What is polyurethane?

Polyurethane (PUR) is a plastic material that comes in many different forms and can be tailored to be hard or soft and heavy or light.

Polyurethane (PUR) in our everyday life
We come into daily contact with polyurethane because the material is found in a number of different types of consumer and industrial products that help to make our lives a little easier. For example, shoe soles, upholstery for furniture, car parts, building insulation, wear parts, wheels, mattresses, sound insulation, the casting of electronics, armrests, headrests, seat cushions… The list can be made long – and it keeps getting longer as new uses and materials are discovered.

Tool costs are also an important factor. Because polyurethanes are cast materials, the tools can be cost-effective compared to the solid structures needed for rubber compression or plastic injection

A versatile material – with the help of additives

Polyurethanes are a polymer, and like all plastics, are polymers made from diisocyanates that are reacted with a variety of polyols. Depending on the desired end product, different chemical formulations may contain different ingredients, for example blowing agents, catalysts, amines, and possibly flame retardants.

Polyurethane (PUR) systems consist of the base part of polyol and isocyanate in liquid form

When molding a polyurethane system, the base part consists of polyol and isocyanate in liquid form. The polyol can be based on polyether or polyester, the isocyanates are usually of MDI type. When these two components are mixed with the help of modern PU machines, a reaction takes place – and polyurethane is formed.

The great advantage of this type of method – so-called reaction injection molding or RIM (reaction injection molding) – is that with the help of various additives you can control the reaction of the polyurethane directly in the mold.

If the polyurethane foams contain so-called leavening / blowing agents

which may be water or some other type of solvent in liquid or gaseous form, which causes the material to ferment and form a polyurethane foam which may be leather or open cell.

With the help of other additives, you can control hardness, density, and color, among other things. If no blowing agent is used, the polyurethane becomes solid and is often called elastomers or urethane rubber.

Durable

Polyurethanes are most often characterized by very good wear resistance, high elasticity, chemical resistance and resistance to oil, resistance to both low and high temperatures, resistance to weather, wind, and UV radiation, non-static, good insulation, and sound-absorbing ability.

Polyurethane elastomers have properties that in many cases correspond to and surpass rubber. Polyurethane is also very suitable for casting sensitive electronics in exposed environments.

A polyurethane-based on polyether is hydrolysis stable, which means that it is not degraded by water, which has made polyurethanes common details in an underwater environment. With the help of various additives, the material can also be fire-rated.

Environment and Recycling

We at PurPartner reuse all our waste from production, and all customers can send back used products to us, we mix 50% old material with 50% new and cast new products that are sold in our sister company Rosén Innovation AB.

We think this is to think environmentally friendly