Evaluation of normal, everyday operating procedures creates opportunities for production improvement and growth. In the oil and gas industry, Parker Lord discovered an option that improved fracturing pump component performance and process efficiency. A cured urethane was initially adhered by a cold bond to the final component assembly. The usable life of this bond was limited, averaging only 30 to 50 hours. This resulted in frequent maintenance, unscheduled down time, and in-service component failures. As maintenance is preferred between jobs a more robust solution was needed.
Improvement Through Collaboration
At Parker Lord, we collaborated with engineers at the company to redesign the bonding process. Rather than cold bond a cured urethane, the focus shifted to injection molding thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Initially, the traditional Chemlok® 213 urethane adhesive was considered. As the project progressed, we suggested our innovative new adhesive, Chemlok 701, which had promise of bonding the customer TPU in the application. Our engineers at Parker Lord worked together with the customer’s engineering team, evaluating the production process from the ground up―from initial substrate preparation and adhesive application, to injection molding and testing, to product launch.
Testing proceeded both at the Parker Lord laboratories and at the customer’s facilities, utilizing current equipment designs to mimic conditions in the field. Chemlok 701 performed exceptionally well, even outperforming Chemlok 213 in bond strength. Unexpected savings through the streamlining of production processes were also realized using Chemlok 701, eliminating a multi-hour adhesive heating cycle. During testing, component life expectancy improved to nearly 100 hours, allowing for scheduled maintenance between jobs, eliminating frequent in-service field failures saving end users time and money.
Through open collaboration between Parker Lord engineers and the customer’s team, a streamlined process producing a more robust component was created. Additionally, the partnership allowed the customer to develop a custom TPU formulation that was better aligned with the bonding chemistry of Chemlok 701, taking performance in the field to the next level.
Why Chemlok 701 for thermoplastic urethanes?
Castable urethanes are two-part urethanes with high load bearing capability. This type of elastomer also possesses high abrasion, oil, tear and cut resistance. However, many castable urethane adhesives are not designed to perform at elevated temperatures or in wet environments resulting in premature bond failures with these options.
Specialty high performance grades of castable urethanes and thermoplastic urethanes (TPUs) are being developed to withstand increasingly aggressive service conditions. TPUs have several processing advantages over castable urethanes and are highly compatible with Chemlok 701. This adhesive, designed to bond both castable urethanes and TPUs, provides bond strengths greater than the tear strength of the urethane substrate. Bonding with Chemlok 701 now allows for urethane end use in elevated temperature and high moisture conditions, increasing component service life. Depending upon the customer’s processes additional benefits, including ease of application, elimination of adhesive prebake, and reduced post cure, may result.
Parker Lord’s team would be glad to collaborate to tackle your urethane bonding needs.