MA Operations Management and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
David Cowley is CEO of Holscot Advanced Polymers Ltd. He holds a BSc in Chemistry and an MA in Operations Management and Manufacturing Systems Engineering.
What is ETFE Tubing? Meaning, Benefits, and Application
ETFE tubing is a product used in a large variety of industries, from the medical to construction and even aerospace. The material is a copolymer of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE).
The simple answer is that they are the same thing: Teflon™ is a brand name for PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) and is a trademark brand name used by the Du Pont company and its subsidiary companies (Kinetic which first registered the trademark & Chemours which currently owns it).
Simply put, Fluoropolymers are a group of plastics that contain carbon & fluorine. These are grouped together because the addition of fluorine gives them a number of properties that are valuable from an industrial and commercial perspective.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a Fluoropolymer that has a large number of industrial applications because of its many properties. One brand name for PTFE is Teflon®, which is well-known for its non-stick and heat-resistant properties.
There are a number of advantages of using Teflon™ coatings. Teflon™ is the best known brand of a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene called Polytetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications.
In 1938 an employee of the Du Pont de Nemours Corporation discovered PTFE as a by product of the refrigeration process. His name was Dr Roy J. Plunkett.
Melt processable Fluoropolymers were developed as weldable and theromformable versions of PTFE. So FEP, PFA and ETFE all have the capability to be welded – but it is not easy.
More and more people are becoming aware of ETFE as they come across it in their business and everyday lives. Maybe the Eden Project; the Swimming arena at the Beijing Olympics; the transparent Fluoropolymer over a greenhouse or even the covering over your pool in Center Parcs.
