Description

1. PTFE tubing – this is tubing with usually less than 1.5mm in wall-thickness and in outer diameters under 15mm. Spaghetti tubing is used extensively in both medical and automotive applications. Due to the thin wall and smaller dimensions, this is a very challenging tube to manufacture and special attention needs to be given to the grade of resin used, the quality of the tooling and the adherence to process parameters
2. PTFE hoses – these are higher wall thickness tubes and are used primarily in applications requiring high burst pressures or heavy insulation. Due to the high cross-sectional areas, these tubes are relatively easier to extrude, but come in much shorter lengths
3. PTFE sleeves – these can be either extruded or compression moulded. Their wall thicknesses are usually between 2-6mm, but the diameters could go as high as 300mm. Sleeves find a variety of applications requiring insulation, lubrication, corrosion resistance or load bearing.

PTFE is unique in many ways when compared to conventional polymer tubing. Properties include:

1. PTFE Tube is highly resistant to corrosive chemicals
2. Working temperature range of -200°C to +220°C
3. Chemically inert – making it ideal for medical applications
4. Extremely low coefficient of friction
5. Chemical resistance – resists aggressive coolants and lubricants