Materia’s excellent materials newsletter for May just hit my inbox (I’m not in any position to complain about the timing since I’ve been a delinquent blogger since April) and I learned about an intriguing material being produced in Dong Guan, China: PU Gel.  It’s mostly used for sporting goods such as shoes, but it can also be used for bags, power tools and electronics cases, and on clothing.  The manufacturer, Taiwan Kurim Enterprises, was founded in 1987 and has been molding PU gel and printing silicon ever since. The company claims to manufacture its products in an “environmentally friendly” manner, but the claim was unsubstantiated by any evidence or detail about their processes whatsoever.

Images courtesy Taiwan Kurim Enterprises

PU gel varies in hardness, colors, heights and width. The material feels soft to the touch, benefits from high UV resistance, and the hardness of the plastic can be adjusted to fit specific pattern and color requirements.  Completely customizable, PU Gel has a low molding fee.  I can see this material going up on walls or being used with furniture in interesting ways.  I like that the patterns, color, and hardness can all be varied without much increase in cost.

WU XING:

Plastic – wood category.

Cited:

Materia:Material Explorer. “PU Gel.” Accessed 01/06/10.  URL.