Plan Tech, Inc. selected to produce thousands of urethane drive wheels for robotics manufacturer
LOUDON, NH., April 16, 2018 — Plan Tech, Inc. selected to produce thousands of urethane drive wheels for robotics manufacturer. These drive wheels are a critical part of the operation of the robotics driving capabilities. During prototype, many different tread patterns and urethane hardnesses were tested to evaluate which performed the best for all different types of terrain. After this extensive testing, we determined smooth tight tolerance wheels of an 80A hardness were going to perform the best in any condition.
Urethane was selected for this application due to being easily molded into almost any shape with excellent physical properties. Polyurethane is extremely abrasion resistant even under extreme driving conditions. Plan Tech was able to design prototype tooling as well designed an open cast mold capable of producing thousands of urethane drive wheels for a rapid turn around. Originally our customer was using a rubber tire which was not holding up to the abrasion and had poor resistance against flat spotting. During prototype testing, our customer found Plan Tech’s extensive molding experience and high-performance materials to outperform the rubber tires by 300% and did not flat spot.
While the rubber worked for many years in smaller applications we have since won the business of all the existing robots due to the incredible ability of high-performance urethane and Plan Tech’s capability of molding custom urethane parts of all sizes with rapid turn around. We can incorporate additives that will increase abrasion resistance or add an anti-static additive. Plan Tech Production Manager, Cody Henry said, “From the beginning when Plan Tech was first approved with this unique problem we were able to confidently say that our urethane material would outperform the traditional rubber and won the business for a variety of different sizes. Plan Tech engineered the OEM drive wheels, designed and manufactured molds in record time”
About Plan Tech
Plan Tech Inc, headquartered in Loudon, NH manufactures custom molded cast polyurethane parts for industry. For over 30 years, we have combined speed and precision to manufacture the highest quality industrial cast polyurethane parts. Plan Tech has an outstanding team of dedicated employees with exceptional talents and industry-leading expertise. We are very proud of the “company we keep.” Our customers include many Fortune 500 companies, most of whom have been customers for 20+ years. Their drive to become industry leaders has helped us do the same.