Sheet in PFA HP GB 3000x1500x2.3 mm natural

PFA HP GB is a high purity version of perfluoroalkoxy with glass beads added. The glass beads make a difference. They reduce shrinkage and creep, increase stiffness and keep the sheet dimensionally stable even when the temperature travels up and down. At the same time the material keeps what makes PFA worth choosing in the first place: chemical inertness, melt processing and a surface that releases most things.

As a fluoroplastic the material takes just about anything industry pours on it. Strong acids, bases, solvents, oxidizing media. The long term temperature is around 260 degrees, short term toward 300, and at the same time the sheet handles cryogenic levels without losing toughness. Friction is low, adhesion even lower. The combination of a pure PFA matrix and inert glass beads makes it suitable for the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries where metal ions must not migrate out into the process.

The sheet format is often used as tank, reactor and pipe lining, as slide strips in mechanisms that have to handle aggressive vapors, or as stock for turned and milled components where continuous chemical contact is a condition. Many also choose it for valve and pump components when standard PFA gets too soft under load. The glass bead reinforcement gives it that lift in compressive strength without losing the character of the fluoroplastic.

The material can be machined with ordinary tools for thermoplastics. Sharp, polished edges, a moderate feed and good chip clearance are usually enough. Hot air welding works with the right PFA welding rod, but preheat the whole surface evenly and keep it flat in a fixture until it has cooled. When cutting, avoid compressing clamps that can glaze the surface. PFA is softer than many think, until the temperature runs away.

The glass beads make the material somewhat more abrasive against tool edges than pure PFA, so count on shorter regrind intervals in series production. The surface finish comes out a little more matte compared with clear PFA, which is rarely a problem in chemical applications but worth knowing if optics matter. There is no binder between matrix and filler holding back the permeation resistance, which is why the HP grade belongs in processes where product purity counts.

The sheets are supplied in several thicknesses and can be cut to size. Keep in mind that you should go up in thickness when the component has to take mechanical load under heat. PFA flows under pressure, in this reinforced version as well.

Do you need help choosing between PFA, PFA HP and a glass reinforced version? Get in touch, we are glad to talk it through based on your process medium and temperature window.

In flat form the sheet covers 3000x1500x2.3 mm and shares the high purity of the roll, which is what HP stands for. The glass fiber fabric on the back lets it be laminated to a process tank or a wet bench. Natural colored and meant for the cleanest steps in semiconductor and chemical processes.