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PTFE Disadvantages?

I am a college student researching W.L. Gore & Associates, and I am inquiring about any knowledge that anyone has about possible disadvantages of using PTFE.

Cory Hadley
- Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
2001

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2001

Hi Cory. For what application, and compared to what? I doubt that there is any physical or chemical property of PTFE that some other material does not match or exceed :-)

It's not as light as cork, as hard as steel, as shiny as chrome, as soft as down, as conductive as copper, as cheap as styrofoam, as porous as a sponge ...

I'm not sure how we can even start! Please get back to us with clarification.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Cory,

My first question is WHY are you looking for the disadvantages of TFE ... AND why not, for example, are you not researching the UK's MCTFE ... or the weldable so-called fluorocarbons like TEFZEL, HALAR, FEP. And surely you would have or could get all the physical properties from Dupont or others, eh?

Disadvantages. Expensive. Very limited production sizes. Totally unweldable. Cannot be cemented. Can only be joined mechanically. Has a tendency to deflect under pressure (i.e., a sort of permanent set). Resistant to all acids, all alkalies, all solvents with the exception, perhaps, of liquid Bromine (I forget!).

I hope that this helps. Sure W.L.Gore and Assoc. should KNOW the disadvantages of TFE by now. Don't they have offices in Canada, too?

CHEERS !

Freeman Newton [deceased]
(It is our sad duty to advise that Freeman passed away
April 21, 2012. R.I.P. old friend).
2001