Production of Teflon is a long process. The process starts, purified water is poured in a reaction chamber. There is a reaction initiator (Iron) that will form the polymer. A liquid called tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) is put in a reaction chamber through a pipe. Once TFE comes in contact with the initiator, it starts to form a polymer. This is called polymerization. This then becomes polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). In this substance, there are some solid grains that are formed, these grains float on top of water. As they float, the reaction chamber is shaken. Then, PTFE is put into a mill after being dried to be pulverized.
After pulverization the Teflon powder has the consistency of wheat flour yet the material is unable to be fed into a mill because it still has lumps and air bubbles, because of this the manufacturers must turn the Teflon powder into small pellets by using a process called "Agglomeration". Agglomeration can be done in several different ways but most manufacturers prefer to used acetone (a solvent of Teflon) and tumble the Teflon in a large drum, to form small pellets of Teflon.
The Teflon pellets are `wet` so the pellets are placed in a large oven and baked until dry.The dry Teflon pellets can then be molded into any form the manufacturer may choose by using a variety of techniques. However the Teflon is often sold to other manufacturers in bulk pre-molded into large blocks often called billets. These blocks may be up to 1.5 m tall.
To make billets, Teflon pellets are dumped in bulk into a large cylinder stainless steel mold. The mold is placed in a hydraulic press. The press' arm or ram pushes the mold and the Teflon. Later the mold is removed from the press and the Teflon is removed. Lastly the newly formed billet is put into a large oven for a process called sintering. Once the large block of Teflon is placed in the sintering oven for many hours, it gradually reaches a warm temperature around 360°C. Even though this is far above the melting point of Teflon the Tefloon holds together fairly well and soon the particles collect and the material becomes gel-like fluid substance glowing a faint red. Once the Billet cools it will be shiped to other customers/manufacturers that will process it further for a finished product.
After pulverization the Teflon powder has the consistency of wheat flour yet the material is unable to be fed into a mill because it still has lumps and air bubbles, because of this the manufacturers must turn the Teflon powder into small pellets by using a process called "Agglomeration". Agglomeration can be done in several different ways but most manufacturers prefer to used acetone (a solvent of Teflon) and tumble the Teflon in a large drum, to form small pellets of Teflon.
The Teflon pellets are `wet` so the pellets are placed in a large oven and baked until dry.The dry Teflon pellets can then be molded into any form the manufacturer may choose by using a variety of techniques. However the Teflon is often sold to other manufacturers in bulk pre-molded into large blocks often called billets. These blocks may be up to 1.5 m tall.
To make billets, Teflon pellets are dumped in bulk into a large cylinder stainless steel mold. The mold is placed in a hydraulic press. The press' arm or ram pushes the mold and the Teflon. Later the mold is removed from the press and the Teflon is removed. Lastly the newly formed billet is put into a large oven for a process called sintering. Once the large block of Teflon is placed in the sintering oven for many hours, it gradually reaches a warm temperature around 360°C. Even though this is far above the melting point of Teflon the Tefloon holds together fairly well and soon the particles collect and the material becomes gel-like fluid substance glowing a faint red. Once the Billet cools it will be shiped to other customers/manufacturers that will process it further for a finished product.