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Fluor Technik System GmbH are
the sister company to Ahlbrandt Systems GmbH and manufacture a range
of fluorination processes and systems. Active Surface Technology
supply these systems to the UK, in addition to providing a contract
fluorination service.
Product Trials and samples are
easily catered for. The stable pre treatment usually spans several
months enabling samples to be sent to us for trial and then returned
without deterioration.
Gas phase fluorination - Depending
on the product, gas phase fluorination involves the use of either
the inline or the offline process.
| Offline |
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In the offline process, the formed
parts are treated in a vacuum reactor to improve surface
bonding, permeation or sliding characteristics.
The configuration and size of the reactor
depends on the parts requiring pretreatment.
All parts are evenly fluorinated without
the risk of undercutting or "shadowing" of
two neighboring parts, even in large reactors with capacities
of several cubic meters.
Small parts receive optimum pretreatment
when grouped together as bulk material in a rotating
inner drum. |
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Inline |
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In the inline process, all forms
of continuously extruded plasticprofiles can be fluorinated
within the production process, as can plastic films
and foams. In this application the material moves from
roller to roller. It is transported to the chamber via
deflecting rollers and travels over a variable number
of rollers inside the reactor. The number of rollers
is selected in line with the material type and the desired
active length of time the material is to be exposed
to the fluorine atmosphere.
Shortly after entering the chamber,
the web is exposed to fluorine gas from one or both
sides and then passes through the remaining section
of the chamber where the gas mixture is circulated.
The throughput of material is dependent on the design
of the plant and the desired surface activation. At
the end of the winder the gas mixture is removed via
the calcium carbonate absorber. This process creates
common fluorspar (calcium fluoride). |
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| The surfaces obtainable by employing fluorination
are very polar in character. The process has no adverse effects
on the base material and renders the use of bonding agents
or primers superfluous. Industrial production processes such
as bonding, cladding or coating require a good adhesive base,
and one prerequisite for this is an active surface which allows
mechanical adhesion and chemical bonding.
Component geometry and surface irregularities are not as
important in the fluorination process. Rough, uneven or flat
surfaces can be evenly fluorinated. Fluorinating undercut,
overlap and indentations on any type of formed plastic part
is just as easy as treating hollowed or profiled parts. |
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