look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

Making a Real Life Terminator

In the Terminator movies, robots easily shift from solid to almost liquid looking form. This adaptability has applications beyond time traveling cyborgs and today polyurethane has brought us one step closer to making shape shifting robots more than just a special effects wonder on the big screen.

As reported in Popular Science, researchers have developed a low-cost phase-changing material that could be used to allow robots to shift between soft and hard states. The material could be used to allow robots a new range of functions such as surgical robots that could slither through the body...

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Leaves Change, Polyurethane Stays Constant

With back to school season upon us, so are Fall sports.  As athletes hit the fields for football, soccer, and cross country they have an extra teammate in polyurethane.

Across all sports, polyurethane is an essential element in clothing and sneakers. It provides stretch and water resistance in clothing. It is the foam that cushions feet in sneakers. It even is the glue that holds the soles of shoes and cleats in place.

Many youth football teams are adding polyurethane fiber caps on top of helmets for practice and even games. When players wearing polyurethane fiber caps hit...

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CPI Announces Finalists for 2014 Polyurethane Innovation Award

BASF, Dow and Novomer Named Finalists

The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) today announced BASF, Dow and Novomer as the finalists for the 2014 Polyurethane Innovation Award. Attendees at the 2014 Polyurethanes Technical Conference, will have the opportunity to vote for one of these finalists during the conference’s opening session on Monday, Sept. 22. The winner will be announced during the closing session on Wednesday, Sept. 24.

The conference will take place at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Dallas.

“We received such exciting submissions for...

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Next Generation Fabrics

This summer Bayer announced the development of INSQIN™, a new technology for producing polyurethane-coated fabrics without using solvents. Polyurethane-coated fabrics are used in athletic gear for moisture resistance as well as the creation of synthetic leather materials including shoes, handbags and clothes.

Traditionally the manufacture of polyurethane-coated fabrics requires the use of solvents that pose risks to workers and the environment if not used properly. With INSQIN, solvents are no longer required to produce the fabrics used in this wide variety of apparel.

The use of polyurethane-coated fabrics means quieter, more comfortable functional layers, as well as high...

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Simple as V-D-I

As they learn their ABCs, there’s comfort in knowing that polyurethane and its VDI (versatile, durable, incredible) is there as an invisible helper.

As students of all ages head back to the classroom this Fall, they’ll have the help of polyurethane and its versatile, durable, incredible properties.

Polyurethane helps add comfort and durability to many other parts of a student’s day.

Polyurethane provides the stretch, flex and cushion for the clothing and shoes worn by students from elementary school all the way through graduate school.  Polyurethane plays a major role as students walk across campus, or take part in...

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Softening the Blow

Polyurethane helmet caps help protect athletes

With football season about to kick off, the safety of the players is a key concern. Like the vast majority of competitive sports, football does have risks – notably that of concussion.

The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur in the U.S. each year. Retired NFL players in their 50s are five times more likely to suffer from dementia-related symptoms than others in their age range.

When two athletes collide, the potential for harm is great. The impact of...

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Spray Foam: Building America

As America’s architecture evolves to reflect the dynamic world in which we live, the materials used to realize innovative building designs must meet that demand. Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) plays a major role in this process. SPF is used to enhance energy efficiency, comfort, and style.

Here are three examples of SPF and its benefits. These case studies highlight SPF’s versatility and value. In fact, both projects have been crowned Department of Energy (DOE) “Challenge Home”’ – meaning they are all high performance, energy efficient homes that offset all or most of their annual energy consumption. The DOE...

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Designing for Efficiency

Energy efficient appliances have helped the United States avoid emissions of 2.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the annual greenhouse emissions from more than 400 million automobiles. Since 2009, the Obama Administration has issued 24 new or updated appliance standards across more than 30 products, which could save consumers a total of nearly $450 billion dollars off their utility bills between now and 2030.

Polyurethane has long played a role in insulating refrigerators (and other appliances) so that air does not escape, thus reducing the amount of stress on the machine to keep a constant temperature....

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Polyurethane: Climbing to New Heights

Surpass your limits with polyurethane

When you’re suspended 30ft above the ground, you must have confidence in the material beneath you. Luckily, polyurethane has been the industry standard for climbing holds (the shaped grips on climbing walls) for the last decade.

Polyurethane has enabled rock wall climbing holds to become lighter and longer lasting. Today, climbing holds are stronger than ever before and – thanks to polyurethane’s flexibility – can be molded to many sizes, shapes and colors to better meet the needs of 7.8 million active climbers in the U.S.

Rock wall climbing holds can even be...

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