Monday, September 16, 2013

Polyimide Film Is Utilized Throughout Industry

By Dawn Williams


If you were to ask someone what they know about polyimide film there is a very good chance that they would be unable to tell you a great deal. This is surprising when you consider just how widespread this material is nowadays. This is a very useful material, largely thanks to the properties inherent with it. It is strong yet lightweight while at the same time it is flexible, its also heat and chemical resistant.

Modern electronics makes great use of this material due to some of these properties. For those still unconvinced, a prime example is the main cable of a laptop computer, the one which connects the body and the screen. Normal cabling would soon fail due to constant opening and closing of the laptop, so a more flexible solution was required.

Should you get the opportunity to see a dismantled laptop computer, the cable that has just been mentioned will be easy to identify. It will be of an amber color and the metal tracks will be clearly seen. The amber colored sheeting is this versatile material.

Quite often the copper tracks will be sealed to the amber colored sheet by an adhesive. Due to the insulation qualities of this amber sheeting it is even possible for the copper tracks to be mounted on either side of the sheet. In such instances further insulation is required to prevent the outer faces of the copper tracks shorting against the casing. Also this sheeting can be utilized to mask printed circuit boards, and capacitors, transistors and similar devices can also be insulated.

Possibly one of the most important factors that this material has is the heat resistance. As a consequence this material can often be used in areas which would be subjected to high temperatures. The material will withstand temperatures into the region of 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

Most materials and compounds would be affected by excessive temperatures. Some would shrink while others would stretch. Any form of distortion or damage will lead to the item no longer being able to fulfill the role for which it was originally intended. This sheet with its resistance to heat will suffer no such damage. The only change that a person might notice would be a slight darkening over a period of time.

This material was first used in the defense industries and by the military. Since its entrance into the civilian world it has slowly become more and more common, as its range of applications has grown. This can occur anywhere between the space agencies and micro electronics.

Engines are a prime example, as they operate they become hot. Engines can be found throughout the vehicle industries, aviation industries and even space flight. The sheeting is highly resistant to heat, and so will not conduct heat from one side to the other. Therefore it is ideal if something needs to be protected from conducted heat, such as engine cables. If these cables were unprotected the normal insulation could degrade over time and lead to other potential problems.

One more advantageous property that this polyimide film has is that it is very robust. As previously mentioned this can prevent damage to other items, the benefit of this is that the repair costs can be kept to the minimum. It is not surprising that industries are forever looking for more ways in which to use it.




About the Author:





0 التعليقات:

Post a Comment

Search