As interest in suspension bushes engineered from polyurethane grows, specifiers are increasingly keen to buy custom-made poly bushes in the UK. Where can they get a fast turnaround and a precise part?
The reasons to purchase British custom-made poly bushes are many and varied. Both in terms of the advantages of polyurethane, and the value of having R&D support in the UK.
This article provides insights on poly bush development and the best ways to ensure that a suspension bush doesn’t let you down.
It then goes on to explain how the team at Custom Moulded Polyurethane responds to individual specs for high-performance bushes.
Why suspension bushes are vital
Before we get on to why CMP is such a leading supplier of polyurethane suspension bushes in the UK, let’s have a quick reminder. What is a poly bush?
Suspension bushes are largely used in automobile manufacturing and have previously been created from rubber. You’ll find different specifications of bushes within vehicle shock absorbers, control arms, ball joints, stabiliser bars, tie rods, strut mounts, chassis connection points and within the engine and gearbox mounts, for example.
The bush is the cushioning and connecting element of joints. Their overall effect in a vehicle’s suspension is to smooth out vibrations and bumps, to give drivers a more comfortable journey.
They also play an important role in steering, by absorbing shocks that could travel from the wheels and through the steering system. As well as offering a noise reduction advantage in vehicles.
This must be achieved while facilitating the proper working of a vehicle’s suspension and steering. For instance, a car’s suspension must be able to move freely, rising and falling in a seamless way. Clearly, that requires both a precise fit within the suspension mechanism and a high degree of durability.
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Why buy poly bushes?
Polyurethane suspension bushes have proved to be incredibly reliable and long-lasting.
They also have a positive impact on what is known as a vehicle’s NVH rating (Noise, vibration, and harshness). While also offering automobile manufacturers a quality-assured, and safety-conscious way to engineer suspension bushes.
Polyurethane is used to engineer the inner part of bushes, which does the work of responding to dynamic stress. This inner part would be surrounded by steel, aluminium or plastic for example.
Polyurethane is ideal for this role, as its tensile properties and degree of elasticity can be varied substantially, without compromising its strength and durability. Polyurethane suspension bushes can also withstand extremes in temperature, as well as constant wear and tear. They’re also highly resistant to contaminates, as polyurethane can’t be penetrated by oil, grease, dirt or mould.
They are impervious to road salt and friction too. Unlike rubber, polyurethane doesn’t perish, crack or flake!
Also, it’s possible to manufacture poly bushes in a wide range of shore hardness. This can be important as different types and sizes of vehicles – and even different sections of the suspension – require differing degrees of tensile ‘give’.
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Reliable supplier of custom-made poly bushes in the UK
Finding a British supplier of custom-made poly bushes can be important in developing a part that serves its purpose accurately and reliably for some time.
Calibrating the correct structure of suspension bushings can be a balancing act! In some applications, you need a hard poly bush, to improve vehicle control and road handling. However, this then creates the potential for more vibration and less noise dampening.
If you opt for a low shore hardness in poly bushes, you get a quieter, smooth ride, but compromise some of the vehicle’s handling factors.
Being able to buy custom-made poly bushes in the UK provides you with important prototyping opportunities. As well as the guarantee of a swift turnaround.
Custom Moulded Polyurethane works closely with each individual customer, to create made to order poly bushes that match their specifications flawlessly.
This helps automotive manufactures meet their deadlines and their suspension bush performance goals. We also frequently receive customer recommendations for poly bush engineering, due to the way we carefully control the cost of tooling and prototypes.
Contact us for a quote for producing poly bushes in the UK, at our British part manufacturing centre. Where we don’t ‘beat around the bush’ when it comes to pinpoint accuracy, excellent customer service and quality control.
Related article: Rubber vs. Polyurethane Suspension Bushes
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