals in sleeve bearings, wear plates, sprockets, rollers and various other parts, with benefits such as weight reduction, noise reduction and wear improvements being realised.
Polyurethane parts can reduce plant maintenance in industry. Many applications using this ultra-tough material have cut down-time, maintenance time and cost of parts to a fraction of the previous figures. This makes polyurethane cost effective and an attractive alternative to plastic, rubber or metal.
Because polyurethane products are available in a very broad hardness range (eraser-soft to bowling-ball-hard), it allows the engineer to replace rubber, plastic and metal with the ultimate in abrasion resistance and physical properties.
Compared to rubber, urethanes have better abrasion and tear resistance than rubbers, while offering higher load bearing capacity.
Compared to plastics, urethanes offer superior impact resistance, while offering excellent wear properties and elastic memory.
Parts made of polyurethane will often outwear other materials by a margin of 5 to 50/one when severe abrasion is a factor. It has been proven to be vastly superior to rubber plastics and metal in many applications where abrasion is a factor.
Polyurethane has excellent resistance to oils, solvents, fats, greases and petrol allowing it to be used in areas where oils are present.
Polyurethane products are weather resistant allowing outside applications. Polyurethane has outstanding resistance to oxygen, ozone, sunlight and general weather conditions.
Polyurethane material has a higher load-bearing capacity than any conventional rubber. Because of this characteristic, it is an ideal material for load wheels, heavy duty couplings, metal-forming pads, shock pads, expansion joints and machine mounts.
Tear-strength ranges between 500-100 Ibs./linear inch, which is far superior to rubbers. As a result, urethane is often used as drive belts, diaphragms, roll covers, cutting pads, gaskets and chute liners.
Polyurethane has excellent noise abatement properties.
The hard urethanes are now being used as gears in products where engineers desire sound reduction. The soft urethanes are used to replace rubbers for improved sound/vibration dampening.
Most formulations offer extremely high flex-life and can be expected to outlast other elastomer materials where this feature is an important requirement.
Continuous use above 80 degrees centigrade is not recommended. At low temperatures, polyurethane will remain flexible down to minus 40 degrees centigrade. A gradual stiffening will occur at 0°F, but will not become pronounced until much lower temperatures are obtained.
