poron gaskets
My furnace at home is 95% fuel efficient. I was told this is among the best money can buy. After removing the lid to the furnace I noticed a strip of foam that looked very familiar. It was PORON® Urethane Foam. PORON® Urethane Foams are among the many different materials we encounter everyday. Each material has a place, but some have properties that can force them into many demanding, and unique situations. However, PORON® has a unique place with its great properties in its economical, yet versatile use in many industries, and applications.
Properties of PORON® Microcellular Urethane Foam
This foam expresses itself through its many great properties. These polyurethane foams have great compression set resistance. In fact, it offers some of the lowest compression set values out of many competitive rubber product selections. PORON® offers low outgassing. It contains no plasticizers or residual chemicals that may leech into the application. In addition, PORON® exhibits great chemical resistance that is very impressive. It features a wide range of temperature resistance. However, different PORON® products vary their temperature resistance. One fantastic thing about PORON® is there is lots of data on outgassing, temperature, electrical & thermal properties, along with traditional physical properties such as elongation, hardness, tensile and others. A quick purview of one of the datasheets below shows an impressive amount of data gathered on these foams by Rogers. In addition certain PORON® products are already certified to several standards including UL-508, and UL-50E making it a go-to selection for many engineers. In regards to UL, most PORONs are capable of meeting UL 94 HBF, a flame retardant specfication. Given all these impressive properties Poron® is commonly used as gaskets in many demanding environments that may encounter dust, rain, oil, and heat.
Why Choose PORON® Urethane Foam over Competitive Product Lines?
Coming from a converter who has cut, and dealt with PORON® Urethane Foam since starting work at NEDC, PORON® is tried, and true.
Reason 1: PORON® has an extreme variety. As we highlight below. It comes in a number of densities, softnesses, and thicknesses. This makes it easy for designers to pick a pad, or adapt to new situations that may come up during the design process.
Reason 2: PORON® is very tested. I always suggest customers to look for pads that are tested to the extremes. Operating off the most data possible is a frequent suggestion we make. For example, PORON® has a lot of outgassing data that other competitive foams, sponges just do not have. The datasheets that accompany these products read like laundry lists with many specifications, and testing done.
Reason 3: PORON® has been in use for over 30 years, and is highly available through converter channels. For example, NEDC carries a dozen thicknesses, and varieties of typical PORON® permutations, along with some special PORON® variations as well.
Special Grades of PORON® Polyurethane Foam Available
PORON® is a very unique family of products for a few reasons. The plethora of properties mentioned above is one reason. However, another is the large availability of Special Grades of PORON®:
-Flame Retardant PORON® V-0 Foam
-AquaPro ® Series for water sealing
-Reinforced PORON® with a PET support carrier borne on (supported) film
Applications that Utilize PORON® Microcellular Urethane Foam Gaskets/Pads
-Battery Cushioning Pads
-Dust Gasketing
-Water Sealing/Gasketing in highly compressed cases, except Aquapro®
-Low Outgassing Gasketing
-Reduces Noise the Sound Insulation/Pads
How Much to Compress PORON®?
Compression is usually measured through CFD(Compression Force Deflection). It is good to note that while PORON® can be used as a watertight seal, great compression is required along with exceptions of its capability. For general dust sealing, very little compression is required. For example, my furnace uses hand tightened knobs as the compression choice. However for water sealing, 50% compression, and above of PORON® will usually create a strong enough seal to prevent ingression of light fluids such as splashing or adjacent rain. Tablets, heat covers, protective casings, gap filling are just a few applications. Some common Rogers products NEDC deals with are: 4701-30(Very Soft), 4701-40(Soft), 4701-50(Firm), 4701-60(Very Firm). Porons come with smooth consistent skin on both sides making topology challenges easier to handle. The graph below shows how much to compress PORON® for certain deflection values. It should be noted that PORON® is not a pressure seal in the typical sense.
Cutting/Converting Services for PORON® Urethane Foam
NEDC is a converter/die-cutter of urethane foams. NEDC frequently die-cuts/waterjet cuts PORON® into custom shapes for gaskets, vibration dampening, shock absorbers and other products. Typically NEDC provides PORON® in custom die-cut shapes- however, NEDC does provide stripping with tape backing. Some acrylic adhesive tapes NEDC uses are 3M 9472, 3M 9485PC, 3M 467MP, and others.
Can PORON® Urethane Foam be Laser-Cut?
PORON® can absolutely be laser-cut. The reason this question is normally asked is because as a polyurethane foam customers are unsure if it can actually be laser-cut since it is a ceullar material.
How about Kiss-Cutting PORON®?
Yes, we kiss-cut PORON® into finished cut parts. These parts are made on an easy to remove liner for assembly. This allows operators to use the liner as a peel surface.
Availability of PORON® Urethane Foam
These foams come in a variety of selections. Some of the variables include density differences, different hardness, colors, supported/unsupported, inserts, thinner/thicker and more. The typical color of many of these urethane foams is black but may change depending on the product. NEDC commonly die-cuts, or waterjet cuts PORON® foams into custom shapes for its customers. For more information on PORON® Foam products, or die-cutting/waterjet cutting, please contact sales@nedc.com.
Technical/Availability Data Downloads for PORON®
PORON-Urethane-Solvent-Resistance
Material Selection Guide Download
Poron® 4701-30 Datasheet Download
Poron® 4701-40 Datasheet Download
Poron® 4701-50 Datasheet Download