Plastic Tapes

The group of plastic tapes consists of a wide variety of carriers. The group can be divided in the following sub groups :

• Soft PVC and polyethylene tapes and films
• PTFE tapes and films
• Other tapes with film carriers like polyimide, PET, Polypropylene, UHMW
• Hard PVC tapes

Soft PVC and polyethylene tapes can be used for splicing, insulating, sealing and bundling. These tapes are available in many different colours and some can be removed cleanly after months in application. Soft PVC tapes have a better "memory" than polyethylene tapes and are therefore better for bundling applications. Polyethylene tapes are extremely easy to apply at lower temperatures. Both tapes normally have good resistance to moisture. PTFE Tapes- These tapes are used when you need high temperature resistance, abrasion resistance, low friction and high chemical resistance. The tapes are available as pure PTFE film or as glass coated PTFE for applications where a lower elongation and higher internal strength is required. PTFE tapes are available in many different colours.

Characteristics of PTFE :

• Very low resistance ( 0.04)
• Resistance against high and low temperatures
• Chemicalyl inert
• High insulation properties
• Low dielectric strength
• Anti-stick surface (low friction)
• Remains flexible at low temperatures
• High resistance against solvents and chemicals

There are different types of PTFE tapes :

• Skived PTFE is very flexible and has a high elongation

• High modulus PTFE - these are pre-stretched films that are strong, thin and have less elongation than skived PTFE

• Extruded PTFE - the strongest pure PTFE films that have a very low elongation.

• FEP films - comparable with the skived PTFE films but are optically clear.

• PTFE coated glass cloth - a strong glass weave coated with PTFE. The abrasion resistance depends on the thickness of the PTFE layer. They have better resistance to higher pressure than pure PTFE films.

Other plastic tapes : This group can be divided in the following subgroups :

• Polyester : Polyester tapes are used where a single or combination fo the following characteristics are required : transparency, strength, temperature resistance and chemical resistance. Polyester tapes are also available in different colours (or the adhesive is coloured), in different thicknesses and with different adhesive systems. Polyester tapes are used in a wide variety of applications such as splicing and protection.

• Polypropylene : In comparison with pvc polypropylene is more environmentally friendly and has better temperature resistance though this is lower than that of polyester.

• PVC : Hard PVC tapes are often used for packaging, protection, splicing and mounting.
• Polyimide : These high temperature and die-electric resistant tapes are used for protection during the PCB process and other high temperature applications There are many other plastic surfaces which are used for specific applications.