Thin Wall PTFE Tubing: Different Applications Explained

The demand for PTFE tubing is growing, mainly because it is so versatile that it can be used in almost every industry imaginable. From medical devices to electrical wiring tubing to piping, the list of applications for thick and thin wall PTFE tubing is impressive and expanding! Here is why and how it is used.

Reasons Why PTFE Tubing Is So Popular

Heat Resistant: Some PTFE tubing can withstand regular exposure to plus 500 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures. Almost all PTFE tubing thin wall is highly resistant to heat. This makes it ideal for applications where exposure to hot liquids is routine. Additionally, its resistance is not countered by it becoming brittle when not exposed to heat, which means maintenance costs in high heat applications is minimal. The heat range it can be exposed to is approximate -450 degrees to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, making it easily the most diverse tubing in regard to temperature on the market. That diversity makes it popular across applications and industries.

Corrosion Resistant: A thin wall PTFE tube is mostly inert when exposed to other chemicals. This means that there are almost no adverse reactions when exposed to a wide variety of harsh chemicals and acids. Additionally, it is impermeable, which means it is water and air tight, even in areas that are subjected to high heat or harsh substances. These two factors in regard to durability and resiliency make it ideal for the transport of chemicals. It also adds to the safety quotient of anything it is transporting as the only way it will leak is if it is physically punctured as opposed to being eaten or worn away by a corrosive element.

Extremely Low Friction Coefficient: Light wall PTFE tubing has a very low friction coefficient (0.1,) which makes it ideal for applications where friction can be dangerous or painful. Two examples are catheters and snares. The low friction ratio makes using both much easier than with a substance with a higher friction coefficient. In fact, smooth bore thin wall PTFE tubing has the lowest friction coefficient of any known solid materials.

Applications

PTFE tubing comes in three main categories:

• Pressure Hose
• Spaghetti Tubing
• Pipe Liner

Its wall thickness and tube diameter determine the type.

Within each category, PTFE is further classified:

Split: This consists of a ridge that permits splitting longitudinally. It is used by medical personnel internationally to extract PTFE introducers from patient bodies without dislocating the primary device.

Heat Shrunk: Tubing of this sort is very thin, and it decreases or shrinks when exposed to hot air. This allows for air and watertight fit. It makes it ideal for securing small and thin components like wire.

Filled: With this application, the tubing is infused with chemical additives that give off radioactive properties. That makes it visible in X-rays and where anti-static properties are required.

Multi-Lumen: Tubing applications of this type have a number of smaller tubes in a single interior. Each layer contains a unique fluid or wire. These types of applications are common in the medical industry.

In many ways, PTFE tubing has reinvented certain types of manufacturing. It is used in the science and medicine fields, medical device industry, with electrical wire producers and automobile manufacturers. Best of all, it seems new applications are being discovered all the time. For more information on PTFE tubing and whether it is right for your manufacturing needs, check out Tef-Cap.

4 Unique Uses for Heat Shrink Tubing

PTFE tubing is used to solve a wide variety of industrial repair problems, but you can also use it in your home or office to fix everyday problems like frayed wires and worn shoelaces. Keep reading to learn more.

Frayed and Frazzled

In the era of cellular technology, humanity would be doomed if not for the power cable. If you’re like most people, your devices and cables endure a lot of daily abuse. Some cables, unfortunately, become chew toys for furry friends and toddlers. The adapter head that plugs into your device receives the most wear and tear from everyday handling. The problem usually stems from cheap materials and poor quality controls at the manufacturing level. Frayed power cables can quickly become health hazards, exposing you to electric shock. Fix a frayed or exposed charging cable with shrink tubing to prevent accidental shock and fire hazards.

Get a Grip

Do you like to play sports like tennis, golf, or baseball? Do you want to improve your game without spending more money on new equipment or equipment repair? Heat shrink can help you get a better grip on your tennis racquet, clubs, bats, and other hardware. Non-slip heat shrink is specially designed to help you get a better handle on pipes and cables, but you can apply this same technology to your sporting equipment and improve your game at the same time. Repairing your favorite racquet or bat can be expensive and time-consuming. Get back in the game fast with a quick treatment of heat and a non-slip shrink tube.

All Tied Up

Whether you use them for hiking, jogging, work, or around the house, you have time and energy invested in breaking in your favorite pair of shoes. With proper care, they could last for several years. However, those little plastic caps on the end of your shoelaces just don’t seem to last as long as they used to. Instead of going to the store, buying more shoelaces, and then weaving them onto your favorite pair of shoes, use heat shrink wrap to fix your current laces quickly. Heat shrink wrap is available in a plethora of sizes, even some a thin as a shoelace. Remove the old plastic wrap or cut the lace just below the area. Thread the lace through the shrink tube and apply gentle heat until it shrinks to the desired size.

Silence Is Golden

Does your key ring make enough noise to wake up the whole house? Does your dog’s collar chime every time he walks across the room? Small, metallic objects have the potential to disrupt the peace in your home, but heat shrink wrap can put a damper on those annoying sounds. Cut a piece of clear tubing large enough to fit over the head of your key or dog tag. Be careful not to cover the cut portions of the key. Apply heat and use a hole punch to rethread the key or ID tag.

These are just a few creative ways to use heat shrink PFTE tubing around your home and solve everyday problems. For more idea on how to use heat wrap contact the experts at Tef-Cap.

Reasons Why Medical Device Manufacturers Should Choose PTFE Tubing

One constant in the highly competitive medical device manufacturing industry is the quest to produce improved devices with better and better performance ratios. This challenge has created several sub-challenges, one of which was to figure out how to join metal and plastic and have them work in unison. One small way they have achieved their goals in this regard is to mainstream the use of standard wall PTFE tubing in medical devices where tubing is needed. There are many reasons for this.

The Industry Environment

The medical device industry is one of the most competitive in existence. As an industry, there are many manufacturers competing for the same customers, and that means gaining a slight competitive edge can be the difference between cornering the market and showing up a little late.

In addition, there are strict regulations that are part of the governing regimen of the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Manufacturers also have to be concerned with the invasiveness of their equipment and their ability to provide their intended service in an environment where a malfunction can literally kill a patient. Their devices have to work, and work correctly every time, which means superior quality is a principal goal.

What PTFE Is

Industrial wall PTFE tubing helps meet all that criterion. PTFE, a fluoropolymer, has been used for decades and is a chemical product that has a high number of fluorocarbons. The closest everyday substance that it resembles is Teflon.

Non-Stick

As with Teflon, the non-stick qualities of wall PTFE tubing make it ideal for a medical device. Non-stick surfaces make the transfer of fluids almost seamless and helps avoid clogging, ensuring a medical device remains functional, even during high use. The same concept that lets you cook on a non-stick pan surface without having food left behind is the same principle that makes PTFE tubing ideal.

No Chemical Reactions

Another benefit is that it is inert with most chemicals. This means there are no adverse reactions that could harm the device or the patient or interfere with the performance of the machine. Not having to take that into account speeds up the manufacturing process and reduces the chances that a piece of equipment will become an issue when treating a patient.

Low Friction

Even thin wall PTFE tubing possesses the lowest friction ratio of any polymer, which means it can be used in high-stress situations with no degradation in quality. In fact, light wall PTFE tubing can function in high-use temperature ranges approaching and exceeding 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Miscellaneous Benefits

All PTFE tubing possesses excellent electrical properties. It is also highly resistant to UV radiation and can withstand constant use while displaying very little weathering. As an aside, these two realities are also why PTFE tubing is a choice of electrical wiring and automobile manufacturers.

In the quest to create better medical devices, engineers are always on the lookout for even the smallest gains. A simple benefit can yield great dividends as it pertains to getting a product to market and making it the industry choice. If you are looking for materials to create superior medical devices, check out Tef-Cap.

PTFE Heat Shrinkage Tubing: Where It Began

Heat shrinkage tubing is the process of decreasing the size of plastic tubes that are used to insulate cables and wires. This will allow you to better insulate the wires or provide resistance to potential abrasion. While you may be interested in using heat shrinking tubing for your wire or cable insulation, you may also wonder how this process came about and how it works. Here is some more information on the history and process of heat shrinkable PTFE tubing.

Invention of Heat Shrink

The process of heat shrink tubing was pioneered in the 1950s by the Raychem Corporation and its founder, Paul Cook. A chemical engineer, Cook founded his company with a focus on radiation chemistry, which is how the name of the company came about. Cook invented two products that would be the primary focus of his company: lightweight aircraft cables and heat-shrinkable tubing. While the Raychem Corporation was the pioneer of this process, it has since become widely used by a variety of companies within the industry.

Uses of Heat Shrinkable Tubes

Heat shrinkable tubes are typically used for two purposes: protection, and the cosmetic changes of cables and wires. This process can protect cables and wires by sealing water or dust out and away from the cables, protecting the cable or wiring from extreme heat, and providing a barrier between cable or wires and any chemicals that could corrode them. From a cosmetic point of view, you can create a color code for identification purposes, gather wires together, or improve the appearance of the wires.

Making Heat Shrinking Tubes

There are a variety of thermoplastics that heat shrinking tubes can be made out of including polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). If conductivity is an issue, a conductive polymer thick film can also be used to connect multiple conductive objects through tubing without the need to solder them. If the need arises, you may be able to add an adhesive lining that will make the tubing waterproof.

Why the Tubing is Shrinkable

Plastic tubing itself will not shrink when exposed to heat, so a process called cross-linking was created to complete the process. Cross-linking occurs when the plastic is exposed to a certain amount of radiation. After World War II, it was discovered that exposing plastics to radiation would allow you to intentionally alter the molecular structure without them melting. A process called covalent bonding between the atoms of the polymer allowed it to experience plastic memory. This means that when the plastic is cross-linked and expanded in shape, it will instinctively return to its original size when exposed to a specific amount of heat.

How Much Shrinkage?

You may want to heat shrink your tubing, but only a certain amount. So how do you know how much it will shrink? All heat shrinking tubing is provided with a shrink ratio that will tell you how much it can potentially shrink. The ratio is decided based on how small it will become compared to its original size. For example, if your heat shrink ratio is 5:1, the tubing is capable of shrinking up to one-fifth of its expanded size.

Heat shrink tubing allows you the ability to protect your cables and wires or make cosmetic changes. Once the primary product of an innovative company, heat shrinkable PTFE tubing has become an industry standard.

PTFE Tubing and Hoses Manufactured for Aerospace and Aviation

Installation of PTFE tube has become an indispensable activity for every organization to conduct operating activities smoothly and protect the web of wires from any kind of accident. Often, known as polytetrafluoroethylene, in the beginning the PTFE was used only in specific industries. However it was back in 1950, because going through its versatility, soon became an integral part of almost every industry especially in aerospace where it is used in filling fuel in aircraft, tubing hoses , hydraulic hose, protecting doors and making easy assembling of aluminum and other metals followed by complete protection from any kind of damage.

Interestingly, the use of the Teflon PTFE tubing in aircraft is not stagnated only upto the above mentioned activities but, is also used in various applications for instance in edges of wings mounted on the aircraft. The low coefficient of friction feature found in it, which makes the aluminum rod installed in wings flap and slat smoothly while landing. Moving ahead, the Teflon PTFE starts acting as sheet of protection at the time when an aircraft lands. In absence of this fluoropolymer plastic, it is possible that aluminum rod might break during landing when it is starts coordinately with other wings.

Improvisation at Its Finest: The All-Purpose Heat Shrink Tubing!

We all know how heat shrink tubing can do wonders for any system where cables or wires need to be protected. Whether you need something to insulate bare wires, cover wire splices, color code wires or bundle together some badly sprayed out network cables – heat shrink tubing can be used for anything and everything.

But what if you’re not an electrician or a network installer, then what?

Is the use of heat shrink tubing only restricted to wire and cable related applications, or can you do much more with it?

To find the answer to this question, we reached out our ingenious Tef-Cap team and our simply amazing Tef-Cap customers. The uses they suggested left us in complete awe.

So we decided to share some of these heat shrink uses with our readers too—the homeowners, the handymen, the hobbyists, and everyone in between.

It’s improvisation at its finest!

Heat Shrink as Pencil Grips

One of our customers, who just so happens to teach occupationally impaired children, told us that he uses heat shrink tubing as a pencil grip. Because the children he teaches have difficulty with motor skills, they write with pencils that are larger in size than your average pencils. Hence, these pencils can’t be fit with standard grips. By cutting down heat shrinks in shorter lengths, he can slip them around the pencils and heat-shrink them into place. This makes it easier for his students to hold the pencils.

Heat Shrink for Curling Iron Repair

This use was suggested to us by one of our staff members who is very particular and conscious about the hair style she wears. She told us that recently the plastic grip on her curling iron came off. She tried to put it back, but couldn’t. Of course, she could not use the curling iron with a bare handle as it was quite risky, so she came with a genius idea. She used the heat shrink tubing to cover her curling iron’s handle, and the fix worked.

Heat Shrink for Glass Repair

Have you ever found yourself in a situation, where one arm of eyeglasses snapped and you just didn’t know what to do to repair the pair? Well, we could not help you at that time (sorry for that), but now we can. We’ve got a fix for you. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation again, simply get a heat shrink from your local store, slip it over the broken ends of your eyewear and eyewear arm, and shrink it to size. It may not serve as a permanent fix, but it buys you enough time. And yes, it would also save you from short-term blindness.

Heat Shrink as Furniture End Caps

That outdoor furniture in your patio, it has constantly being leaving rust rings on your patio floor for the last year or so. And you’re absolutely tired of cleaning these left behind marks again and again. Well, you can save yourself from the inconvenience by installing heat shrink tubing onto the feet of your furniture. Those rust rings aren’t coming back—trust us!

Do you have any unconventional use of heat shrink in your mind that you would like to share with us?

Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

A BONUS read: The Chemistry Behind the Working of Heat Shrink

Fits Like a Glove: Buying the Right Size Heat Shrink Tubing

Imagine if buying a heat shrink tubing was as simple as buying a coat. You measure the object you want to cover and then buy a heat shrink to fit.

Unfortunately, it’s not.

Buying a right size heat shrink is much more complex than buying a right size coat. Because the tubing shrinks, when heated, does not retain the same dimensions it originally has pre-heating.

As such, it’s common for buyers (especially, first time buyers) to make sizing mistakes when buying a heat shrink tubing, ending up with a purchase that just won’t fit into their application.

This piece will guide you on how to avoid sizing mistakes and buy a right sized heat shrink tubing for your application.

First things first…

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how to measure a heat shrink when purchasing one, it’s worth noting that heat shrink tubing is first made to the diameter it will be when it’s shrunk. After that, it is expanded and packaged for sale.

So when you buy a heat shrink tubing, its shrunk dimensions are already known; they’re stated on the specification sheet.

Having this explained, we can now move on to the actual measuring step.

Dimensions and Dimension Facts—You Should Know About!

When measuring a heat shrink tubing, there’re basically two types of dimensions you’ll be working with: i) Recovered dimensions and, ii) Expanded dimensions.

Recovered dimensions are the shrunken dimensions and expanded dimensions are the dimensions of the tubing in the stretched form.

On a typical heat shrink datasheet, you’ll find the following dimensions listed:

• Recovered internal diameter
• Recovered wall thickness
• Expanded internal diameter

Let’s say you want to buy a heat shrink to cover a cable which has an outer diameter of 7 mm.

The heat shrink that you buy must have:

• An expanded internal diameter greater than 7 mm
• A recovered internal diameter of just under 7 mm

Please note that you won’t find the exact dimensions listed on a heat shrink tubing’s datasheet. They will always have some tolerance range which will be mentioned on the sheet. So make sure you keep that in mind.

What about the wall thickness?

It depends on the application in which you want to use the heat shrink. If wall thickness is really important for your application (for e.g. If you’re looking to insulate a piece of wire), we would recommend that you purchase a heat shrink tubing with the maximum recovered wall thickness.

Let’s take a look at another example.

Let’s say you want to buy a heat shrink tubing to insulate a cable wiring. The cable has a diameter of 7 mm. It has bare wires running through it which are 4 mm in diameter. Plus, the cable has a connector at each of its end, which has a diameter of 15 mm.

The heat shrink that you buy must have:

• An expanded internal diameter greater than 15 mm
• A recovered internal diameter of just under 4 mm

For wall thickness the rule is same as discussed above.

One more thing you should keep in mind…

A heat shrink tubing not only shrinks in diameter when heated, but it also shrinks in length. Although the change in length is minimal, usually 10% of the original expanded length. So if you need a heat shrink tubing to cover an object of length 2 meters, you should buy a heat shrink which is at least 2.2 meters long. You can later cut off the tailing end if you wish to.

And that is how you can buy the right size shrink tubing for your application that will fit like a glove.

A BONUS read: The Chemistry Behind the Working of Heat Shrink

The chemistry behind the working of HEAT SHRINK

The history of the origin of heat shrink.

Teflon Industrial Coating—Everything You Need To Know

Industrial coating refers to the application of protective material over wiring and other important equipment in order to ensure that it stays safe from harmful materials.

Teflon is one of the most commonly used materials when it comes to industrial coating. There are several benefits of using Teflon for industrial coating. Some of these benefits include:

Non stick surface

Teflon is extremely popular because of its non-stick feature. Sticky surface can be quite inconvenient especially if you are involved in the business of manufacturing cooking products.

It can completely ruin the product because of which these people prefer to buy products that have Teflon industrial coating. The liquid does not accumulate on the surface of the machine and instead just slides off.

You might want to know that the coefficient of friction on Teflon products also happens to be really low, because of which it is very easy for you to move machines.

Highly resistant

Another great feature of Teflon is the fact that it has high resistance to heat as well as water. This ensures that the material stays clean. It also prevents water from becoming saturated. You can simply wipe down the surface with a cloth. It does not take a lot of time and does not leave behind any kind of debris.

Teflon also has high resistance to heat. It can withstand the temperature of up to 260° Celsius. Due to its high resistance, Teflon is the ideal material in tasks, which involve use of excessive heat.

The process of industrial coating involves multiple steps, which include:

• Primer
• Full Coating
• Sealant

You need to know that Teflon is an ideal sealing material. It is a strong electrical insulator and does not dissipate very easily. The level of frequency varies in different industrial applications because of which you need a highly resistant industrial coating material like Teflon.

It is not prone to chemicals

Chemicals can adversely affect the product. In some cases, they can also be quite dangerous. Teflon coating can be beneficial in this regard since chemicals do not easily affect it. It acts like a filter and prevents harmful elements in the chemical from causing any kind of damage.

You need to know that Teflon refers to multiple materials, which are all made of fluoropolymers. These include:

• PFA
• PTFE
• FEP

All of these materials have different characteristics and you need to identify which one best fits your needs. Get in touch with us. We offer a wide collection of Teflon products, which include:

• Teflon PFA tubing
• Teflon PTFE tubing
• Heat shrink tubing
• Flexible tubing

Contact us at 610-692-2576.

Teflon Hoses—Some Common Mistakes You Need To Avoid

It is quite rare to see Teflon hoses in hydraulic systems. This type of material is specifically used in aerospace and medical industries, and a major reason for this is the fact that it is a tough material.

The material can easily withstand harsh conditions and last for a long period of time because of which it is common to see Teflon hoses in the following places:

• Space shuttles
• Airplane brakes systems
• Breathing equipment for firefighters

Here is a look at some of the things you need to keep in mind when selecting Teflon hoses:

The size

Not all materials are the same. This is also true in the case of the base material, which in this case is Teflon. A major difference between the materials can be in terms of the size and radius of the material.

A smooth bore has the radius of 12 inches whereas the convoluted one has a bend radius of 3 inches.

Is it conductive or not?

Some people prefer to use Teflon hoses as fuel lines as well. These fuel lines allow the flow of hydrocarbons at a very high speed, which can end up causing damage to the Teflon. Therefore, it is preferable that you opt for Teflon, which is a conductor.

How thick is the material?

Another factor that you need to keep in mind is the thickness of the material. While thin, hoses cost less. It is preferable that you opt for thick hoses. This is because it is not easy for elements like gasses to enter these types of hoses.

People often make several mistakes when selecting Teflon hoses. This is because of several myths that exist around these types of materials.

Here is a look at some of the common mistakes or misunderstandings that people have about Teflon hoses:

They are expensive

Teflon paste, a material used for manufacturing these kinds of hoses, is fairly expensive. However, when you take into account the long-term benefits of Teflon hoses, you might realize that it is a lot more economical than traditional hoses.

Teflon hoses generally tend to last for a long period of time and they are much more resistant to damage in harsh weather conditions.

These hoses can easily be crushed

Another reason why people avoid these types of hoses is that they feel that Teflon hoses can easily be crushed. This is true for all kinds of hoses.

However, a benefit of these types of hoses is that you can ensure that they stay strong by adding spring guards. You also need to know that a thick hose is less susceptible to damage.

All the Teflon hoses are the same

You need to know that Teflon refers to multiple materials, which are made up of fluoropolymers. These include:

• PTFE
• PFA
• FEP

All of these materials have different characteristics. Some are more resistant to chemicals while others have different melting points.

You need to search for a Teflon hose, which best fits, your requirement. Get in touch with us. We, at Tef-Cap offer an extensive collection of Teflon products.

These include Teflon PFA and PTFE tubing as well as heat shrink tubing. Contact us at 610-692-2576.

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