Material Showcase: Melamine

What is Melamine?

Melamine is an organic compound whose resin can be cured into open-celled foam to make for a fine structure that is both smooth and flexible¹.  Melamine foam features a three-dimensional network structure composed of stacked bubble shapes that are extremely hard.  This characteristic provides the abrasiveness necessary to make for an excellent cleaner of a wide variety of substances.  Melamine’s most common use is as a cleaning scrubber. It is found in a variety of popular “dirt eraser” cleaning products used in many households today.  Melamine foam is most predominantly marketed under the commercial name of Basotect,® a registered trademark of BASF.

What are the basic properties of Basotect®?

Basotect® is an open-cell melamine foam.  Its melamine resin composition results in the following basic properties: flame resistance, abrasiveness, and the ability to maintain constant physical properties over a wide range of temperatures².  Its open-cell structure affords it a low weight, high sound absorption capacity, good thermal insulation properties, and low-temperature flexibility².  Melamine is most commonly known for its unique cleaning ability, and instead of being marketed as a sponge, it is known as an “Eraser.”  UFP Technologies is one of a handful of manufacturers with access to BASF’s Basotect® product line.

What does UFP Technologies use Basotect® for?

As one of the largest foam fabricators in the United States, UFP Technologies uses Basotect® to create custom and private label Multi-Purpose Erasers. We offer a variety of customizations and multiple-material combinations to prolong the life of each eraser, as well as handles and other accessories for more effective cleaning.  Multi-Purpose Erasers contain powerful cleaning pores that function as a non-scratch mild abrasive, and can be used dry, or with just water.  The use of chemicals is not necessary for even the most powerful of stains.   UFP Technologies can fabricate melamine in any custom size, shape, or thickness.

What solutions does UFP Technologies offer for our Multi-Purpose Erasers?

What applications can UFP Technologies’ Multi-Purpose Erasers be used for?

Basotect® is a registered trademark of BASF

References:

^{1 – http://www.plasticsportal.net/wa/plasticsEU/portal/show/content/products/foams/basotect}

^{2 – http://www.plasticsportal.net/wa/plasticsEU~en_GB/portal/show/content/products/foams/basotect_properties}