PTFE Gaskets

PTFE is principally used as gasket material because of its capability to withstand significantly more aggressive chemical environments. It is also classified in most cases as a food grade material making it acceptable in both medical and food processing industries. There are four basic types of PTFE materials

• Virgin PTFE is by far the lease expensive of the four varieties and is used in most general applications. Virgin PTFE offers excellent chemical resistance, low friction, and non-stick properties, making it ideal for highly corrosive environments and high-purity applications such as chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, and food production.

• Glass filled PTFE is a reinforced composite material created by adding glass fibers (typically 5% to 40%) to virgin PTFE (Teflon) to improve its mechanical properties. It significantly increases compressive strength, wear resistance, and creep resistance, while reducing deformation under load compared to pure PTFE.

• Carbon filled PTFE is a high-performance composite material created by blending PTFE (Teflon) with carbon powder or fibres, typically at a 25% concentration. It significantly enhances the base material's strength, wear resistance, dimensional stability, and thermal conductivity while reducing thermal expansion and deformation under load.

• Expanded PTFE is virgin PTFE to which a stress resistance added by means of molecular during manufacture. The process ensures that the molecular chains from which the PTFE is constructed do not arrange themselves into set patterns. This means the Expanded PTFE possesses no structural weakness (grain) and expands and contracts equally in all directions. Because no additives are required, Expanded PTFE also possesses the unique chemicals resistance of Virgin PTFE.