How does cast polyurethane differ from rubber in wear resistance?

Cast polyurethane wears many times slower than standard rubber. Per DIN 53516 its abrasion is 38-39 mm³ versus 100-200 mm³ for SBR rubber, meaning rubber wears 3-5 times faster under the same conditions. This is exactly why polyurethane is chosen for parts working in an abrasive environment.

In what temperature range does TIMOL polyurethane work?

Cast TIMOL polyurethane keeps its working properties in the range from -60 to +100 °C. This is wider than ordinary SBR rubber, limited to -40...+80 °C, so polyurethane parts suit both winter operation and moderately heated assemblies without loss of elasticity or geometry.

What hardness of polyurethane can I order?

The factory produces parts across a wide hardness range from 50 Shore A to 70 Shore D. Softer grades are used for seals and dampers, harder ones for loaded bearing and wear-resistant parts. The specific hardness is selected by the technologist to suit the function of the part, its load and the operating conditions.

In which industries are polyurethane products used?

Cast polyurethane is used in twelve industrial sectors: mining, metallurgy, agriculture, construction, automotive and others. It is used to make liners, rollers, scrapers, bushings, seals and dampers, that is, parts subject to wear, impact and vibration in various production conditions.

Can I order a product to my own drawing?

Yes, the TIMOL factory produces polyurethane items to a drawing, a 3D model or a supplied sample using free casting. This makes it possible to obtain a part of the required shape, size and hardness for a specific assembly. It is enough to hand over the geometry of the future part and describe its working conditions.

Buy Polyurethane in Ukraine: Properties and Uses

A metal part in an assembly corrodes and transmits vibration to the structure, a rubber equivalent quickly wears from abrasion, a rigid plastic cracks under impact. In each of these cases the solution is cast polyurethane: it combines the resilience of rubber with the strength of plastic and beats both materials in wear resistance. This article examines the technical properties of polyurethane, compares it with rubber and caprolon, and explains how to order the material and finished products in Ukraine.

What makes polyurethane a universal industrial material

Polyurethane is valued for a unique combination of elasticity and wear resistance that no classic material has. It stretches and returns to its original shape like rubber, yet at the same time resists abrasion on a par with the best engineering plastics. Thanks to this, a single part replaces both a rubber element and a metal one in an assembly, combining damping with a long service life.

Cast TIMOL polyurethane works in the range from -60 to +100 °C, resistant to technical oils, fuel, petroleum products and many solvents. It is not afraid of moisture, does not absorb water and is not subject to the action of fungi, which allows parts to be used outdoors and in damp workshops. The wear resistance of the material is roughly several times higher than standard rubber, so the service life of the assembly grows noticeably.

Another practical advantage is weight. At a density of 1.05-1.25 g/cm³ a polyurethane part is roughly seven times lighter than a steel one (7.7-7.9 g/cm³), which reduces the mass of moving assemblies and the load on the structure.

Comparison of polyurethane with rubber and caprolon

The table sets cast polyurethane against the two most common alternatives: SBR rubber and caprolon (polyamide PA6). The numbers for the competitors are taken from standard material reference sources (DIN 53516, ISO 37, Matweb).

Characteristic	TIMOL polyurethane	SBR rubber	Caprolon PA6
Abrasion DIN 53516, mm³	38-39	100-200	30-90
Operating temperature, °C	-60…+100	-40…+80	-40…+100
Tensile strength, MPa	39-87	8-20	60-85
Shore hardness	85A-95A	40A-80A	75D-85D
Rebound elasticity, %	34-61	30-55	5-15
Moisture absorption, %	minimal	low	2.0-8.0

The table shows why polyurethane occupies an intermediate and at the same time more advantageous niche. In wear resistance it beats SBR rubber 3-5 times over (38-39 versus 100-200 mm³) and outperforms caprolon. In rebound elasticity (34-61 %) polyurethane is close to rubber and out of reach for rigid caprolon with its 5-15 %, so it absorbs impacts and vibration where plastic simply passes them into the structure. Caprolon wins on tensile strength (60-85 MPa), but it absorbs moisture (2.0-8.0 %) and swells, whereas polyurethane keeps its geometry.

Specialist’s tip: when choosing a material, be guided by the nature of the load rather than by hardness alone. For seals and dampers, where impact absorption is needed, take a softer polyurethane of 60-80 Shore A. For bearing rollers, scrapers and lining, where resistance to abrasion is the main thing, the upper part of the Shore A range, 80-95 Shore A, is more suitable: it is resilience, not maximum Shore D rigidity, that holds abrasive. If the part works in water or a damp environment, polyurethane is almost always more advantageous than caprolon, which swells and drifts out of tolerance.

Supply forms and fields of application

Polyurethane is supplied and produced in several basic forms. Cast blanks, round bars, rods and sheets serve as raw material for machining and for making small parts: bushings, rollers, gears, guides. Finished products are cast straight to the required geometry by free casting, without subsequent turning.

Fields of application span twelve industrial sectors. In mining and metallurgy polyurethane is used for lining hoppers, chutes and hydrocyclones, for screens and scrapers. In agriculture, for running-gear parts and working members of machinery. In construction, for moulds, vibration-protection elements and coatings. In the automotive sector, for silent blocks, bushings and cushioning parts of commercial transport. The full list of directions is given in the product catalogue.

The principle is the same everywhere: polyurethane is fitted where classic materials wear out quickly from abrasion, impact or an aggressive environment.

The economics of replacement is worth mentioning separately. A polyurethane part costs more than a rubber one, but lasts many times longer, and therefore reduces the frequency of equipment stoppages and installation costs. For assemblies where replacement means the downtime of an entire line, a long service life matters more than the initial price of the part. This is exactly why enterprises switch to polyurethane where they previously replaced worn rubber or metal elements regularly, and count the benefit not by the cost of a single part but by the total maintenance costs of the assembly per year.

Free casting technology

Products at the TIMOL factory are made by free casting into open and closed forms. The technology yields a solid monolithic part with no seams or internal stresses, which directly affects service life: the part has no weak points along which it would fail first. The method makes it possible to cast both simple cylindrical blanks and complex profiled products.

Free casting is flexible in terms of volume: it is equally suited to single-piece production of a part for a repair and to serial output. The hardness, size and shape are set to suit the specific task, so one technology covers the entire range of applications. The production service is described in more detail in the services section.

How to buy polyurethane in Ukraine at the TIMOL factory

You can buy polyurethane in Ukraine, both as cast raw material and as finished products, directly at the TIMOL factory in Dnipro. Direct contact with the manufacturer means the hardness and geometry are matched to your assembly and there are no intermediary markups.

For a quote, describe the task: what material you are replacing, what loads and temperatures act on the part, whether machining is needed. If available, hand over a drawing or a sample. The technologist will recommend a polyurethane grade and hardness and prepare the product to your requirements. You can contact the factory and get a consultation through the contacts page.