Fluoropolymers are synthetic plastics, resins, or rubbers that have favourable features, able to provide a protective coating for several different industrial applications. One of the most appealing features of fluoropolymers is that they can treat or coat many types of metals, including aluminium, steel, brass, copper, and some metal alloys.
It can also coat non-metallic medias: glass, fibreglass, plastics, rubber.
What Are Low Friction Coatings?
Anti-friction coatings (AFC), or low friction coatings, contain solid lubricant particles that are present in nanoparticle size. This allows the coating to provide a smooth surface, reducing friction to a minimum.
These coatings are required wherever minimal wear and high efficiency is either desired or a necessity because friction is one of the major problems for components when it comes to wear and tear. Machinery, like engines or electrostatic generators, functions normally when the right amount of friction is present. However, it may experience operation issues when excessive friction is present instead.
Preventing this kind of friction (excessive friction) is why anti-friction coatings were created and developed. They enable two surfaces to make contact but reducing the effect friction has. Low friction coatings or can provide an improved performance to components, bettering their service life and eliminating the risk of friction-caused damage.
Types of Fluoropolymer Coatings
There are other attributes that fluoropolymer coatings offer and that includes durability and strength, non-stick properties, chemical resistance and corrosion resistance. Coating a component with a fluoropolymer usually always results in improved resistance, protecting equipment from both damage and weathering.
PTFE
Also known as Polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene. This material is rather versatile as it hydrophobic, resistant to high temperatures, and has a high density. It’s large application potential and availability makes it a common fluoropolymer for protective coatings.
Safe in cryogenic temperatures and the insulation it can provide, PTFE is used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, construction, aerospace, and medicine.
PFA
Like PTFE, Perfluoroalkoxy Alkane also has a resistance to high temperatures and chemicals. As PFA is a melt-process, it can be formed whilst in a molten state but, it also has creep resistance. This means it can return to its original shape, even after deforming under high stress situations.
Compared to other plastics within the fluoropolymer family, there is greater material toughness to PFA which also connects to it having a greater resistance to stress cracks.
Most commonly found in the chemical and semiconductor industries, as well as being used for laboratory components, PFA is an ideal coating for extreme temperature environments, low and high, and high-stress circumstances.
ECTFE
Also a melt-process, Ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene, offers both outstanding chemical resistance and weather resistance. Plus a permeation resistance carbon dioxide, chlorine gas, and oxygen.
Compared relatively to other fluoropolymers, ECTFE often is easier to fabricate but usually more expensive. As it is food safe, it is common within the food and manufacturing industries, offering good insulation properties and smooth surfaces.
ECTFE also has a high tensile strength and a high density that makes it incredibly durable and resistant to stress cracking up to a certain point.
Alphatek’s Fluoropolymer Coatings for Metal
Alphatek has a proprietary range of HYPERSLIP Fluoropolymer Coatings which offer multiple benefits and properties for your application:
- Low friction
- Non-stick and release
- Chemical isolation and inertness
- Protection against corrosion
- Electrical and dielectric insulation
These additional properties are also combined into one Fluoropolymer coating system to provide a higher level of flexibility.
Our Industrial Application Teflon Spray Coatings
Our Fluoropolymer and Fluoroplastic coatings, typically referred to as Teflon or Xylan, have a variety of beneficial qualities.
They adapt themselves to and provide significant value to a wide range of industrial applications and enable cutting-edge designs. Basically, they’re pretty much a design engineers dreams because they offer greater design flexibility from the get-go.
Whether a customer wants an easily cleaned surface or bolts that turn effortlessly when necessary, these characteristics all contribute to the same goal. A goal of saving money while increasing profitability as a result of enhance efficiency and performance.
Get in touch with the Alphatek team and we’ll help you find the right metal spray coating solution for your application.
