Five Tips for PTFE Selection
Teflon, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), is a non-stick material commonly used in cookware and protective clothing. This flexible material also has a slew of industrial applications. PTFE is widely used in various industries, including aerospace, food and beverage processing, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications, to name a few.
Pure PTFE is a low-friction material that can withstand extreme temperature changes, making it ideal for non-stick pans. PTFE is highly versatile and dense on a physical level; a PTFE coating on machine parts makes them much more durable. Chemically, it is highly inert and insoluble in most chemicals and non-toxic, providing additional benefits in hospitals, medicine (for example, as a coating for catheters), and food processing. When these properties are combined, PTFE becomes a beneficial material for a wide variety of applications in almost every industrial field.
PTFE Houston can creep and deform under heavy loads due to its high flexibility. Can avoid this possible drawback by using a filler to take advantage of both materials’ properties. For applications that require good heat dissipation, fillers can also add properties like improved thermal conductivity. Glass is the most popular filler material. However, other materials have distinct advantages in particular applications. Carbon, graphite, stainless steel, molybdenum disulfide, bronze, and polyimide are examples of alternative additives.
As Glass is added to PTFE, it becomes more robust and more stable and less flexible, and less likely to creep. Glass-filled PTFE is chemically inert and can run at the same temperatures as virgin PTFE. Glass-filled PTFE is available from GRM Products with a glass content ranging from 5% to 60%. Increasing the amount of glass filler in a product improves its longevity and compressive strength. Inert gas sintered glass-filled PTFE is an option. It decreases the material’s porosity and creeping tendency even further. Since glass-filled PTFE is more abrasive than virgin PTFE, it can scratch adjacent surfaces.
In conclusion, filled PTFE is available in various ways, each with its own set of advantages. Multiple filters will also strengthen and tailor raw PTFE, which is already a flexible and beneficial material. When sourcing filled PTFE for a particular application, there are many factors to consider. Is there a need for more or less friction? What’s the deal with thermal conductivity? Is compressive strength essential? Filler can be add in various amounts and grades, and different fillers can even be combined to provide an even better solution. GRM Custom Products in Houston can deliver bespoke materials to meet almost any application requirement through its GRM Bondable PTFE, and they are not limited to the ‘standard’ materials.
Our Location: PTFE Houston; 11133 I-45 S., Suite Q, Conroe, TX 77302, United States
