Wear Strips & Wear Pads

Selecting the right urethane hardness (durometer) is critical to get the best performance for your wear strips or pads. Harder urethanes offer more abrasion resistance and load support, while softer ones provide more cushion and conformity. 

General guidelines:

• 90A – 95A (Very Hard): Maximizes abrasion resistance and wear life with minimal deflection. High-durometer 90A urethane wear strips work best in severe impact or sliding abrasion conditions, offering stiff, long-wearing performance.
  
  
• 80A – 90A (Medium): Balances wear resistance with a degree of flexibility. Mid-range durometer strips/pads provide good durability while still absorbing some shock, making them a versatile choice for general-purpose industrial wear applications (conveyor guides, feeders, etc.).
  
  
• 60A – 80A (Soft): More conforming and cushioning. Softer urethane pads will compress under load to protect mating surfaces and dampen impacts. These lower-durometer materials are ideal when you need a wear pad to absorb vibration or to conform to uneven surfaces for a tighter fit.
  

When engineering your wear strips or pads, thickness and width impact both performance and longevity. Thicker pads can absorb impact energy better due to the greater material volume, but if made too thick, they may allow more deflection or give under heavy loads. In contrast, thinner wear strips present a lower profile (reducing drag or interference) and offer firmer support with less compression, though they will wear through sooner than a thicker pad of the same material. It’s important to strike the right balance based on your equipment’s needs:

• Impact vs. Flex: For high-impact areas, choose a thicker polyurethane pad to prevent breakthrough and protect the substrate. Keep in mind, a very thick, soft pad can behave like a spring, compressing more under weight, so extremely thick pads might require a higher durometer to maintain stiffness.
  
  
• Wear Life: Thicker abrasion-resistant urethane strips generally last longer between replacements, simply because there is more material to wear down. A thin strip will need changing more frequently, but it offers closer contact and possibly less friction in sliding applications.
  

Starting Thickness Suggestions: Depending on the application, here are some starting point thicknesses for wear strip polyurethane sheet or pad stock:

Application	Suggested Starting Thickness*
Light wear, low-impact surfaces	~1/4" thick sheet (0.25 inch)
General industrial wear and guides	~3/8" – 1/2" thick (0.375–0.5")
Heavy impact or high-abrasion zones	~3/4" – 1" thick pad (0.75–1.0")

*Actual required thickness may vary based on load and support; thicker pieces provide more buffer but must be compatible with your design constraints.

Polyurethane wear strip and pad material is available from Universal Urethane in several stock shapes, allowing easy fabrication of custom parts:

• Sheet Stock: Flat urethane sheet stock is ideal for cutting into strips, liners, or flat pads of any shape. Sheets come in various thicknesses (from 1/8" up to 4") and can be sliced or water-jet cut to the needed width and length. This is the go-to form when you need rectangular wear plates or liner strips.
  
  
• Bar Stock: Cast polyurethane bar stock comes as pre-formed rectangular bars (lengths of urethane with a given width and thickness). Bar stock is useful for machining wear bars or bushings and for applications requiring a thicker, narrower strip than standard sheet. You can fabricate stop blocks, bumpers, or guide rails from bar stock with minimal waste.
  
  
• Rod Stock: Solid urethane rods (round stock) are available for turning or slicing into wear buttons, rollers, or bump stops. Rod stock allows you to create round or cylindrical wear pads that can be used as mounting feet, spacers, or low-friction rollers in equipment. Rods come in diameters from 1/2" up to 8" to cover a wide range of needs.

Each of these stock forms is made from the same high-quality, abrasion-resistant polyurethane, in your choice of durometer. By starting with urethane stock shapes like sheets, bars, or rods, we can quickly supply wear strip and pad blanks that you can further machine or cut to size as needed – saving you time compared to molding a custom part from scratch.