In the world of PTFE Coated Fiberglass, there are many unique terms that are often misunderstood. Here, we will offer brief explanations of some of the most common terminology. As always, please contact us with any questions or comments.
ABRASION: Wearing away by friction. Glass is highly resistant to abrasion by other materials, but can be damaged through contact with itself. PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) coating dramatically improves abrasion resistance during processing.
BARE GLASS: Fiberglass yarns prior to PTFE coating.
BATCH OVEN: Large temperature-controlled oven, used to heat-clean fiberglass yarns to produce Type-T, thermally heat cleaned colors.
BINDER: A material applied in liquid form to fibers, yarns, or fabric to retain structural integrity during further processing. (Also known as sizing.)
BOBBIN: The spool onto which yarns are wound. (Also known as package.)
BRAID/BRAIDER : A narrow tubular or flat fabric produced by intertwining a single set of yarns in a pattern. Often used to manufacture tie cords & lacing tapes as well as insulation for high temperature wire & cable.
COATED YARNS: Yarns that are run through a coating bath and then dried in an oven, typically with PTFE or acrylic binder. Often times made in various colors with the addition of pigments.
CONTINUOUS FILAMENT: A yarn made of filaments that extend substantially throughout the length of yarn.
DENIER: A direct numbering system for expressing linear density, equal to the mass in grams per 9,000 meters of yarn, filament, fiber or other textile strand. Not typically used for fiberglass yarns.
DISPERSION: Aqueous medium used as a coating on fiberglass and para-aramid yarns. Principal dispersion used is PTFE (Teflon by Chemours).
DRAW CORD: Larger diameter, round braided fiberglass cord, typically PTFE coated and available in various colors. Diameters typically start at 1/8″.
E-GLASS: Fiberglass yarns which are used for general purposes and most electrical applications.
END: A single fiber, strand, or yarn being incorporated into a product.
FIBER/FILAMENT: An individual rod of glass, of sufficiently small diameter to be flexible, and of limited length.
FILAMENT YARN: A yarn composed of continuous filaments assembled with or without a twist.
FILL: The system of yarns running crosswise in a woven PTFE coated fiberglass fabric. (Also known as weft.)
HEAT CLEANING: Batch and continuous processes in which organic yarn biders is carefull removed from fiberglass yarns. A critical step in producing Type-T™, thermally heat-cleaned PTFE coated fiberglass yarns.
KING SPOOL: Spool used for winding PTFE coated fiberglass sewing thread. Available in nominally 1lb or 2lb spools.
LACING TAPE/TIE CORD: Flat braided lacing tapes or round braided tie cords are PTFE coated fiberglass yarns braided into a cord or lacing tape for bundling or securing wires or tying insulation in place.
LUBRICANT (X80): High speed silicone oil based thread lubricant that cools and lubricates PTFE coated fiberglass sewing thread.
MESH BELT: PTFE Coated Fiberglass belt made with a leno weave fiberglass fabric that has openings nominally 3/16″ to 1/4″ square. This fabric is cut to size, edges are reinforced and bullnose/alligator lacing installed to make a conveyor belt typically used for process drying in a number of industries, including screen printing, food processing, and other industrial drying applications.
PACKAGE: A bobbin or spool onto which yarns or thread are wound.
PLIED YARN: A yarn formed by twisting together two or more single yarns in one operation.
PLY: 1. The number of single yarns twisted together to form a plied yarn. 2. One of the several layers of fabric or band sealing PTFE coated fiberglass belts.
PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene): High performance fluoropolymer coating applied to fiberglass and para-aramid yarns and sewing threads to further enhance processing qualities.
S-GLASS: A family of fiberglass yarns that produce high mechanical strength and higher operating temperatures.
SEWING THREAD: A flexible, small diameter fiberglass yarn or strand, usually coated with PTFE, lubricant, or both, intended to be used to stitch one or more pieces of material or an object to a material.
SINGLE-PLY BELT: A single layer of PTFE Coated Fiberglass belt used in rotary band sealing operations. A less expensive alternative to 2-ply belts, usable when the step or overlap seam will not impact package quality.
SINGLE YARN: The simplest strand of textile material suitable for operations such as weaving, knitting, etc.
SINTERED/UNSINTERED: Sintered PTFE coatings have been cured at temperatures in excess of 621 degrees and have a slick, hard, PTFE coating most people are familiar with. Unsintered coatings have been “baked” to remove all water and leave a waxy feeling coating on the yarn, often used for further processing.
SIZE/SIZING: A generic term for compounds which, when applied to yarn or fabric, form a more or less solid film around the yarn and individual fibers. (Also known as binder.)
SPLICE: The joining of two ends of yarn by intertwining, knotting, overlapping, or adhering them together.
STRAND: A single fiber, filament, or monofilament, normally used as a unit including single yarns, plied yarns, cords, braids, ropes, etc.
TENSION DEVICE: A mechanical or magnetic device that controls tension.
TEX: A unit of expressing linear density, equal to the mass in grams of 1,000 meters of yarn, filament, fiber, or other textile strand. Not normally used when working with fiberglass.
TIE CORD/LACING TAPE: Round braided tie cord or flat braided lacing tape are PTFE coated fiberglass yarns used for tying or securing bundles.
TURN: One 360 degree revolution of the components around the axis of the strand. Typically used to express PTFE coated fiberglass sewing thread turns per inch (TPI).
TWIST AND PLY FRAMES: Machines used to twist and ply glass yarns.
TWO-PLY BELTS: A 2-ply PTFE Coated Fiberglass rotary band sealing belt made from two layers of PTFE Coated fiberglass that have been offset within each other and heat sealed together to form a uniformly thick belt/seam. Also available in PTFE Coated Kevlar® (by DuPont) base fabrics.
TYPE-R™: Natural fiberglass yarns, with the binders left in the yarn prior to PTFE coating, resulting in a “tan or brown” color after exposure to heat.
TYPE-T™: Thermally heat-cleaned prior to PTFE coating, resulting in color-fast yarns in most MIL-standard colors and white.
UNSINTERED/SINTERED: Unsintered coatings have been “baked” to remove all water and leave a waxy feeling coating on the yarn, often used for further processing. Sintered PTFE coatings have been cured at temperatures in excess of 621 degrees and have a slick, hard, PTFE coating most people are familiar with.
WARP: The yarn running lengthwise in a PTFE coated fiberglass fabric.
WEFT: The systems of yarns running crosswise in a PTFE coated fiberglass fabric. (Also known as fill.)
WINDING: The process of transferring yarn from one type of package to another yarn package.
YARN: A generic term for a continuous strand of textile fibers, filaments, or material in a form suitable for knitting, weaving, or otherwise intertwining to form textile fabric or braid.