Made of rollers and sheets
compact polyurethane:
Industry in motion

Well, indeed, as we have talked about, polyurethane is a material that has an infinite number of hardnesses and an infinite number of uses. It ranges from the softer foams that are used for… well that, mattresses and such.

And… then there are other medium-hard polyurethane foams that are… super special for pavements and for dampening sounds ranging from medium to high densities. of medium densities and medium hardness and then there is a range of plurietane which is the compact plurietane which is a totally different market from the others for ethane because the compact plurietane goes from hardness of 50 sores to almost 100 sores.

Well, basically the difference in hardness is because one is a soft thing and the other is a stone and when it tells us that the hardness that a stone is, what are the common applications of compact polyurethane manufacturers, well, one of the The most common common applications are the coating of metal rollers.

In itself, the entire market rollers or a broad market rollers are made compact plurietanos.

Then there are, for example, other technical parts, sheets of compact plurietane that are used for snow removal machines, that is, they withstand a lot of friction without tearing, that is, that is one of the properties of the non-compact project.

And in the case of compact polyurethanes, how are they manufactured? You do this in the factory or they are also, as we were talking about with the topic of thermoplastic foams, that you buy them and then you define them and adapt them to the client.

In this case, the compact projects are made in the factory because the other projects, the spongy ones, require very large vulcanization facilities and yet the project vulcanizes it in the air, it is not necessary.

You simply have to make a mixture, let’s say you have a paste like honey, pour it into a mold and let it vulcanize.

People can be organized either in the ambient air, but to shape it, what are called ovens are used, autoclaves are used, which is an oven that gives off some heat and causes the pressure of the environment to increase.

So that puts pressure but without holding it as it is in the rubber molds that physically express that you have a prey, this is the atmospheric pressure, that is, the atmospheres are increased and with that you manage to vocalize the polyurethane and make it have the shape.

The rubbers, of course, the pressure it gives is pneumatic, which you press and gain strength until you say this is the strength it has to have and in this case it is environmental because it is generated by an atmospheric pressure that makes it also hard. , but it does not have as much pressure as the other what factors.

They must be taken into account when choosing aesthetics, you have already told us about each of the materials, by temperature, whatever and in these materials, what has to be taken into account?

Well, in these materials, one of the most important properties of compact polyurethanes is resistance to abrasion, so, when they are pieces that are in contact with wear for any reason, this type of compact polyurethane pieces are usually used, which withstands a lot of wear. abrasion, friction… For example, in ski resort chairlifts, the rollers through which the steel cable moves are made of compact polyurethane because it withstands friction much more than rubber.

And what are the advantages of using non-compact polyurethane instead of alternative materials?

Well, this is a bit of what I have told you about the characteristics, the resistance it has to breakage, these materials are what makes them ideal for certain uses, for example, a snow blower has an abrasion, which is the areas of the blade against the road that only these materials can withstand it or steel.

So many times you put, that is, you decide between steel and polyurethane depending on the surface you are going to treat, whether you want it to break or not, because polyurethane has a lot of resistance, but it also has a point that it does not break the structures by the ones that happen

So that gives it a, well, that use is special and specific for that type of sweepers, etc.

Yes, I think that with the two examples you give, the snow plow, what you don’t want is for the asphalt to break, so these compact polyurethanes are better for you, for example, in the one where you take the chairlift, there you could choose between It was one or the other, because if the cable is made of steel, touching steel, what can also happen is that the cable breaks and so that the cable does not break, it would be preferable to insert this material and have this material break and then change the roller.

Well, well, as it usually depends on the client, a client asks you to advise him on what could be best and the majority of these types of clients tell you that they want a polyurethane of a certain hardness.

Well, depending on what the client explains to you, if they want a material that has good resistance and that does not damage the surfaces they are working with, then normally you recommend a compact polyurethane, do you understand?

So, well, depending on the use you are going to give it, well, with the characteristics of polyurethane, which is resistance. That is, the good work with ozone and the resistance also to chemical products, etc., well depending on what I explain to you, well if a client gives us a series of needs that are within this type of polyurethanes, well we We recommend polyurethane.

We have the two examples, which is fine, but give us more examples of where this compact polyurethane is used.

It can be used in countless places. Machined parts, rods, you know what I mean? There are a lot of polyurethane rods, supermarket tables to cut, well I don’t know, in the windmills there are polyurethane pieces too, metal rollers for the wheels of the tanks, which I have recently made, that is, an infinite number of uses.

Yes, it is a material that seems to be used less, but it has many uses. Kitchen cutting boards are also made of polyurethane.

In your production, from what you told me, what you do most are elastomeric supports, expansion joints in these large pieces or even those that are smaller.

What percentage do you have of this material, of compact polyurethane?

It represents 10% of the product, that is, of what Cacesa manufactures, the compact polyurethane, and it is true that it is a product that there is a lot of competition because the compact polyurethane is the latest thing that we have incorporated into our line. of manufacturing, but hey, it is true that they are asking us for prices in many places because it is a product that is used in many applications.

Just like what you have in the laboratory for the rubber issue, you also have it here, or this already comes from the manufacturer.

This, since they are external mixtures developed by companies like VAS, they directly come with their quality certificates, where they tell you the components, the mixture, the resistance, the properties, that is, in these cases the only thing we do is make the piece and finish the piece, because these pieces are often raw and must be milled or cut to give them the final shape.

Just like the other products, I’m asking you about the useful life of these parts, right? Which here is more difficult for us to assess, because I don’t know what the rollers of the chairlift or the blade of the snowplow can withstand, right?

Normally, polyurethanes, if they are well vulcanized to the metal parts that support them, and are properly assembled, then they are pieces that last a long time.

Polyurethane lasts for many years if it wears out. It has a very long useful life. Do you dare to see it?

No, I wouldn’t know, because when you’re starting out in this world you don’t have many years of experience either, but well, I estimate that, for example, a critical piece of a chairlift, well, man, maybe five years. This requires reviews, there are sites that have to be reviewed regularly, but, come on, I imagine that they should last between five and ten years, minimum.

Basically, they are, well, small companies that are looking for alternatives because the market takes a long time to serve them, so, well, they are people who repair machines, people who repair special vehicles, you understand?

But, come on, they are, for example, the Tecnobe group that makes custom vehicles for the army, well, that one regularly uses polyethane parts for me.

The typical anecdote is internal, well, they are chemical products that are served in these thousand-liter drums and, well, it is the typical one that you leave, the bucket is being filled to prepare the mixture and I don’t know what calls you, they tell you forget and create a puddle that you don’t see in the factory, well. It’s a slightly unpleasant anecdote.