look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

Polyurethane Fuels Shipping Container Home Craze

Today, retired shipping containers — like the ones found on huge container ships and freight trains used to move cargo around the world—are getting a second life, being used by enterprising builders, architects and would-be homeowners to create stunning one-of-a-kind custom homes. Though at first glance, they may seem quite modular, the design of a modern shipping container home is only limited by the imagination. Under the auspices of trained, professionals, these dwellings can be made habitable and safe with proper ventilation, fire safety and appropriate exits. To help these steel containers make the transition from featureless, industrial vessels into places of cozy respite...

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Polyurethane in the Fight Against the Coronavirus

The novel coronavirus has required an “all hands on deck” approach from both the public and private sector when it comes to fighting the spread of the disease and safeguarding citizens. The polyurethane industry has been no exception. Here are just a few of the ways polyurethane manufacturers from around the U.S. are contributing to the effort.

Mattress Manufacturers

Foam mattresses made with polyurethane account for a large and growing percentage of the mattress market. With the spread of the novel coronavirus, hospitals at or near capacity have been clamoring for badly needed supplies. To meet the need and growing...

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Polyurethane Saddles Poised to Take Over Two-Wheeled Travel

Whether you’re a serious, seasoned, long-distance road cyclist or a shorter-traveling, part-time, two-wheeled commuter, you know that time spent in a bicycle saddle can be — well — tough on the tush.

However, thanks to polyurethane and advances in 3D printing, that may soon be changing.

A New Kind of Carbon® Saddle

Carbon, the company using polyurethane 3D printing to create a new kind of football helmet liner, and the winner of the 2019 Polyurethane Innovation Award, is now teaming up with a major cycling manufacturer in the U.S. to create 3D printed polyurethane bicycle saddles.

The Manufacturing Process

The saddle...

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After the Storm, Polyurethane Snowplows Help Cities Dig Out

During this time of year, many parts of the country experience freezing weather. With plunging temperatures often comes snowfall. Whole cities can grind to a halt under accumulated snow as they wait for teams of small but dedicated crews to dig them out. When winter storms happen, every moment counts. Snowplow drivers often work round-the-clock, relying on equipment made from polyurethane to get the job done. 

Polyurethane Is Highly Customizable

Snowplows and blades — a strip of material running along the length of a metal snowplow — have several advantages when made with polyurethane. Polyurethane is highly customizable; parts made...

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Polyurethane Stories That Made Headlines in 2019

Polyurethane Modular Homes

At the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season, Astrid Diaz, a Puerto Rico-based architect, announced her plans for a new polyurethane-based modular home. Her designs consist of polyurethane foam walls and a roof, reinforced with a steel frame, then covered with mortar. The homes — which can withstand winds of up to 184 miles per hour — blend in well with the existing architecture of similar structures that populate the island where there was a need for an estimated 75,000 homes in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

In spring,...

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Polyurethane Helps Data Centers Keep It Cool

As computer processing becomes progressively faster — able to handle larger amounts of data — and our world becomes even more connected, we find ourselves increasingly reliant on the complex and highly expensive computer hardware, housed in server rooms, that keeps it all running.  

Providing Ideal Conditions

A dry setting and cool temperature generally provide an ideal operating environment for this equipment. To maintain these optimal conditions, polyurethane often plays an important role. 

Temperature Control

You likely already know that PU is an effective and highly scalable insulator. In the form of open-cell, flexible foam, it can be used to...

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In Hollywood, It’s Lights, Camera, Polyurethane!

In response to a demand from audiences for objects and scenery that look real, today prop houses, set designers and costumers are busier than they have been in years. Polyurethane is helping these creative artisans achieve the kind of authenticity on the big screen that movie-going audiences both desire and demand.

A CGI Backlash

For the past few decades, Hollywood has been experiencing a renaissance driven by computer-generated imagery (CGI). As the years have progressed, the technology has grown more and more advanced. Through CGI, it’s now possible to create huge cityscapes, entire worlds and — of course — all...

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Why You Should Consider a Polyurethane Tree This Year

If you’re on the hunt for the perfect low-maintenance Christmas tree this year, you may find yourself choosing from among several made with polyurethane.

Polyurethane is often a key component used in the manufacturing of artificial trees. It stands up to the rigors of the artificial tree production process, and PU’s versatility lends itself to use in almost every part of these faux wintertime spruces — from their hearty bases to the tiniest needles on the most delicate of boughs.

PU from Top to Bottom

The sturdy and lightweight properties of polyurethane make it a smart choice for the trunks...

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3D-Printed Polyurethane Webbing Helps Robots Develop a Gentler Touch

Could a new form of flexible polyurethane lace provide robots with a sense of touch? Researchers at Cornell University think they may have come up with the next big breakthrough in robotic sensory perception with a kind of webbing they refer to as “optical lace.”

How It’s Made

To create this new form of flexible lace, first engineers must 3D-print a lattice-type structure using polyurethane technology. Next, once the webbing is printed, it is then threaded with more than a dozen sensors along with LED lights to illuminate it. Finally, the entire structure is fitted snugly onto the robot.

The...

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