SuKo PTFE Teflon medical multi-lumen tubing

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PTFE RODS

 

What is a PTFE rod?

PTFE rods, also known as Teflon rods, are unfilled PTFE resin (can contain recycled PTFE resin) molded, paste extruded or plunger extruded for processing various gaskets, seals and lubricating materials that work in corrosive media and electrical insulation parts used at various frequencies. Plunger extrusion process to form the rod.

Main properties of PTFE rod

Operating temperature: from -200℃ to 260℃; easy processability; aging resistance: it can be exposed to ozone and sunlight for a long time without aging; corrosion resistance: it can withstand strong acids, strong oxidizing agents, strong reducing agents and various organic solvents except molten alkali metals and fluorinated media; outstanding electrical insulation properties.

Other characteristics

Density: 2.16-2.20g/cm3; volume resistance＞1×1018; surface resistance＞2×1013; arc resistance＞165s; water absorption＜0.1%; low friction coefficient; non-adhesive surface: solid materials cannot adhere to its surface; non-combustibility: it will not burn in the air; non-toxic: it’s non-toxic, odorless and physiologically inert, and causes no harm to people and the environment.

Applications of PTFE rod

There are two kinds of PTFE rods: pressed rods and molded rods. Due to excellent chemical resistance and dielectric properties, and minimized friction coefficient, PTFE rods are mainly applied to long products and mechanical parts with non-standard specifications such as seals/gaskets, rings, wear-resistant plates/seat electricity, insulating parts, mechanical parts, and linings in the fields of oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, instrument and equipment.
Chemical industry: It can be used as anti-corrosion material, produce various anti-corrosion parts, such as pipes, valves, pumps and pipe fittings, and act as the linings and coatings of reactors, distillation towers and anti-corrosion equipment.
Mechanical industry: It can be used as self-lubricating bearings, piston rings, oil seals and sealing rings, etc. Its self-lubrication can reduce wear and heat generation of machine parts and reduce power consumption.
Electronic appliances: It is mainly used in the manufacture of various wires and cables, battery electrodes, battery separators, and printed circuit boards, etc.
Medical materials: Its heat-resistant, water-resistant and non-toxic properties enables itself to be used as sealing and filling materials for medical devices (sterilization filters, beakers, artificial heart and lung devices) and artificial organs (artificial blood vessels, heart and esophagus).

SuKo PTFE Teflon Rod Extruder

1. Complete set of ptfe equipment manufacturer - Push bar machine line: bar extruder, mold design, heating ring, automatic feeding one-stop service.

2. PLC intelligent control: continuous extrusion, sintering, self-adjusting concentricity, automatic feeding, feeding equipment can be used for 6-8 hours, no manual.

3. Extrusion rod quality: smooth surface, high tensile strength, high density.

4. Professional technical guidance: installation and debugging, operation and operation, process setting, maintenance, after-sales service, raw material channel.

THREE COMMON PROBLEMS WITH PTFE TUBES

 PTFE tube or Teflon tube, a semi-transparent, chemically inert and non-toxic material, has been mostly used in applications requiring resistance to high temperatures, including medical and health care, chemical, aviation, national defense, cutting-edge science and technology, and mechanical engineering, etc. One of its unique features is temperature resistance and its working temperature is from -190℃ to +260℃, so it can be used in elevated temperature applications which require high temperatures of over 200℃.  PTFE tubes have very good chemical resistance to common solvents, acids, alkali and bases, and excellent dielectric insulation properties.

Do you meet any problems when using a PTFE tube? Here SuKo Polymer Machine Tech Co., Ltd., a well-known China PTFE tube manufacturer and exporter, explains three typical problems to help you make better use of PTFE tubes.

1. How to connect PTFE tubes?

The continuous advancement of anti-corrosion technologies and innovation of anti-corrosion materials promote PTFE to be an attractive anti-corrosion material due to its excellent chemical stability, and high temperature and chemical corrosion resistance. But PTFE material has high lubricity and non-adhesive property, making it difficult to connect PTFE tubes. To solve this problem, hot air welding method and manual flanging method can be adopted to connect PTFE tubes.

2. Precautions of PTFE tube installation

The lined plastic is soft when drilling, but it is more troublesome to force a rigid drill bit, which will easily destroy the internal steel lined plastic pipe and cause edges to be hard to be flush, so it is recommended to use a cutter to open the hole. Lined plastic residues will fall into the original PTFE tubes during the hole opening process, so you should pay more attention during the operation, otherwise it will lead to blocked end water points. No electric welding tool should be used for punching holes or installing branch pipes, otherwise lined plastic of steel PTFE tubes will be destroyed.

3. How to treat the surface of PTFE tubes?

The surface of a PTFE tube should not come into contact with aggressive materials such as oil, solvents, and corrosive materials, etc. The surface should be cleaned with water and detergent and rinsed well after staining. The use of solvents and corrosive cleaning materials is prohibited.
You may encounter other problems when use a PTFE tube except these three problems, and don’t worry. You can find SuKo and will get necessary guidance and help.

PTFE Teflon corrugated tube pipe machine

What is PTFE sintering furnace?

PTFE sintering furnace is a special furnace applied to the drying of PTFE in the aviation, automotive, household appliances, scientific research and other fields, to test and determine the parameters and performance of electricians, electronics, products and materials after temperature changes.

Features and advantages

1. High temperature resistance, and excellent insulation performance.
2. Steam preheating and electric heating compensation are often used, resulting in high thermal efficiency and low operation cost.
3. The internal monitoring temperature is consistent with PTFE temperature, and heating, draining, drying and cooling functions can meet the requirements of PTFE drying process.
4. PTFE sintering furnace runs smoothly with the minimized noise.
5. Easy installation and maintenance, and intelligent human-machine interface operation.

Components

The PTFE sintering furnace is mainly composed of furnace body, hearth, steam heat exchanger, electric heater, support, circulating fan, moisture discharging fan, refractory material and electric heating device, etc.

1. The furnace body has the frame structure, and its full-welding inner cavity, making it easier to clean.
2. Composite insulation minimizes the heat transferred between inner skeleton and outer skeleton. Unexposed insulation materials ensure that the average temperature rise of the outer wall of the furnace body remains within 20 ℃ higher than the ambient temperature, thus effectively preventing heat loss.
3. The hearth is firm and durable, and will not be deformed. Pressure bar locks are used in the hearth and the furnace body. Silicone rubber is used as the sealing material, to ensure that the hearth is sealed tightly.
4. Preheating of steam heater and compensation of electric heater inside the furnace realizes the temperature control accuracy of ±0.5 ℃. Multi-point dual-setting temperature measurement ensures true and reliable monitoring temperature and provides over-temperature alarm function.
5. Axial circulating fan with large air volume and low noise, together with movable perforated plate, ensures uniform temperature in the PTFE sintering furnace and avoids dust flying.
6. The bearing seat of the circulating fan is well sealed and equipped with oil slinger, to prevent lubricants into the furnace.
7. Controlled by frequency conversion, the moisture discharging fan discharges the moisture according to the process requirements.

SuKo Polymer Machine Tech Co., Ltd. As an experienced and patented manufacturer, we manufacture PTFE sintering furnaces. It can ensure that the temperature in the corner of the furnace is almost the same as that in the center, and the temperature can be accurately changed according to the setting of the control panel. Temperature sensor tests at the corner and center are shown as follows:

Corner temperature detector temperaturerecording curve	Central temperature detector temperaturerecording curve

TEFLON GASKETS SEE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH POTENTIAL DUE TO GROWING DEMAND FROM EMERGING MARKETS

Teflon gaskets are acid and alkali resistant, high temperature resistant, and resistant to various organic solvents, and have been widely used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and are the originator of the gasket industry. Teflon gaskets can be divided into modified Teflon gaskets, expanded Teflon gaskets and pure Teflon gaskets according to material properties. At present, pure Teflon gasket is the most widely used gasket, and accounted for 34.56% of the market share in 2019.

1. Chemical and petrochemical are the largest downstream application markets
In terms of downstream applications, Teflon gaskets are mainly used in the sectors of energy, chemical & petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and oil & gas, etc. Among them, chemical & petrochemical occupies the largest share with 26.24% in 2019, followed by energy sector with 16.32% market share, and oil & gas sector ranks third with 15.17% share. The pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors occupy a relatively low market share of 12.40% and 9.22%, respectively.

2. Europe becomes the largest revenue market and Teflon gasket is expected to increase its market share in China in the forecast period
Studies have shown that Europe and the U.S. are the first and second largest revenue markets in the global Teflon envelope gasket industry, with the market sizes reaching USD 504 million and USD 456 million respectively in 2019, accounting for 36.57% and 33.13% of the global market respectively, and accounting for nearly 70% of the global market in total; while China ranks third with a market size of USD 169 million in the global market, accounting for 12.28% of the global market. In addition, important economies like Japan and India also have a share in the industry and play an important role in driving the growth of the global market.
Based on the available data, and taking into account the market environment and development patterns in each region, SuKo Polymer Machine has forecasted the future market landscape, and expects that the market share in each region will change to varying degrees in the future. By 2027, the market share in countries such as the United States, China and India will increase to a certain extent. The United States will replace Europe as the top market with a share of 35.05%, China’s share will rise to 13.30%, and India’s market share will rise from 1.90% in 2019 to 1.94% in 2027; the share of Teflon gaskets in Southeast Asia will also rise from 1.18% to 1.24%. On the contrary, the market share in Europe, Japan and other regions will decline at different levels.

3. Industry market size continues to rise and is expected to reach USD 1.861 billion in 2027
According to data, the global Teflon gasket industry had a market size of USD 1.100 billion in 2015, and then increased year by year to USD 1.377 billion in 2019, with a CAGR of 5.78% from 2015-2029. On the basis of this, a series of functional calculations were performed to scientifically derive the data for the next 8 years. Finally, it can be predicted that the market size of the global Teflon gasket industry will continue to rise during the forecast period and will rise to USD 1.861 billion by 2027.
The TOP three companies in the industry are Teadit, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, and ERIKS NV. Teadit is a U.S. company that offers carbon fiber and graphite, synthetic fiber and aramid yarns, bushing materials, oxygen equipment, and compressed fiberboard high-temperature gasket materials. In 2019, Teadit Teflon envelope gasket market was valued at USD 0.067 billion. Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST), a German company, is the leader in global sealing technology market, offering accumulators, dust boots, engineered molding solutions, hydrodynamic seals, gaskets, piston seals, and thermoplastic seals with a global presence. ERIKS NV is a Dutch company offering a wide range of technical products, including seals and polymers, Teflon gaskets, valves and instruments, industrial and hydraulic hoses, industrial plastics, power transmission and bearings, conveyor systems and tools, maintenance and safety products, etc.
In 2019, the market shares of Teadit, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies and ERIKS NV in the global Teflon gasket industry were 4.72%, 2.64%, and 1.63% respectively, with a total market share of only 8.99% or less than 10%, and only 13.04% for CR6. It can be seen that the industry has low concentration ratio, and many small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in the industry, resulting in quite fierce competition.

4. Increasing demands from emerging markets bring new growth opportunities for Teflon gaskets
Technological innovation is an important driver of market growth. To remain competitive in a highly competitive market, suppliers should develop new ideas and technologies and keep pace with advanced technologies. Teflon gasket manufacturers also need to constantly update and improve their products and change products according to the changing market needs. Improvements in Teflon material and reduction in gasket area will be new growth areas for the industry.
Teflon’s many performance advantages lead to its increasing use as a gasket material. These performance advantages include excellent water resistance, thermal insulation, resistance to most chemicals, and the ability to operate at extreme temperatures of -400 degrees Fahrenheit or 500 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, PTFE meets strict FDA regulations, making it extremely useful in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In the future, Teflon envelope gaskets will gain more opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry with the rapid growth of the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

5. Sensitivity to cold flow is a new obstacle to market development
Low grade Teflon gaskets are made of pure PTFE resin material, which has the disadvantage of being very sensitive to cold flow and therefore its industrial applications are limited to low pressure and low temperature situations. Two methods are available to overcome the disadvantage of high sensitivity to cold flow or creep of pure PTFE material. The first method is to add filler to the resin and the other is to expand PTFE. PTFE with filler may become more commonly used in industrial sealing applications, and PTFE itself is very resistant to corrosion. Therefore, the aging resistance of the filler must be considered when adding the filler to PTFE, which has become a new restriction on gaskets.

Application of PTFE material in wire and cable industry

 PTFE has excellent electrical insulation properties. The dielectric loss tangent tga and relative permittivity Er change very little from the power frequency to 109 Hz. From room temperature to 300°C, the dielectric loss tangent tga of PTFE changes very little.

The relative permittivity Er decreases with increasing temperature. The insulation resistivity of PTFE is relatively high, its volume resistivity Pv is generally greater than 1015Ω·m, and the surface resistivity Ps is generally greater than 1016Ω. Even if it is immersed in water for a long time, the change is not significant, and the temperature change is not large.

Impedance of PTFE raw material tape insulated radio frequency cable

Attenuation is one of the most important parameters of radio frequency cables. It reflects the loss of electromagnetic energy transmitted along the cable. The greater the attenuation of the cable, the more serious the loss of the transmission signal and the worse the transmission efficiency of the cable. In order to improve The transmission efficiency of radio frequency cables should be as low as possible. The attenuation of coaxial radio frequency cables is mainly caused by conductor attenuation and medium attenuation.

After PTFE raw tape replaces solid PTFE insulation, it can greatly reduce the attenuation of radio frequency cables, which can be reduced by 15~30%. However, due to the high price of PTFE raw tape, its price is about 3 to 4 times that of PTFE.

Increasing the manufacturing cost of the cable, it can only be used in a special environment where the outer diameter of the cable is small, the attenuation is relatively low, and the temperature resistance level is high. With the continuous development of fluoroplastic production and processing technology, the price of PTFE raw tape will gradually decrease, and it will be more widely used in the wire and cable industry.

Application of PTFE in Batteries

The application of PTFE in batteries is a 60% solid PTFE emulsion. Mainly used in power batteries such as nickel-metal hydride, nickel-cadmium, lead acid, and fuel cells. The network formed by the fibrillation of PTFE emulsion can contain active substances well, but if the single addition amount is too large, it will produce a large impedance and affect the charge and discharge performance.

Experiments have proved that the compounding of PTFE emulsion and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose can make up for this shortcoming. The carboxymethyl cellulose solution produces water evaporation during the forming process of the pole piece, which increases the porosity of the pole piece, increases the true specific surface area of ​​the electrode, and effectively reduces the electrochemical polarization of the electrode, thereby increasing the electrode’s Discharge capacity. Experiments show that the dosage of 60% PTFE emulsion is 1.5~2.5 parts. The CMC concentration ratio is stable at 2%.

Application of PTFE in Capacitors

The application of PTFE in capacitors is a 60% solid PTFE emulsion. Mainly used for super capacitors. Electrochemical capacitor (referred to as electrochemical capacitor) is a new type of energy storage device between traditional capacitors and batteries. It has the advantages of high specific power, good reversibility, and long cycle life. It is usually used to meet instantaneous high-power requirements to compensate for the lack of high-current discharge of the battery. ).

Now supercapacitors are generally multi-water systems, one is environmental protection, the other is large capacity, one is low cost, and the process control is relatively simple. After mixing the active material, conductive agent, binder, thickener (CMC) and 60% PTFE emulsion, it is directly applied to the nickel foam. It is better to add 60% PTFE emulsion to the two components. PTFE emulsion is a dispersion of PTFE, polymerized into an aqueous dispersion, its solid content is about 60% of PTFE, and it is stabilized by a nonionic surfactant. It has excellent heat resistance, cold resistance and abrasion resistance, as well as excellent electrical insulation properties, and is not affected by temperature and frequency.

In addition, it also has the characteristics of non-stickiness, non-absorption, non-burning, etc., and fibrosis occurs after high temperature. The formed network structure can be uniformly coated with active materials, and the effect is very good. In the state of repeated oxygen release from the positive electrode, the anti-oxidation effect is good.

Application of PTFE in non-stick cookware

 

For the convenience of cooking, many families have used “non-stick pan”, but it is not always clear what material is coated in the pan. In fact, this layer of material is PTFE known as the “Plastic King”. Polytetrafluoroethylene has many advantages that ordinary plastics can’t compare: it will not become brittle in liquid air, and will not become soft in boiling water, and it can be used from low temperatures of -369.3°C to high temperatures of 250°C.

Its chemical stability exceeds that of glass, ceramics, stainless steel, as well as gold and platinum. What’s interesting is that because the surface of PTFE is smooth, the adhesion to any substance is very small, even the paste can not stick to it. Therefore, in the food industry, it is used as cakes and candy molds without even a little bit of flour or syrup.

The advent of non-stick pans has brought great convenience to people’s lives. After adopting “non-stick pans”, people don’t have to accidentally burn the pan when cooking meat or if the fish skin sticks to the wall when frying fish.

Because this non-stick pan is coated with a layer of polytetrafluoroethylene on the inner surface of the ordinary pan, it is made of excellent thermal, chemical and easy-to-clean properties of polytetrafluoroethylene. It will not stick to food, so it is deep. Welcomed by everyone.

However, PTFE starts to decompose slowly after being heated to 415°C, and the gas generated by the decomposition is toxic. Therefore, when using a non-stick pan, it cannot be dry-burned. The temperature must be kept below 250°C to be safe.

When consumers buy non-stick pans, they need to pay attention to whether the product is marked as free of PFOA and PFOS. If it is clearly marked, the product can be purchased with confidence. In addition, PTFE can work stably at 260 degrees Celsius for a long time, and the short-term temperature resistance can reach 327 degrees.

A comprehensive number of studies on polymer coatings for non-stick pans have shown that they may release trace amounts of perfluorinated compounds at high temperatures, but the possibility of release during cooking is unlikely. For example, boiling with salt water and water for 2 hours, or heating to 280 degrees with soybean oil, did not find typical decomposition and dissolution of perfluorinated compounds.

PTFE Applications on Medical Industry

PTFE Coating Applied on The Surface of Medical Equipments

• According to the mass percentage, 40-60 percent of PTFE emulsion, 0.5 percent of defoamer, 0.5 percent of wetting agent, 0.5 percent of flow agent and rest water are mixed to crank out PTFE hydrophilic paint applied to medical appliance;
• The PTFE hydrophilic paint applied to medical appliance is coated to positions needing to be coated on the medical appliance;
• Under the room temperature, after water content in the PTFE hydrophilic paint waiting for being applied to the medical appliance evaporates, the paint is solidified and sintered under a temperature of 120-350 DEG C, namely, the PTFE lubricating hydrophobic coating is formed on the medical appliance.

The application of e-PTFE in the medical

Expanded PTFE (expanded PTFE) is a new type of medical polymer material. It is made of PTFE resin by special processing methods such as stretching. It has a network structure formed by connecting fine fibers. These fine fibers Numerous pores are formed, so that the expanded PTFE can be bent at will, has good blood compatibility, and is resistant to biological aging. It is used to manufacture artificial blood vessels, heart patches and other medical products.

From a medical point of view, it is the most ideal substitute for biological tissue. Due to its special molecular structure, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is an artificial material with extremely stable physical and chemical properties. At the same time, it has passed 6 million clinical applications for 40 years, including artificial blood vessels (replacement of human diseased arteries and veins), artificial There is no report of clinical rejection after implantation of various parts including dura mater and heart patch, which fully proves that the material has good biocompatibility.

Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene has become an important medical filler and is currently one of the most ideal materials for biological tissue substitutes.

Rhinoplasty Application

According to the specific characteristics of the nose, the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is carved into an e-PTFE surgical patch, which is placed in the corresponding part of the nose to construct a nasal prosthesis bracket, thereby improving the shape of the nose, and practice indicates that the plastic surgery effect is good.

Especially in the most critical part of the back of the nose and the tip of the nose, implanted with elongated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene that has excellent compatibility with human tissues, and human tissue cells grow into the elongated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene micropores Inside, there will be no adverse reactions such as material movement, collapse or rejection, and at the same time it can prevent the reflection of light, making the facial shape after plastic surgery more natural and realistic.

Application in Heart Valve Surgery

The researchers first sewed a sheet of ultra-microporous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene material on a specific elastic stent to make a synthetic heart valve.

The test results show that the artificial mitral valve synthesized by expanded polytetrafluoroethylene can be completely opened and closed during the cycle of the cycle, and the chordae of each expanded polytetrafluoroethylene artificial mitral valve are in tension. The valves are tightly aligned between the large and small valves, with no visible gaps.

This indicates that the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene artificial mitral valve has good hydrodynamic properties and durability in vitro.

e-PTFE Has Also Successful in Other Body Parts' Medical Applications

Varicose veins of the lower extremities are a common occurrence in human surgery. With the promotion of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene in human medical treatment, researchers have used expanded polytetrafluoroethylene synthetic vascular sheets to perform superficial femoral vein valve annulus Very satisfactory results have been achieved in the treatment of primary deep venous valve insufficiency of the lower extremities.