| A vast number of modern technical solutions in industry would be impossible without urethane rubber, but it is not always easy to use it correctly. Urethane rubber’s unique combination of properties – great abrasion resistance, great elasticity (reversible strain in %) and great tensile strength (the greatest of any kind of rubber and in technical terms referred to as tensile stress, which is measured in Mpa, and tensile strain, which is measured in % – continues to allow new approaches. The hackneyed phrase 'the only limit is your imagination' still applies, with regard not just to applications but also to implementation. Every material has its limits, but in the case of urethane rubber these limits can be expanded through design. You have to think in terms of rubber, the only three dimensionally elastic material. The most common applications: • Suspension and damping • Fasteners for punching, cutting, shearing, etc. • Holding-down plates and wipers (perforation of sheet metal) • Press-bending of thin sheet metal • Heavy feeding through a combination of pressure, tension and rotation (roller coverings) • Wheel coatings for everything from trucks to hospital beds • Supporting and guide rollers for everything from escalators to lifts • Feed and guide rollers for everything from pipe-straightening devices to sawmills and planing mills • Protection against wear and erosion (from blasting via pump liners and cyclones to pellet plants) • Surface coatings with liquid substances such as printing inks, lacquers, oils, adhesives, etc. (roller coverings) Seals, gaskets and rings at high pressures in a corrosive environment, even in the presence of water and oils. (NB: There is no super rubber that withstands all kinds of oil) • Shaping, pressing and draining moulds for the cement industry The biggest increase in the use of urethane rubber has long been in elastic structural and mechanical elements, with and without vulcanisation onto metal, and elastic tools for everything from hard-metal powder compression to scratch-free deep drawing of thin sheet metal for aircraft components. These and other advanced uses are increasing every year, and indicate where the future lays. The spectrum of possible uses is growing as a result of the following factors: ELASTOLAN’s products do not contain any softening agents or other fillers that can migrate out in contact with solvents, oils or fats, or at extremely high operating temperatures. ELASTOLAN’s products are 'naturally light' – unless the customer has requested dyeing – and do not discolour upon erasure or extreme friction under high pressures. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some of the grades ELASTOLAN manufactures for direct contact with dry foods. Most of ELASTOLAN’s urethane rubber grades can be sterilised using common methods (including radiation) for use in hospitals and slaughterhouses and the rest of the food industry. Urethane rubber products are now used in all types of industry, the transport sector, communications, healthcare, etc. The development of advanced urethane rubber products involves a great deal of work and expense, and it is ELASTOLAN’s policy to protect its customers’ individual solutions and treat them with the utmost confidentiality. |
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