Base Materials launches new polyurethane tooling board products for molding processes

Base Materials (Leicester, U.K.) provides innovative technology for composites manufacturing, including epoxy pattern and tooling board solutions and polyurethane (PU) modeling and tooling boards used in vacuum forming, jigs, fixtures, fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) moldmaking and more.

Base Materials further strengthens its range of PU tooling board materials with three new specialist products manufactured at its Leicester facility, including: BP600, a medium-density PU tooling material, and two new abrasion-resistant, high-density PU tooling materials, BP1200 and BP1700.

“With an increased requirement for more specialist materials, particularly the need for more abrasion-resistant solutions, we had no hesitation in developing and launching BP1200 and BP1700,” says John Miller, managing director of Base Materials. “The development of BP600 enhances our existing medium-density material range and is engineered for use in a wide range of applications.”

Base Materials’ new medium-density BP600 is easy to machine, provides a good surface finish and has a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for increased dimensional stability. It is suitable for use across a wide range of applications, including master models and patterns, vacuum forming, thermoforming, automotive modeling and foundry patterns and pattern plates.

BP1200 is a high-density, abrasion-resistant PU tooling material that is easy to machine and is designed for use in vacuum forming, thermoforming and automotive modeling, as well as foundry patterns and pattern plates.

BP1700 PU tooling material boasts a high density of 1,785 kilograms/cubic meter, is abrasion resistant and designed for use in specialist applications where high compressive strength is required, including vacuum forming, thermoforming, hammer and metal forming, foundry patterns and reactive injection molding (RIM).

Base Materials’ BP600, BP1200 and BP1700 products are available with compatible adhesives, repair pastes, sealers and release agents. 

“These latest additions to our PU tooling material range, follow recent significant investment at our Leicester facility and further strengthen our ability to meet the ever-changing demands of the industries we operate in. This investment has seen us double our CNC capacity resulting in increased production output and the addition of a new production line to support further future expansions of our materials offering.”