look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

Recycled Polyurethane: It’s Under Your Feet & in Your Home

You may be surprised to find that polyurethane can be recycled and given a new life in any number of ways. In fact, you probably encounter recycled polyurethane in your daily life without ever realizing it’s there.

Carpet Underlay

For evidence, just check under your feet – literally. Carpet underlay, the mat that goes underneath carpets in homes and offices, is almost always made from rebonded polyurethane.

Rebonded polyurethane, called “rebond,” is a molded polyurethane recycled product made from pieces of shredded flexible polyurethane foam held together using what is known as a binder.

Recycling Statistics

According to the Carpet...

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Chocolate Bunny Test Proves Benefit of Polyurethane Insulation

As the weather turns warmer and the days grow longer, it is increasingly important to make certain that one’s home is properly insulated. Lack of insulation wastes resources.

Polyurethane Foam Insulates the Home

For many, the answer to a properly insulated home lies in the installation of spray polyurethane foam –both low and medium density are used in this process. The application of SPF is very unique. SPF is applied as a liquid that quickly reacts to form a rigid polyurethane foam. The liquid is applied directly to the studs and sheathing. As the polyurethane foam forms it expands to...

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3D-Printed Polyurethane Homes Are Here

For those that dream of home ownership, 3D printing and polyurethane may be bringing that opportunity closer than most people think. A group of researchers at the French University of Nantes have dialed in on a particular method of 3D printing that uses rigid polyurethane. As proof positive of their concept, the group constructed a house in Nantes itself.

Printing of the four-bedroom 1000 square foot home happened in just 54 hours. It then took an additional four months for carpenters and workmen to install plumbing and wiring and put on finishing touches – like the doors, windows and roof.

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Remembering the 1970s Polyurethane Homes of the Future

Beginning in the late 1960s and lasting into the 1980s, a small group of visionary architects got tired of making houses and rooms that were so – ahem – square. Instead, these daring designers decided to go circular, dreaming up rooms with no corners, and houses, consisting of little more than a series of connected domes.

The Right Building Material

In building their dream dwellings, these intrepid designers turned to polyurethane to bring their designs to life. As a medium, polyurethane foam allowed them to achieve lines and curves in the building process not previously thought possible. The end result...

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Polyurethane Flooring Systems Have Multi-Use Purpose

From your time in high school, you may remember your gymnasium’s wooden floor. While wood flooring was once considered the standard in athletic facilities across the country, much has changed in recent years in the world of multipurpose and athletic flooring. Today, material options run the gamut – from vinyl tiles to vulcanized rubber and even carpeting.

New Polyurethane Flooring Systems

The polyurethane flooring system — a newcomer to the space — is currently poised to challenge the status quo in the market. Composed of a base mat – usually consisting of rubber – with a polyurethane surface, these flooring...

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How Polyurethane Can Help You Keep Your New Year Resolution

This year, you may join the more than 45 percent of Americans making a New Year’s resolution. But did you know only 8 percent of resolutions are actually kept? 

Thankfully, polyurethane is here to play a part in helping you meet your goals – in ways you may never have even imagined: 

Have some home improvement plans?

If you are looking to update your home, consider accent and detail pieces made from polyurethane. The material is incredibly versatile. It can be made to mimic the look of wood and metal, and it can also be used to form almost everything...

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2018 Polyurethane Innovation Award Honors Technical Achievement

Since its introduction to the world in the 1930s, polyurethane has continued to impact and improve daily life for much of the global population. Today, thanks to the actions of an active, imaginative and inquisitive polyurethane industry, the boundaries of scientific achievement and discovery are ever expanding. Each new year brings scientific breakthroughs; results once thought only to be the stuff of imagination a few short years ago are now commonplace.

While the introduction of a new polyurethane-based product to the marketplace can bring short-term excitement, the product itself is often the result of years of research, technical labor and...

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Polyurethane Resins Help LEDs Perform Under Tough Conditions

Over the past 10 years, LEDs — or light emitting diodes — have become commonplace in both residential and commercial lighting thanks to their energy efficiency and long life. In addition, LEDs small size and relatively light weight have increased the applications for their use.

However, when LEDs are used in harsh environments — such as outdoors, underwater or even in aerospace applications — they must be protected into order to improve their reliability and take full advantage of their benefits. Moisture, cold, wind, pressure, dust and other environmental factors can all take their toll. Recently, resin encapsulation systems have...

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Chameleon Paint Changes Color

Why paint your walls just one color when you can have an iridescent surface that changes color throughout the day or as you move about the room? Using the same mica powder that cosmetics companies use in eyeshadow, New York artisan Jonathan Kutzin has created a unique wall coating for homes and businesses.

The mica powder is mixed with clear polyurethane and then brushed onto a wall that has been prepared with white paint. Multiple colors can be applied to get the desired effect — from silver/green to a deep coral. The result is a shimmery coating that seemingly changes...

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