About PVC vs. Teflon Insulated Wire, Insulation around wires is crucial for safeguarding against shorts, comes in different materials and has specific properties and advantages.
Teflon and PVC are protective covers to coat electrical wires, helping the wires against environmental threats by preventing mechanical moisture and chemical issues from reaching the wire or cable core.
This article compares and contrasts PVC and Teflon insulation wires and how they can function as jacketing materials.
PVC vs. Teflon Insulated Wire: Differ Insulation from Jacketing.
When people think of wire insulation, they often picture jackets.
There may be some similarities between insulation and jacketing, but these are two different terms with distinct purposes.
| Insulation | Jacket | |
| Position | The substance around a solid or stranded conductor. | The outermost layer covering the insulation and conductors inside. |
| Function | Stops the electric current from leaking into the environment. | Prevents the cable from unraveling and shields it from environmental and chemical hazards. |
| Types of Materials Used | The insulation is wound around the wire to ensure the conductors do not touch each other. Its formed materials, like polyethylene, are necessary for industrial purposes because high currents can easily permeate certain insulation materials. | Coming in various types and styles, mainly plastic or rubber, they are fire-resistant and protect against UV rays. |
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), functioning as an insulator and a jacket, creates Teflon wire, while polyvinyl chloride creates PVC, which is more often employed as an insulator.
When as a jacket, the interior conductors of PVC wires are flexible copper stands insulated with PVC.
As insulation, they have a tinned copper drain wire and an aluminum foil shield.
As for Teflon wires, materials made from PTFE compound can withstand temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius, encasing the copper wires.
Insulated PVC Wire Understanding
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a robust, adaptable thermoplastic polymer with several desirable properties, such as resilience, adaptability, and resistance to moisture.
The material also exhibits a host of properties like resistance to chemicals for wire insulation.
Used for direct burial, overhead wires, street lighting, and underground feeders, PVC or vinyl gives cables and wires the ability to withstand oil, acids, alkalis, sunlight heat, weathering, and a wide range of substances.
PVC wire is a stranded wire well-suited to applications involving frequent motions, such as electronics and indoor applications for machine tool wiring and the internal wiring of appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, automatic washing machines, and other general-use machines.
Common types of PVC wires:
Standard PVC for commercial and industrial applications, such as computer and control units.
Semi-Rigid PVC is tougher, has more stable electrical properties, and offers better prosecution than the first type.
Indicated PVC, which is not thermoplastic, possesses unusually high resistance to abrasion.
Wires with PVC Jacket
Insulated Teflon Wire Understanding
Teflon is the trademark name for a fluoropolymer producing highly specialized electrical wires and cables.
The Teflon wire has superior performance features, including high temperatures and chemical resistance, making it ideal for many high-performance areas like aerospace, military, medical, and semiconductor.
You can also use it in low dielectric constant, low loss, and high purity situations alongside those that call for high-temperature resilience.
Examples of such applications include missiles, satellites, automobile applications, and laboratory equipment.
Common Types of Teflon Wire:
ETFE is a polymer made of only fluorine atoms, one of the strongest thermoplastic fluoropolymers that resist chemicals, moisture, and heat.
This polymer works as an insulator or cable jacket, and its properties include a lower coefficient of friction, durability, and flame resistance.
The EFTE properties make it ideal in environments with corrosion or high melting temperature.
No amount of chemicals, electricity, or high-energy radiation can break down ETFE wired when used in environments with these risks.
The material is prevalent in environments with high-temperature requirements, such as airplanes, automobiles, and factories with harsh environmental conditions.
PTFE:
Polytetrafluoroethylene, is commonly used in applications requiring operating temperatures of up to 300 degrees Celsius.
It also functions in settings with a small friction coefficient and requires materials with good wear resistance or chemical stability.
PTFE has the best price-to-performance ratio with its no-stick properties and large temperature range to other polymers.
It is seen in most high-temperature and high-frequency applications like telecommunications, radar, and medical device cable insulators.
FEP: Fluoroethylenepropylene comprises two monomers: tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoropropylene.
It is an alternative to polytetrafluoroethylene with excellent chemical stability and non-stick characteristics.
This polymer, featuring almost identical to PTFE, is insulated against chemicals, moisture, and heat.
It can only handle temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius, and it melts and flows to form a non-porous film after compounding.
If you compare it to polytetrafluoroethylene insulation, the FEP is much easier to work within an electric field, like airplanes, cars, and medical devices.
At the same time, Most FEP materials don’t produce a toxic response when exposed to the body and are flexible, making them easy to reshape into intricate shapes.
For example, this material will remain flexible even when subject to a temperature range of -200 degrees Celsius to +200 degree Celsius.
When used as an insulator, FEP helps keep fragile electronic parts safe as it doesn’t shrink over materials damaged by heat.
Power cords with PVC
PVC vs. Teflon Insulated Wire: Comparison Chart
| PVC | Teflon | |
| Temperatures Ranging | -55℃ to 105℃ at 300 to 600 volts | -90℃ to 260℃ at 300 to 600 volts |
| Applications | Appliance wiring industry; Communications industry; Medical industry; OEM applications; Oil and gas industry; Vehicle industry; A large quantity of wire is required; The cost is a major factor. | Aerospace industry; Coaxial communications; Military and defense industry; OEM appliance wiring; Oil and gas industry; Vehicle industry, where it applies to air conditioning, power steering, and heated seats. |
| Appearance | Duller | Brighter |
| Advantages | Lower cost; Greater flexibility; More manageable | High-temperature resistance; Cold resistance; Aging resistance; Anti-corrosion |
Conclusion
Teflon and PVC wires are strong, flexible, and resistant to chemicals, moisture, abrasion, and UV radiation.
However, they are different in applications. Looking for help with your wire harness solutions? Contact us.