Whether you live in a busy urban community or a low-key rural area, you have probably encountered hundreds of custom molded urethane products in your daily life. This is because urethane or polyurethane is one of the most popular and versatile synthetic resins on the market today.
Manufacturers all across the globe use it to create a diverse range of household, industrial, and commercial products. But the million-dollar question is, is custom molded urethane safe for you, your family, and the environment? Let’s talk about it.
What Is Custom Molded Urethane?
Before we talk about how safe or unsafe it is, you need to understand what it consists of.
First things first, if you are wondering about the technical-sounding term “polyurethane”, it simply means that the material consists of multiple urethane groups. Most industry participants use the terms “urethane” and “polyurethane” interchangeably because there is no difference between them.
Polyurethane contains two chemical components: urethane and polymers. Polymers in a chemical process link together urethane groups and the end result is polyurethane. This material is highly versatile and molding it into tens of hundreds of shapes is possible.
This is why millions of manufacturers across the world use polyurethane or custom molded urethane. It is a safe and durable material that is useful in the creation of many products, such as home furnishing items, including:
- Furniture
- Tires
- Wheels
- vending machines
- Hot water heaters
- And many more
Is Custom Molded Urethane Safe?
Urethane or polyurethane is completely safe only if you strictly follow all the manufacturer’s recommendations. Urethane material comes with several safety recommendations regarding storage and handling, and you should comply with them.
Unlike other synthetic materials, urethane is resistant to heat and will not melt when in contact with high temperatures. This makes them perfect for utilization in making, say, a refrigerator or car where large amounts of emission of energy happen.
Please note that while most polyurethane products are heat-resistant, a rare few (like thermoplastic polyurethane) can melt under applied heat.
If you’re worried about the environment and your carbon footprint, you will be happy to know that custom molded urethane products reduce noise and heat with vehicles and also lower the overall energy consumption in electronics.
And there is a reason why furniture manufacturers prefer custom molded urethane or polyurethane over several other materials – it’s not only flexible but perfectly safe to use within the home. Just make sure that if you use urethane in a liquid or foam state, you don’t ingest it or touch it without wearing gloves.
So to put it simply, yes urethane is safe for use.
Have Any Questions? Contact Uniflex Inc.
Are you looking for a versatile material that can fit a variety of your industrial needs? At Uniflex Inc., we create a wide range of custom molded urethane parts for dozens of different industries and businesses. If you want to reduce your manufacturing costs or upgrade your materials to a more durable option, we’ll be happy to talk! Call us at 248-486-6000 or reach us online with any inquiries you may have.