Custom-Engineered Urethane Parts
Renewable Energy — Solar, Wind & Geothermal
UV exposure, moisture and saltwater degrade standard parts outdoors. Custom-engineered polyurethane components prevail.
— The Recurring Problems
Decades outdoors
UV exposure, moisture, saltwater and temperature swings, year after year
Corrosion
Metal corrodes and requires costly coatings, and rubber degrades under outdoor conditions
Offshore wind
Saltwater and splash-zone exposure on cables and connections
Weight matters
Lighter parts improve efficiency and lower costs
Wafer slicing
Worn wire saw guide rollers cause defects in solar panel manufacturing
Geothermal downhole
Hot, high-pressure and corrosive environments damage standard parts
No custom fit
Catalog parts can’t be customized to each system’s geometry and environment
— The Differentiator
Where standard parts fall short outdoors
Engineers reach for metal, rubber, or a catalog part — and each falls short over the decades a renewable asset has to run:
- Metal corrodes in moisture and saltwater, is heavy, and needs coating or cathodic protection
- Rubbers degrade under UV, weather and saltwater, losing properties over time
- None can be customized to the geometry, hardness and environmental resistance each system needs, and stock suppliers offer no engineering support
- On solar panel slicing wire saws, worn guide rollers can cause kerf loss and cracked wafers
- Downhole in geothermal, standard elastomers lose strength in hot, pressurized, corrosive fluids
The Result – Corrosion- and degradation-driven maintenance on assets meant to run 20 to 30 years, efficiency lost to heavier parts, and failures downhole where access is expensive.
— Solution Spotlights
The custom parts that solve it
Wire Saw Guide & Pulleys
Slicing solar panels puts brittle wafers on a diamond wire that must stay precisely aligned. MPC coats and grooves the guide rollers and pulleys that hold that alignment in abrasion-resistant cast polyurethane, and re-coats and re-grooves worn rollers domestically instead of shipping them overseas.
Weather-Resistant Seals, Bushings & Cable Protection
Cast polyurethane resists corrosion in moisture and saltwater where metal needs a coating and doesn’t degrade under UV like rubber. MPC manufactures seals, bushings, pads and covers, protects offshore-wind cable connections, and formulates geothermal downhole components to the heat, pressure and fluid a well sees at once.
Have an application in mind?
Talk it through with a polyurethane expert who’ll tell you what’s achievable and what is not.
— Technical Specifications
The specs that matter for renewables duty
Property
Range for this application
Hardness
ASTM D2240
- Shore 20A–70D — solid polyurethane
- Customized per part
Tensile strength
ASTM D412
- 250–7,800 PSI — solid polyurethane
Elongation
ASTM D412
- 160–850% — solid polyurethane
Tear strength, Die C
ASTM D412
- 30–800 PLI — solid polyurethane
Compression set
ASTM D395B
- 5–40% — solid polyurethane
Heat, aging, hydrolysis and chemical resistance (Durethane® XL)
- Shore 70A–90A
- Tensile strength 3,000–5,000 PSI
- Tear strength, Die C 225–375 PLI
- Elongation 425–575%
- Compression set 17–20%
Foam polyurethane (Durethane® F)
- Shore 25A–50A
- Tensile strength 800–1,400 PSI
- Tear strength, Die C 100–160 PLI
- Elongation 330–700%
- Open or closed cell; integral skin available
Chemical exposure
- Thermoset polyurethane resists a wide range of chemicals and oils
- Resistance depends on the specific polyurethane chemistry, operating temperature, aeration and length of exposure
- MPC customizes the material to the moisture, saltwater and temperature swings the part sees
Abrasion and surface finish
High abrasion resistance with tolerance to tight surface finishes
Customizable properties
- Hardness, elongation, tensile, tear and compression set are formulated to the part
- Any shape component, or machined to precise specifications
- Cast onto bonded metal cores and inserts; dual-durometer construction available
Relevant technical downloads
Document
What it gives the engineer
Solid polyurethane material specifications: hardness 20A–70D with tensile, elongation, tear and compression set.
The heat-, aging- and hydrolysis-resistant grades, and the lowest compression set in the family.
Foam grade table, plus the self-cleaning pore structure and integral-skin options.
General chemical resistance guideline by substance, with the conditions the guideline assumes.
— HOW TO WORK WITH US
From concept to scaled production
1
Connect With Us
Share your application, performance needs, or a part you want to improve.
2
Collaborate on Design
Our engineers will help optimize materials and geometry for manufacturability.
3
Prototype & Refine
We produce samples using our proprietary polyurethane formulations for testing.
4
Move to Production
Once approved, we move to scalable molding with full quality assurance.
Not sure if your specs are possible with urethane?
That’s exactly the conversation we like to have – get a polyurethane expert on a quick call to pressure-test your idea before you commit.
— Proof
Case studies & white papers
Case Studies
Robotics OEM Overcomes Material Performance Limitations
A robotics OEM needed a molded part that balanced controlled stiffness, predictable wear, and environmental resistance, something no off-the-shelf material could hit. This case study shows how MPC customized the material formulation to deliver required performance and cut down on costly redesign cycles along the way.
White Papers
Engineering Urethane Wheels and Rollers for Robotics and Automation
Wheels and rollers are among the hardest-working parts in any automated system. This white paper walks engineers through designing them for load, wear, traction, and reliability in heavy-duty robotics, so they last instead of becoming the weak link.
Engineering Polyurethane Components for Heavy-Duty Applications
Modern automation pushes mechanical parts past what standard materials can handle. This white paper covers the material, process, and design choices behind heavy-duty polyurethane components for robotics and precision systems, so they hold up under continuous operation.
Custom Polyurethane Formulations in Robotics
When off-the-shelf materials can’t hit every requirement at once, robotics engineers turn to custom formulation. This white paper explains how MPC customizes material formulations to resolve the competing demands of wear, stiffness, and environmental resistance in robotic systems.
— Design Guide
How to specify cast polyurethane for renewable systems
Application Specific
General Design / Comparisons
— FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What material survives decades of UV, moisture and saltwater outdoors better than metal or rubber?
Cast thermoset polyurethane. It resists corrosion in moisture and saltwater without the coatings metal needs, and it doesn’t degrade under UV and weather the way rubber does. MPC formulates it to the exact requirements of your system.
What wire saw guide roller material holds wire alignment and resists abrasion when slicing solar silicon wafers?
Cast polyurethane, coated and grooved to your wire pitch. MPC supplies the same guide rollers and pulleys used high-precission wafer slicing, and re-coats and re-grooves them domestically as they wear.
What seals and cable protection hold up to saltwater in offshore wind?
Cast polyurethane. It resists saltwater corrosion without coating or cathodic protection and stays flexible through constant motion, which suits sealing cable connections, bend restrictors, and other components protecting lines in the splash zone.
What handles hot, pressurized, corrosive fluid in geothermal downhole service?
A cast polyurethane formulated for tough environmental conditions. MPC’s thermoset polyurethanes can be formulated for heat, aging, hydrolysis and chemical resistance.
How does polyurethane lower component weight versus metal on renewable systems?
It is less dense than metal or concrete, so a cast part can do the same job at lower weight — useful anywhere weight costs efficiency, such as off-shore wind and solar.
— Keep Exploring
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