Knowde Enhanced TDS
Identification & Functionality
- Chemical Family
- Polymer Name
- Technologies
- Product Families
Features & Benefits
- Labeling Claims
- Materials Features
- What is FluoroFlex™ ePTFE?
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a fully fluorinated polymer with exceptional chemical and physical properties: excellent chemical resistance, high temperature stability, good dielectric and non-stick properties and exceptional resistance to degeneration of mechanical properties under severe conditions. IPE can customize FluoroFlex™ ePTFE in a variety of densities to fit your individual application.
Material made from expanded FluoroFlex™ ePTFE offers you more than the standard properties of PTFE. Expanded FluoroFlex™ ePTFE is soft, flexible and porous. Porous FluoroFlex™ ePTFE is permeable to air, yet watertight under low pressure. Its low coefficient of friction makes it ideal for applications requiring lubricity and durability.
The structure of porous FluoroFlex™ ePTFE is key. IPE manufactures material which can be collapsed longitudinally without significant change in external diameter as demonstrated in the video below.
- Characteristics
- Biocompatible
- Flexibility
- Kink resistance
- Softness
- Weather resistant
- Hydrophobic
Applications & Uses
- Applications
- Plastics & Elastomers End Uses
- Plastics & Elastomers Processing Methods
- Industries
- OEM Components for Medical (suture components, vascular components, endoscopic working channel components, and more)
- OEM Components for Industrial (Aeration, filtration, pumps, seals, water treatment, and more)
Properties
- Physical Form
- Chemical and Physical Properties
- Excellent resistance to caustic chemicals
- Low dielectric constant
- Low coefficient of friction
- Non-flammable
- Service temperature range: -200˚C to 260˚C
Regulatory & Compliance
- Certifications & Compliance
Technical Details & Test Data
- FluoroFlex™ ePTFE Porosity
The microstructure of FluoroFlex™ ePTFE can be described as roughly parallel-running clumps of material (nodes) with perpendicular fibers connecting them. Fibers connected between the nodes are called fibrils. Porosity is a function of the distance between the nodes. As the internodal distance decreases, porosity decreases. Conversely, as the internodal distance increases, porosity increases.
Porous ePTFE can also be classified in volume densities. IPE has the capability of producing ePTFE in volumes densities ranging from .30 to 1.3 grams per cubic centimeter. Higher density ePTFE would be less porous and more rigid, lower density would be more porous and flexible.
When looking for a highly flexible, lubricious, chemically inert, hydrophobic plastic for critical applications, very few non-woven plastics can meet or exceed the flexural properties needed in barrier, instrument delivery, and bending sections of typical medical implants and industrial instruments like our FluoroFlex™.