Fluoropolymer Insulation for Your Extreme Application Needs

Fluoropolymer films perform an important role as wire and cable insulation. In high-voltage systems residing in high-temperature or harsh environments, this role is even more crucial.

In aerospace applications, for example, using a film with inadequate dielectric strength or temperature resistance can cause the insulation to fail, potentially resulting in overloaded or damaged wires that could bring down an entire critical electrical system. Extreme, critical and harsh environments like those found in aerospace, industrial, and oil and gas applications simply call for a high-performance insulating film solution.

Saint-Gobain FLUOROWRAP^® wire and cable films are engineered for this exact purpose. The FLUOROWRAP product line is available in a wide range of extruded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tapes, as well as heat-sealable polyimide fluoropolymer composite tape. All FLUOROWRAP tapes feature outstanding dielectric strength, up to 7,000 V/mil, for high-voltage power cable applications. The product range also features excellent resistance to harsh chemicals, heat and fire.

The FLUOROWRAP line includes PTFE tapes specialized to many demanding applications:

• Unsintered extruded PTFE, which meets a number of military standards for PTFE wire, for aerospace power cable, coax, thermocouple wires, battery membranes and other applications.
• Sintered extruded PTFE, with excellent permeability resistance, for high-temperature wire and cable insulation as well as magnet coil windings.
• Low-density extruded PTFE, with low signal loss characteristics, for high-frequency coaxial cables.
• Laser-markable extruded PTFE, with high contrast marking, for use in wire and cable applications requiring laser marking for identification.
• Skived PTFE, featuring excellent heat and chemical resistance and semi-conductive options, for wire and cable insulation, hoses and cable harness wraps.
• Cast PTFE, with heat-sealable bonding and laser-markable options, for use in extreme environments requiring laser marking, heat sealing or partial discharge resistance.
• Polyimide fluoropolymer composites, with high-voltage dielectric resistance up to 7,000 V/mil, for the most demanding applications.

Engineers know and trust Saint-Gobain as a proven world leader in performance materials, and many already employ FLUOROWRAP films as electrical insulation in the harshest environments. Fewer know that Saint-Gobain is more than a trusted supplier, but also a partner that prides itself on creating cutting-edge custom solutions.

Saint-Gobain Group has eight research and development centers worldwide: three in France and one each in Germany, China, Brazil, India and the U.S. Their Northboro Research and Development (R&D) Center, located near Boston, Massachusetts, specializes in performance polymers, with a dedicated fluoropolymer team. Saint-Gobain’s R&D centers facilitate open communication with the academic world, providing early notices of new scientific breakthroughs and access to top-notch talent recruitment.

In addition to the eight R&D centers, Saint-Gobain also has around 100 development units worldwide, allowing them to tailor new products to customer needs on a local level. The company also has a worldwide manufacturing presence for performance films, with primary manufacturing centers in the northeast United States and others in China, Germany and Ireland.

How does Saint-Gobain’s strong R&D presence translate to their customers? Simple: the ability to customize and refine their products to suit unique customer needs. For instance, Saint-Gobain can customize each individual film layer of a FLUOROWRAP cast PTFE tape to suit a specialized application. Building on their R&D knowledge, they can also work with customers to design one-of-a-kind custom tapes by adding different pigments, polymers and additives to their existing PTFE materials.

Don’t risk an off-the-shelf tape for your extreme electrical insulation needs. Choose FLUOROWRAP and Saint-Gobain for a truly unique, effective solution.

This article was written by IEEE GlobalSpec.