Alfa Chemistry Fluoropolymers provides customers with the following different types of fluoroplastic heat shrink series.
- Granular PTFE Tubing
- Standard PTFE Convoluted Tubing
- PTFE Heat Shrink
- FEP Heat Shrink
- Standard Wall FEP Heat Shrink
- Light Wall FEP Heat Shrink
- Heavy Wall FEP Heat Shrink
- FEP Heat Shrink Sleeving
- PFA Heat Shrink Sleeves
- Standard PTFE/ FEP Dual Wall Heat Shrink Sleeving
The Main Advantages of Fluoroplastic Heat Shrink
> Excellent electrical performance
> Excellent chemical resistance
> High temperature resistance
> Smoothness
> Low dielectric constant
> Durable
Heat Shrink Property Comparison
PTFE, FEP and PFA heat shrink tubing are all similar, but there are some special features among them.
| Material | Operating Temp | Shrink Ratios | Recovery Temp | Special Features |
|---|
| PTFE | 260 °C | Up to 4:1 | 343 °C ± 10 °C | Lubricious
UV resistant |
| FEP | 205 °C | Up to 1.6:1 | 215 °C ± 10 °C | Lubricious
UV resistant
Non-flammable |
| PFA | 260 °C | Up to 1.6:1 | 210 °C ± 10 °C | More flexible than PTFE
Melt processable |
General Application Scenarios
- In the manufacturing industry, fluoroplastic heat shrink can be used to cover and encapsulate devices, and applications in harsh environments, such as temperature sensors, probe covers, battery pack components, etc.
- In the electronics industry, fluoroplastic heat shrink is very suitable for insulating connections in high-temperature environments.
- In the medical industry, PTFE and FEP heat shrink can be used in medical devices due to their low coefficient of friction, and are also suitable for complex medical components.
Research Applications
- Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) capillaries with an inner diameter of 50 μm can be prepared by using fluoropolymer heat-shrinking/melting tubes and tungsten wires as templates for the channels. Studies have proved that electroosmotic flow is obtained in these capillaries, and these capillaries can be used for capillary zone electrophoresis separation and UV-Vis absorbance detection. [1]
- Fluoroplastic heat-shrink tubing can be used to link the fiber tip and the trunk fiber. Studies have shown that, with the assistance of PTFE, PET or PTFE/FEP heat shrink, the prepared hybrid germanium oxide/silica fiber can be used to transmit Q-switched and free-running Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser pulses. In applications that require contact laser tissue ablation through a flexible endoscope, germanium/silica fiber is expected to be used with Erbium lasers.
Figure 1. Hybrid germanium/silica fiber assembled with the following materials: (a) PTFE; (b) PTFE/FEP; (c) PET. A 1-cm-long silicone tip is attached to a 1-meter-long germanium fiber. [2]
References
- Eskil Sahlin, Stephen G. Weber, Journal of Chromatography A, 972 (2002) 283–287.
- Nathaniel M. Frieda, Yubing Yang, Kyunhee Lee, Hussain A. Tafti, Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications V; Proceedings Volume 5691, (2005).
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