Polytetrafluoroethylene or as it’s better known ‘PTFE’ is a popular choice in hydraulics systems and components, being a non-stick surface and a highly durable material. However, since PTFE is made up of some of the strongest bonds in organic chemistry, this type of plastic has many different uses across a variety of industries.
Hydraulic Components and Sealing
The most common use for PTFE is for parts used in seals, gaskets and steam valves that are used to handle caustic fluids. The durability of this plastic has made it popular for a variety of hydraulic fittings like these as well, especially seals used in steam and high temperature applications. The rating for continuous temperature is 500 degrees F, while maintaining physical properties. Virgin PTFE sheets and rods are also excellent materials for wear and slide machined parts found in pumps and manifolds, having a non-stick surface that won’t experience nearly as much wear and tear as other materials.
Thermal Stability for Vehicle Engines
One of the major benefits of PTFE is its high thermal stability, which has made it popular for use in fuel hose linings, gaskets, seals, and other engine components. Its exceptionally long lifespan, high heat resistance and excellent water resistance makes PTFE an excellent choice for making parts such as wiper blades and other exterior components for vehicles.
High Resistance for Chemical Production and Processing
Virgin PTFE sheet in wide range of thickness
PTFE is a highly durable and corrosion resistant material, and so it has become a popular choice of material for a variety of chemical processing applications. It does not melt or erode under the extreme conditions often found in chemical plants, and can is often used to make components that transport corrosive chemicals and other materials.
Excellent Protection for Electronics
Another industry that often takes advantage of PTFE’s benefits is in the electronics manufacturing. PTFE is commonly used for insulation, semiconductor components, and circuit boards. It offers high quality insulation properties even under harsh conditions, and its electrical conductivity can be increased using fillers such as copper. PTFE has been successfully used in a wide range of different electronics components for many applications, from automobiles to aircraft, where the more delicate electronics components need to be able to survive high temperatures or highly corrosive environments.
Looking for a supplier of high quality PTFE?
Industrial Plastic Supply, Inc. has been a trusted, worldwide supplier of quality performance plastics, including PTFE, since 1975, and we have one of the largest inventories of American made plastic materials in the world. Check out our website to view our full product directory or to contact us with any questions you may have.
PTFE is an incredibly popular type of plastic material, with widespread use and many different applications. Though its popularity has waned–and its applications changed along with how this particular material is developed–PTFE is still an excellent choice of material for industrial equipment and electronic parts.
What is PTFE?
PTFE is well-known for its non-stick properties and also known for being incredibly easy to machine and fabricate, and thus has been used extensively in industrial and electrical applications, especially for bearings, seals, valves, and fittings.
The Properties of PTFE
PTFE and the family of Fluoropolymers have many excellent physical properties that are not just for high temperature and chemical applications, but many others as well.
The basic properties of PTFE include:
Slippery and Non-stick surface regardless of rod or sheet form
Excellent Wear and Superior Chemical Resistance
Continuous Operating Temperatures up to 500oF
ITAR and RoHS compliance
At Industrial Plastic Supply, we also stock and supply a massive range of PTFE in many different sizes and shapes, including extruded rod, molded rod, thin sheet, thin and thick plate, and film. We can also mold PTFE tubing according to specific customer specifications.
The Applications of PTFE
PTFE has seen wide use in a variety of parts and equipment, especially in industrial applications, electronics, aircraft systems, chemical processing equipment, and hydraulics. Typically, this type of material is used in the making of seals, gaskets, stem valves, wear and slide-machined parts, various fixtures, manifolds and pump components, and high temperature steam seals. It’s most often the choice of material for caustic fluid handling valves and fittings.
The history of metals is thought to have begun with the use of copper about 11,000 years ago. Gold, silver, iron, lead, and even some brass began to be used before the first known appearance of bronze in the 5th millennium BCE
Artifacts made of smelted iron have been found dating from about 3000 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In those times, iron was a ceremonial metal; it was far too expensive to be used in everyday life. Metals are commonly very stiff, tough and strong. However, they are also generally quite heavy. Also, the cost to heat metal to production temperatures is extremely high, over 5 times that of Performance Plastic materials. When metals corrode they get smaller, and many can decompose to yield rust.
In comparison, plastics only were first made in the early 1900’s. The world’s first known fully synthetic plastic was bakelite (now days considered Phenolic), and was invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland who coined the term ‘plastics’. Since this date, thousands of chemists and material scientists have synthesized dozens of plastic base materials. Plastic materials are currently available in over 80 types, and each of these are molded or processed at slightly different temperatures. The wide range of performance plastic materials will allow you to choose the perfect material for your next application.
Some of The Advantages of New Performance Plastic Materials
New Higher Temperature Performance Plastic Materials
New Performance Plastic materials like Victrex 450g PEEK and Sabic Ultem 1000 have much higher use temperatures over previous performance plastic materials. The Ultem 1000 unfilled has a continual use temperature above 400 degrees F, while the newer Victrex 450g PEEK materials work well at 480 degrees F on a continuous basis. In addition to the higher temperatures, they are still food grade materials.
Most plastic materials can typically be molded in a temperature range of 400 to 600 degree F. While steel starts to melt at 2,500 degrees F. This is five times the temperature, meaning it takes 5 times the energy to convert steel instead of plastic. Lower temperatures equates to lower costs of production.
New Lower Weight Materials
The average plastic weighs just 20% of the average metal product. Many plastics have exceptional weight to strength ratios, meaning that for the weight of the product they are very strong. This low weight means much less raw materials and less impact on the environment if using plastics over metals. This results in lower cost to manufacture parts from plastics over metal.
For instance, new UV grades of HDPE or High Density Polyethylene are very light, with a density of just .96, so light it floats in water. And yet, this new UV grade of HDPE is a workhorse in the plastic market, and is used to replace wood and metals in outdoor furniture.
New Detectable Materials For Food Contact Approved
Most Performance Plastic materials were engineered to be food contact compliant, and in most cases FDA approved for food contact. With the increase in food recalls, finding the proper materials to ensure that our foods are safe is imperative. Materials like Acetal Copolymer, Acetal Homopolymer, Nylon, Ultem 1000 and Victrex 450g PEEK are all FDA approved for direct food contact.
Which Performance Plastic Will Work The Best
Here are some new performance plastic material grades that include additives to make these materials detectable during food processing. These newly released detectable products include Tecaform AH UD (copolymer acetal base), Tecapeek UD Blue (PEEK based) and Hydex 4101 UD Blue PBT – Polyester base). Each of these new performance plastic materials comes in Blue color to be detected by color sensors during food processing. The “UD” portion allows these materials to be detected by X-Ray and Metal Detection scanners in food processing production lines. Using these new detectable performance plastic materials in food processing plants can help to eliminate food contamination issues and massive food recalls.
Recent Rising Costs Of Transportation
Changes in transportation rules and regulations since 2018 have made shipping raw materials significantly more expensive. Weight, size restrictions and surcharges for longer packages have more than doubled in the last year.
This has made one of the most expensive components of materials reaching the marketplace is transportation costs, and over the last several years the costs of moving materials across the country has skyrocketed. Metals are heavy, and this weight makes many items very expensive to transport.
Each step in the production of a finished good generally involves shipping to the next step. Raw material converted into base material, then base material converted into usable shape. Later this shape is turned into a component or part. Each time there is a conversion, there normally is shipping to the next processor. Metal weight can limit the amount of metal that can be moved at one time, where plastics can ship up to five times more product per truckload.
With performance plastics, often the conversion in small factories that can be located near final assembly of components limits the amount of shipping of plastic parts. Also, due to the light weight of plastics, trucks can hold up to five times the amount of plastic over metals for shipping. Many plastic parts are made very close to where they will be consumed, cutting logistics fees. This five times the weight also translates to five times higher cost to ship metals. This reduction of transportation costs moves more profit to the bottom line.
New Performance Plastic Materials Eliminate Need For Lubrication
Often, on large metal parts or assemblies, grease ports are added to make lubricating the metal parts easy. Metal on metal parts will wear out very quickly, and therefore require regular service and lubrication.
Newly released performance plastic materials have made lubrication obsolete. One such material is a new compounded Nylon material, called Nylatech PVM has FDA approved oil additives. This new Cast Nylon material runs well for extended periods without external lubrication. This material runs quieter and smoother than previously used metal parts due to a much lower coefficient of friction, and requires no regular maintenance.
Another new grade of Performance Plastic material that is rated as ‘self-lubricating’, and have excellent wear resistance is Lub-X UHMW, which now makes curves in bottling plants move smoother, quieter and require no lubrication. These long wearing and high strength materials outperform most other substrate for low cost, high performance, low weight and self lubrication.
Each of these plastic advantages yield cost savings and long product life. Along with these new areas of advantage, Performance Plastics are 100% recyclable, and can be reprocessed into high strength parts again and again. The plastic recycling industry is still in its infancy, and as it becomes more adept at recycling and reusing valuable plastic materials, our planet and our pocket books will benefit.
UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) and PTFE Sheet(PolyTetraFlouroEthylene) are very similar materials, and yet very different at the same time. They both possess certain characteristics that make them similar to each other. For instance, they both have a very low co-efficient of friction, which means they are great for sliding applications and are easy to machine.
Both of these materials are very resistant to chemicals such as chlorine and some acids and have great wear resistance. They have low to no water absorption. They also are FDA approved for handling food. PTFE and UHMW Polyethylene are both nearly impossible to bond (without treatment) and are susceptible to sagging under tensile load which is called ‘creep’. These both have very low coefficient of friction and work well for wear strips, slide pads and truck liners to make it easy to empty. These two materials are different in many ways also, and choosing between the two materials for a specific job is critical.
Below are a few examples of how these two materials are different.
1. UHMW is a polyolefin and PTFE is a fluoropolymer. Polyolefins are double bonded carbon while Fluoropolymers are carbon and fluorine bonded. UHMW is a monomer which is consisted of one atom that will bond with another to form a polymer. PTFE is a polymer which is made up of a repeating chain of monomers.
2. PTFE has a higher temperature range than UHMW. The PTFE has a continuous use temperature of 500 degrees F. UHMW is much lower with a continuous use temperature of 200 degrees F and a melting point of 271 degrees F. The UHMW starts to become become soft at higher temperatures while the PTFE is much more resistant and with a melting point of 621 degrees F.
3. UHMW has higher abrasion resistance than PTFE. Both have great impact and wear resistance but because of UHMW having a molecular weight between 2-6 million making it the best wear resistance material in the plastic family, it makes it ideal to take wear and impact over a wider range and longer period of time without losing its properties.
4. UHMW has a much lower density than PTFE. This makes UHMW able to float in water while Fluoropolymers are significantly heavier (almost twice the density of UHMW) and would sink.
5. PTFE has excellent electrical and thermal properties. The virgin grade of PTFE is a better insulator and exhibits better electrical properties which can be used in radio frequencies, cables and circuit boards while UHMW cannot.
6. UHMW is much less expensive than the Fluoropolymers. Especially recently, PTFE has become harder to come by, and during the last 18 months there has been a global shortage of a key raw material called fluorspar that is used to make all Fluoropolymer materials. The ability to take lots of wear and tear and requiring low long term maintenance makes UHMW more cost effective.
7. The standard color of PTFE is Natural, which is a dense white. The UHMW comes in Natural (a deep milky white) or Black. The UHMW can be produced in many colors, and minimums are rather low. To obtain PTFE in colors is much more difficult, and would also have large minimum orders.
Click here for data sheet comparisons for each material…
Both the UHMW and the PTFE are available as sheet, sheets, sheeting, slab, bar, strip, panels, film, round rod, rods and block. Contact us for assistance with these or other shapes.
PTFE Sheeting Properties
Specific Gravity D792 2.14 – 2.24
Tensile Strength Yield D638 2,500 – 6,000
Tensile Modulus D638 80,000
Izod Impact – Notched D256 3.0
Hardness – Rockwell D785 D50 – D65
Deflection Temp @ 264psi D648 150
Deflection Temp @ 66 psi D648 250
Co. Thermal Expansion D696 5.5X10-5
UHMW Sheeting Properties
Specific Gravity D792 .93 – .94
Tensile Strength Yield D638 6,800
Coefficient of Friction – Static D1894 .25
Izod Impact – Notched D256 No Break
Hardness – Rockwell D785 R64
Vicat Softening Temp D1525 260
Deflection Temp @ 66 psi D648 174
Co. Thermal Expansion D696 11.0X10-5
These are just some examples of plastic materials being similar, and yet having very different properties. The PTFE Sheet and UHMW Sheet may appear very similar in color and can be used for some of the same applications, but when needed for a specific use or property needed, one might be dramatically better than the other. As the old saying goes, “You should never judge a book by its cover” and the same is true with plastic. Review the properties and test prior to choosing a final material for your application.
Call us for further assistance at 866-832-9315, or click here to contact us with your questions.
Choosing a PTFE – TFE Sheet Supplier can be difficult, confusing and potentially costly. There are many industries and applications where PTFE – TFE Sheet materials are used, and many providers that want to fill this need. However, it can be difficult to find a supplier that meets all of your business’ PTFE – TFE Sheet needs. To help you choose the supplier that is right for your business, we have compiled this list of 7 things you must know when picking PTFE – TFE Sheet Suppliers.
1. PTFE – TFE is available in many shapes and sizes
Polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) can be ordered in many different forms, including rods, sheets, blocks, strips, slabs and tubes. As your business grows, you may need access to one or more additional configurations – or perhaps your business is already using multiple configurations. Choose the proper PTFE Sheet Supplier that can meet not only your current needs, but future needs as well. You can view further information about the shapes and sizes as well as and resin properties on our PTFE – TFE information page here.
2. There are a variety of PTFE – TFE Sheet thicknesses to choose from
It is important to have access to multiple sheet thicknesses, and convenient and cost effective to access them all from one Sheet Supplier. That’s why Industrial Plastic Supply offers sheet thicknesses ranging from .005″ to 3.0″, and rod diameters from .125″ to 6.0″. Film is also available. As with in stock availability, your PTFE Sheet Supplier should also be able to meet all of your Sheet thickness needs. Standard sheet sizes are 48” X 48”, and films generally are stocked in 12” wide rolls.
3. Not all PTFE materials are created equal
Some PTFE – TFE Sheet Suppliers order materials from ‘who ever they can get it from’ on an as-needed basis. This brings the question of quality and consistency to mind. There are many manufacturers, including some from China and Russia with questionable quality ratings and machinability. Before committing to a quality PTFE Sheet Supplier, make sure that the supplier is using a reputable manufacturer, and that the quality of material meets your needs. Getting stuck with a poor quality, difficult or impossible to machine block of PTFE can be time consuming and costly.
4. Minimum material order amounts matter
Large Sheet Suppliers and other plastic suppliers often have high minimum order requirements. This makes sense for high volume applications, but for small businesses, or any business in the clutch, it may be necessary to request a smaller total order. Rather than work with multiple PTFE or Plastic Sheet Suppliers based on order size, choose a supplier that can service any order whether large or small. Industrial Plastic Supply has a low minimum material order of $20.
5. Many suppliers do not keep inventory in stock
Just like Grandpa used to say, “You can’t sell from an empty cart”.
Buying your materials from a plastic ‘broker’, means you may have to wait while they try to find the materials to fulfill your requirements. It may also mean that you get the quality of material that they can find quickly. While this may be acceptable for materials that are rarely ordered, your PTFE Sheet Supplier should have your business’ most commonly used materials on hand. This avoids delays and ensures the quickest possible turnaround times on your important orders, and materials from stock means a quality product for your parts.
6. Industry knowledge is critical
You want a Sheet Supplier that not only can deliver your materials, but answer any questions you may have, including the tough ones – whenever they arise. Finding a quality PTFE Sheet Supplier with expert knowledge and great availability will save your business headaches in the long run. Industrial Plastic Supply’s highly trained staff has an average of nineteen and a half years of experience in the plastic industry, and are only a phone call or e-mail away.
7. Choose a supplier with focus
A focus on industrial grade plastic supplies ensures that a supplier is specialized and knowledgeable enough to be your PTFE Sheet Supplier. By focusing on plastics, such a supplier will be dedicated to your mechanical plastic Sheets, Rods, Tube and other shape needs, no matter the application, and no matter how your business changes. Your important orders will be processed timely and efficiently. Since 1975, Industrial Plastic Supply has focused on the mechanical and machinable plastics market, and nothing else. For more information on PTFE Sheets or other plastic materials, contact Industrial Plastic Supply, 866-832-9315. We will work to earn your business.Also, compare PTFE with UHMW or read our post UHMW Sheet versus PTFE Sheets; or read our post How to use PTFE Rod for ideas.
