/ By Kastalon / Aerospace Contractor • Articles of Interest • Department of Defense Contractor • Innovative Bonds/ • • / 0 Comments

Polyurethane Protects Arresting Wires and Pilots, Too

The CVN 78 Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is often seen as the most technologically advanced in the U.S. Navy’s fleet. And part of that technology includes new polyurethane-covered plates from Kastalon that help absorb the impact of arresting cables as they are dragged across the deck.

When a fighter jet lands on an aircraft carrier, it’s still traveling at up to 150 miles per hour — with 500 feet or less in which to stop. So, the plane has a special tailhook that grabs one of several arresting wires stretched across the deck in order to transfer the energy and slow the plane to a halt quickly.

The arresting wires take quite a beating as they repeatedly drag across the deck with enough speed to make sparks fly. Enter Kastalon’s polyurethane-covered plates. The plates help to absorb the initial impact as the wire hits to protect it from damage and failure, which in turn helps protect the fighter jet and its pilot.

Originally reported by http://incrediblepolyurethane.com

/ By Lyn Thorne / Custom Engineering • Polyurethane • Steel Mill Industry/ • • • • • / 0 Comments

Polyurethane improves safety in mills

In a steel or aluminum mills, safety is always a major concern. With many employees staying in the workforce longer, there is a growing concern for reducing injuries that result from heavy lifting.

Recently, an aluminum mill established a goal to limit the maximum weight lifted manually at 50 pounds. In the roll shop this was a major concern because the bearings are held in place by a large steel split ring, known as a thrust collar that is locked into place. The maintenance process of changing out the bearing requires the worker to break the ring free and remove it. These rings can typically weigh more than 60 pounds each.

Interestingly, Kastalon was able to design a custom engineered polyurethane alternative that had all of the same strength and wear characteristics of the steel ring, but only weighed 12 pounds.

The first 4 rings well exceeded the life expectancy by lasting more than a year in continuous service and proved to reduced lost time due to back injuries in that area.

Not only did the mill find a method that would protect their workforce from unsafe practices but also found a way to achieve greater efficiency.

If you would like to learn more about our metal processing solutions, contact Lyn Thorne at lyn@kastalon.com.