In 2023, the industrial machinery market has grown into a $545 billion dollar industry. Industries around the world rely on heavy manufacturing and industrial equipment. However, due to their constant use and exposure to the elements, this equipment can sustain damage like abrasion and corrosion. These mechanical issues also put the workers, customers, and properties that interact with the equipment at risk.

There are a few methods like the application of rubber or metal-based bumpers that prevent breakage and prolong the life of these types of machinery. However, polyurethane bumpers are the most practical solution. Read on to know more about polyurethane bumpers, their benefits, and where you can get them.

What Are Urethane Bumpers?

Polyurethane or urethane bumpers are pads or knobs made from the urethane synthetic compound. Urethane has the elasticity of rubber. However, it has better compression characteristics compared to plastic alternatives such as rubber. It does not tear or bounce off easily. Moreover, unlike rubber which produces a foul and sometimes toxic scent, urethane is odorless.

Urethane also has incredible durability and longevity that is relative to metal. It can accommodate huge loads of pressure without breaking. It likewise does not leave marks on surfaces and items it comes in contact with. Urethane also produces significantly less noise compared to metal.

Urethane bumpers come in many shapes and sizes. Some are threaded while others are not. They can be customized and molded to fit your particular needs too.

Round urethane bumpers have a durable and solid interior and impact-resistant rubber-like exterior. They are usually threaded. The male bumpers have a rigid stud made of metal or steel while the female bumpers have molded-in steel hex. This facilitates ease of installation and detachment. Round bumpers are used to position, guard, and alight objects moving through automated locomotive equipment.

Rectangular urethane bumpers are often reinforced with metal plating. The additional reinforcement allows for greater load and pressure accommodation. These bumpers are ideal for securing and positioning heavy-duty objects and parts. Moreover, the under-treated holes in rectangular bumpers can house a mounting bolt, thus giving the bumpers more versatility.

There are also square bumpers. These urethane bumpers are excellent at mitigating impact and vibration. They can also endure high temperatures and offer the same versatility as round and rectangular bumpers.

These urethane bumper solutions are commonly used in manufacturing plants. However, they can be used in any industrial setting.

You’ll mostly see urethane bumpers lining the edges of conveyor belts. They align and position the products as they move from one area of the assembly line to the next. They likewise prevent the products and equipment from damaging each other by absorbing the impact of collisions.

Aside from conveyor belts, urethane bumpers are also used as shock absorbers or stoppers for hydraulic cylinders, electric components, pneumatic cylinders, navy hatches, and many more applications.

Why Are They Used?

Urethane bumpers are widely used in commercial and industrial spaces. While there are alternatives like rubber and metal bumpers, engineers and factory operators prefer polyurethane bumpers for their several benefits.

Affordability

Urethane bumpers are more affordable than their metallic counterparts or other mechanical solutions. Despite being cheaper, these bumpers offer equal or even greater durability, reliability, and flexibility than pricier alternatives. Some polyurethane bumpers even come in pre-manufactured molds, thus eliminating the additional cost of molding

Improved Production Speed and Efficiency

Urethane bumpers improve manufacturing speed and efficiency by smoothly and safely guiding components through the production system. They also facilitate automation and streamline workload, allowing your workers to focus on more critical aspects of the production process.

Moreover, these bumper’s low acoustic profile will mitigate noise levels in your factory and make communication among your workers easier.

Robust Composition

Polyurethanes are extremely wear-resistant and are more durable than most plastics and PVC options. They don’t easily degrade from heat and solvent exposure. Their elasticity and strength likewise give them a higher damage threshold. These characteristics make polyurethane bumpers ideal for demanding industrial processes where machinery is constantly subjected to huge amounts of load and pressure.

Ease of Installation and Maintenance

Urethane bumpers are easy to install since the pads or knobs already have built-in fasteners or adhesives. Moreover, these are simple tools that do not use springs or other complicated mechanisms that require a tedious installation procedure. By having a simple design with no moving parts, it’s likewise easier to maintain urethane bumpers.

Oil and Chemical Resistance

While the oil manufacturing industry’s revenue growth has experienced a slight dip this year, it’s still safe to say that oil is here to stay. Whether it be coming from the products themselves or from equipment grease and lubricants, oil is a common substance in a lot of industrial plants.

Oil contamination is the cause of around 70% to 80% of all hydraulic and other machinery failures. Hence, polyurethane bumpers’ oil resistance is highly beneficial. These bumpers can also withstand prolonged chemical exposure without getting unstable or severely swollen.

Corrosion Resistance

Metallic equipment in factories is always at risk of corrosion. This can disrupt manufacturing operations, lead to exorbitant repair costs, and compromise product quality. Annually, corrosion costs the manufacturing and production industry a whopping $17.6 billion in damages and losses.

Fortunately, urethane bumpers are a cost-effective preventive solution to this problem. Urethane bumpers provide one of the best corrosion resistance on the market. They will protect not only your expensive machinery but also the items and parts that go through them.

Abrasion Resistance

Unlike other forms of elastomers or metals, urethane bumpers do not easily get worn or scraped. They retain their smooth and uncompromised texture even when subjected to low temperatures or other highly abrasive conditions. Hence, they are the perfect option to use in machinery like conveyor belts where components can constantly collide with the bumpers.

How Are They Made?

Polyurethane bumpers are made from expanded urethane synthetic compound or polyurethane resin. The microcellular composition of this material contains open and closed cells. This is what allows the buffer in each bumper to have high elasticity and impact resistance.

Generally, this material is placed on a low–cost mold that shapes the bumper to fit standard industrial machinery. The OEM slots or holes are made through water jetting.

Metallic support is then added, with some urethane bumpers even containing a steel safety chain for enhanced structural integrity.

For more demanding applications, custom urethane bumpers can be made. A more rigid stud can be used for a more reliable fastening mechanism. Mount accommodations can likewise be included. Even the color of the bumper can be changed depending on your preference.

How Can You Purchase Them?

There are many producers of urethane bumpers. To get high-quality bumpers, order your polyurethane bumpers only from an established and reputable supplier like Uniflex. For over 40 years, we at Uniflex have been providing high-quality custom polymer solutions to many clients for an affordable price.

Uniflex offers a full stock line of top-tier yet affordable urethane bumpers. Whether it’s round, rectangular, or square urethane bumpers, we supply them all. Our round urethane bumpers come with reinforced steel washers, while the bolt patterns in our square bumpers are evenly spaced. Meanwhile, our rectangular bumpers have standard bolt pattern designs and sizes.

We only offer 80A urethane bumpers in either black or red. However, we can supply a standard durometer range from 40A to 95A in any color.

What’s special about our polyurethane bumpers is that we don’t use huge, bottom-molded inserts like other suppliers. Instead, we use molded-in washers, which prevent bolt pull-through and reduce cost by around 20%. Our stock lineup already has pre-manufactured molds too, so you don’t have to spend more for cast urethane molding.

Aside from driving prices down, this method allows the metal insert to be fully integrated with the urethane. Hence, you get a more durable and reliable bumper. Moreover, the average lifespan of our urethane bumpers is twice that of conventional options like rubber bumpers.

Contact Uniflex

If you’re engaged in the business of manufacturing goods or parts, your locomotive equipment may need some urethane bumpers. From the ease of installation to resistance to several issues such as abrasion, oil, chemicals, and corrosion, there are a plethora of benefits you can get from urethane bumpers.

If you’re looking for a reputable supplier that offers high-quality polyurethane bumpers, look no further than Uniflex. Contact us now at 248 560 6952 or visit our site to request a quotation.