Polyurethanes offer an attractive alternative to vinyl plastisols as adhesives in filters. Bayer MaterialScience LLC offers high-performance polyurethane-based adhesive filter systems that address the aforementioned shortcomings of using vinyl plastisol adhesives, as well as provide other advantages, such as lower energy requirements, a smaller production footprint, faster cycle times resulting in increased productivity, and the ability to replace the end-cap.
One of the most attractive benefits that polyurethane adhesives provide is the potential for material cost savings achieved through density reduction. Value analysis shows that processors using polyurethanes can save more than 25 percent on manufactured part costs when compared with vinyl plastisol.
Furthermore, the high-performance polyurethane compounds can actually be used to mold the end-cap itself, replacing the potting adhesive and metal and structural plastic components to further reduce costs.
Bayer MaterialScience LLC’s Peter Hyde-Smith, senior scientist, will discuss this subject while presenting “The Use of Urethane in the Construction of Automotive Air and Fluid Filters,” 11 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, as part of the automotive session at the Center for the Polyurethane Industry’s Polyurethanes Technical Conference in Atlanta.
Ned Krause, principal scientist; Bradley Pederson, senior R&D specialist; and Dr. Ulrich Holeschovsky, business development manager, all of Bayer MaterialScience LLC, co-authored the paper with Hyde-Smith.
A number of Bayer polyurethane systems used in the construction of automotive air and fluid filtration are supplied in both filled and unfilled, foam and non-foam grades. As Hyde-Smith will address, Bayer’s Baydur™ polyurethane system is used as a polyurethane adhesive. Depending on the grade, Bayer’s Baytec™ polyurethane system can be used as a polyurethane adhesive or a polyurethane end-cap replacement compound, or both.