MATERIALS • PROCESSES
Kryptane is an extremely wear-resistant material for applications where sliding, impact, abrasion or corrosion occurs regularly
the bay without damaging the speedboat or the patrol vessel,” says Muller. To maximise durability and cushion the impact of
the speedboat entering and exiting the offshore patrol vessel’s rear bay, Argonics collaborated with the Dutch shipbuilder and Muller-Beltex to engineer a urethane slipway liner comprised of two layers of material each with a different durometer, a measure of hardness. According to Muller, Argonics came up with the idea
of creating a dual durometer liner to better withstand the inevitable wear and impact. “The urethane’s harder top layer has more resistance against cutting and tearing, while the bottom layer is softer to better withstand the impact of the powerboats.” He adds that the firm’s expertise in urethane formulation helped to optimise the material for the necessary characteristics, while creating strongly bonded layers that would not separate. Continued collaboration between the three companies has resulted in additional product refinements. “We recently beveled the slipway liner’s edges to ensure that no seawater or sand can get behind it,” reveals Muller. “We also hardened the urethane at the bolt holes to better hold the screws and attachments where they fit the liner. To ease installation in the field, we added countersunk areas in the liner to match the exact positions of the part’s countersunk boreholes. “With urethane, you can combine strength, resilience and lifetime durability in one product,” adds Muller.
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“The end user is very enthusiastic about the slipway liner. The application is now fully accepted by the shipyard and a standard product in its ship line.”
PROPRIETARY FORMULATIONS Although urethane producers can create customised formulations to accommodate varying characteristics such as hardness, resilience and spring rate, some have also developed proprietary formulations. For instance, Double L Global, a US-based potato farming equipment manufacturer, relies on a proprietary performance-based polyurethane formulation from Argonics called Kryptane for components used to clean and sort potatoes. This includes gentle rollers, rotating cleaning stars and rugged load-bearing parts. “The urethane parts we use range from soft and
pliable for gently handling potatoes to very hard load- bearing components,” says Roy Withers, an engineer at Double L Global. Kryptane is an extremely wear-resistant material
for applications where sliding, impact, abrasion or corrosion occurs regularly. Examples include impact- and abrasion-resistant plates; blasting curtains and screens; chute, bin and hopper liners; pipe, fitting and valve liners, vibration pads, seals and gaskets; as well as truck bed liners, wheel chocks and crossover pads. According to Withers, Double L Global uses the proprietary urethane for a recently developed
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