American Durafilm Blog

It’s Not Part of the Process Anymore

Here’s what you need to know about the use of PFOA in American Durafilm® products: it’s not in them. Plain and simple. In fact, PFOA was never in any of the tubing materials offered by American Durafilm, and it was removed from the films and coatings several years ago.

American Durafilm Now Distributing Highly Functional Tedlar® Film

It’s been around for 50 years. You see it every day. You drive by it in your car as you glance up to see the myriad advertisement signs flashing by. You may even be sitting on it … right now … in the subway. Or perhaps the sun is too bright on that flight you are taking, so you pull the Tedlar® shade down to ease the glare of the sun. Hospital air smells clean and stays sterile, in part, because of it. Accurate measurements of gas components have been possible because Tedlar® gas sampling bags were doing their job. If you’re a manufacturer and are reading this, you may already know some of the “everyday” uses of this vastly diverse film.

High-Performance Plastics in 3D

It’s a process often taken for granted for something that has almost endless applications. Thermoforming involves shaping plastics into a variety of products. But you know that already. And you know it is a tried and true method for heating a sheet of plastic almost to its melting point, then shaping it with a form or a mold to create custom products for very specific requirements. The process itself utilizes vacuum to pull the plastic towards the mold or form, which is why it is also often referred to as vacuum forming. 

Teflon® FEP, Teflon® PFA, and Tefzel® ETFE Options as Well!

Your high-performance film product options just got even better! American Durafilm® already offers custom rewinding, slitting, and packaging services and can satisfy any converting request—with quick responses and fast lead times. Add lamination of high-performance films to that list, and your application choices have just increased.

The Diversity of Fluoropolymers

What do ravioli and dog biscuits have in common? Well, nothing, really. But—to meet the need of their inherent forms and functions, they share some of the same requirements on the production line.

These Coatings Are So Good You Can Eat Off Them!

When a fluoropolymer coating is FDA compliant, it means it can be used for food contact. Aside from that favorite frying pan you use every time you sauté your most delicious chicken dinner, the applications that fluoropolymer coatings are used for span far beyond the confines of your kitchen or culinary imagination.

The Big and Small Electrical Jobs—It Protects them All

If you care that airplanes fly as they should, and rocket ships launch and orbit as engineered, and educational scientific photos of such exploits make their way back to us via satellites floating in the ethers of deep space—then the reliable dielectric strength of Kapton® film not only matters, it’s vital.

Extreme Temperature Resistance Is a Hallmark Property of Kapton® Films. We are often asked about the temperature range capabilities of Kapton® film. Kapton® film is known for its ability—and relied on—to withstand extreme temperatures. With operating temperature ratings from -269°C (-452°F) to 400°C (752°F), Kapton® films have an incredibly wide range.

Durable and Diverse Features of Large Diameter Polyimide Tubing 

Because polyimide tubing is a thermoset polymer, it cannot be re-flowed or melted. Thermoset materials are typically durable materials due to their strong covalent chemical bonds that hold the structural units together on the molecular level. This means that polyimide tubing, among its other impressive characteristics, cannot be melted. That’s a preferential property for large diameter polyimide tubing that is used so often in such a wide range of applications—from medical devices and industrial applications to the electrical and aerospace industries. Polyimide tubing is chosen across various industries for its many other properties, because it also offers superior thermal resistance, high voltage resistance, chemical corrosion resistance, along with other capabilities like outgassing, anti-nuclear radiation, and optimal flexibility.

The Philae Lander Wants its Time in the Sun

As you might imagine, we are as fascinated with Rosetta’s success as are any of the scientists that have worked on or observed this mission for the last 10-plus years. It’s as riveting a thriller as any sci-fi movie—only this isn’t made of the stuff of someone’s imagination (well, it was at some point!). It is now a reality and made, in part, of material we handle every day at American Durafilm: Kapton® film.