MPC Increases Life Cycle, Durability of Car Wash Rollers
A joint project with Miracle Car Wash creates Durethane(TM) rollers that last up to three times longer than traditional materials
Cranston, R.I., Oct. 4, 2005-MPC (Mearthane Products Corporation) announces the successful completion of a partnership with Miracle Car Wash, of Cranston, R.I., to develop solid urethane rollers for a car wash conveyor. The rollers are a special formulation of Durethane(TM) S, a solid, open-cast, thermoset elastomer with excellent abrasion resistance and a high coefficient of friction. The Durethane rollers last up to three times longer than traditional conveyor rollers, resulting in significant savings in parts and labor for maintenance.
"I've been in this business for 25 years," says Ray DelGreco, owner and operator of Miracle Car Wash. "We reviewed the Durethane rollers over a period of several years. They are the longest-lasting rollers I've used."
The rollers are an essential part of an automated, roller-on-demand conveyor system. The system engages the left rear tire as the car enters the car wash, moving the car along the conveyor. There are dozens of rollers on the conveyor, and they are under constant friction both from the tire and from the steel structure of the conveyor.
The harsh conditions of the conveyor environment include salt, corrosive and damaging automotive fluids, and extreme cold temperatures in the winter. Traditional rollers, made from ultra-high-molecular-weight (UHMW) polyethylene or thermoplastic urethane (TPU), need replacing every six to eight months under these highly abrasive conditions.
In order to find a more durable replacement roller, Miracle Car Wash and MPC worked closely to perfect an alternative, testing several roller prototypes before selecting an optimum formulation. The finalized Durethane S rollers meet or exceed performance characteristics of UHMW and TPU rollers. The new rollers cost roughly 10 percent more than the old ones, but they last 18 to 20 months, eliminating two maintenance cycles of four to five hours each and achieving substantial savings on part costs.
About Durethane S
Durethane S is a solid, open-cast, thermoset elastomer with excellent abrasion resistance, a high coefficient of friction, and tight surface finish specifications. All Durethane S formulations are individually compounded and tested to meet OEM requirements for tensile, tear, elongation, compression set, modulus, resilience, and other specifications.
The material can also be formulated with customized conductive properties to control static (ESD) and for tribocharge management. Durethane S is used in high shock-and-wear applications, such as bumpers for pneumatic tools, and is in wide use in the paper-handling, postage meter, high-speed printer, and film x-ray industries, among others.
About MPC
MPC was founded in 1965 as Mearthane Products Corporation. The company specializes in creating customized, castable thermoset polyurethane products with variable conductivity, mechanical and environmental properties to suit a wide range of applications. MPC's customers include companies in military, medical, business machine, and various industrial and recreational markets. For further information, contact MPC, 16 Western Industrial Drive, Cranston, RI 02921-3403. Tel: 401-946-4400 Fax: 401-943-8210 email: sales@mearthane.com. Web site: www.mearthane.com.
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