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MATERIALS > Fluoropolymers
high-temperature cables: fluorocarbon resins FEP   FLUORINATED ETHYLENE PROPYLENE
MFA   HEXINE MONOFLUOROACETATE ( HYFLON)
PFA   HEXINE PERFLUORO ALKOXYALKANE
PTFE  POLYTETRA FLUOROETHYLENE
 
FEP - PFA - PTFE resins are fluorocarbon resins whose origin dates from 1938, when a Dupont researcher succeeded in synthesising this amazing material, so slippery that almost nothing stuck to its surface, resistant to almost all chemical compounds known at the time, not damaged by welders, and which did not deteriorate or swell on contact with moisture.
The large-scale use of this material in industry started immediately. Above all, it was widely used for the insulation of electrical conductors, first for civilian and then for military use, as it allowed special applications in severe ambient conditions and with impressive reductions in weight and dimensions, with significant economic savings. While PTFE can only be used in taping or pressure extrusion processes, FEP, MFA and PFA have made continuous extrusion possible, considerably cutting production costs and eliminating the problems relating to small piece sizes.
 
high-temperature cables: fluorocarbon resins Technical characteristics
The use of fluorocarbon resins to insulate the sheaths of electric cables and conductors is increasingly common practice, especially where specific conditions make the use of conventional materials inadvisable or even impossible. The characteristics of FEP, FMA, PFA and PTFE fluorocarbon resins are as follows:
  • high thermal resistance: allowing use in continuous duty up to 260°C for PTFE and PFA, over 240°C for MFA and 205°C for FEP
  • outstanding insulating properties: excellent dielectric strength and constant dielectric properties
  • chemical inertia: resistance to attack by almost all chemicals and no moisture absorption
  • excellent resistance to weather: unaffected by oxidation, exposure to sunlight, humidity, temperature variations, and all external influences in general
  • good mechanical properties: tough and flexibility even at very low temperatures, no embrittlement, cracking or wear
  • low friction coefficient: they are the most slippery solids discovered so far
  • resistance to radiation: in fact, they are widely used in aerospace
FEP, MFA and PFA fluorocarbon resins also have the advantage that they can be extruded in long lengths, and do not necessarily require the use of silver- or nickel-plated copper conductors.
 
Electrical characteristics
  • Dielectric constant: very stable in a vast temperature and frequency range
  • Dielectric strength: high and not subject to variation under the influence of temperatures or thermal ageing
  • Arc resistance: high and unaffected by thermal ageing.
Applications
Given these materials' characteristics, it is obviously difficult to list all their specific fields of application: they range from the aeronautics and rocket industry to computers and telecommunications, and from cold storage to machine tools.
Its high thermal resistance (resistance to welders) allows significant reductions in reject levels in all complex and compact assembly operations where the large number of inconvenient welding operations normally involve a high risk of damage to insulating components.
The easy stripping minimises wiring times, while the outstanding electrical and thermal properties together with the good mechanical resistance to high temperatures allow the minimisation of wiring weights and dimensions.
The large number of MIL standards (introduced to standardise the various types of single-core and multiple-core cables) which use these materials as insulators mean that the engineer can work on the basis of universally recognised design criteria, and assure his projects the very highest quality level.
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