PTFE Rod, Virgin - 50mm OD x 300mm Long

• Solid Round Bars made from PTFE.
• Outstanding Chemical Resistance and Able to Withstand up to 260°C.
• Available In A Selection of Sizes. 
• Strong Dielectric Properties.
• Easy to Work with and Machine.

Our Virgin PTFE Rods are ideal for making bushes, anti-friction parts and chemical resistant components. These are solid, round bars that can be accurately machined and are very easy to work with.

Glass Filled PTFE vs Virgin PTFE.

This page lists Virgin PTFE Rods (or pure PTFE). We also have Glass Filled PTFE Rods so we'll briefly cover the difference. 

Virgin PTFE (or, pure PTFE) has a range of benefits. One small area of weakness though is it’s propensity to experience creep at low and high temperatures when being used for sealing.

Adding glass reinforcement to the PTFE mix helps alleviate this.

The glass reinforcement also increases the materials capacity to withstand wear and friction over time.

Of course, adding glass to the mixture changes the properties of the material. Fortunately, there are only a few drawbacks. Chemical resistance is still outstanding, though glass filled PTFE should not be exposed to fluoridric acid.  

Some mechanical properties also change with the largest impact experienced in tensile strength. This drops from about 20MPa for Virgin PTFE to 13MPa for 25% Glass Filled.

Most other attributes, including UV Resistance, Temperature Resistance and Dielectric Strength are largely unaffected or only nominally so.

Very Low Friction, Good Sliding Properties & Non-Stick.

PTFE, or Teflon™ as it is sometimes known, has one of the lowest co-efficient of friction values of any material (plastic or otherwise). This has led to its widespread use as a non-stick liner, guide material and it’s use in low friction bearings.

Very Good Electrical Insulation Properties.

PTFE Rods are often used as an electrical insulation material because of its high dielectric strength, high temperature resistance and ease of handling. 

This premium quality engineering plastic is often used to make insulating parts for electric motors as well as anti-static and electrically insulating guides and sliding parts.

Unparalleled Chemical Resistance and Compatibility.

PTFE has excellent chemical resistance.

These rods are often used in applications that require a material capable of withstanding attack from extremely aggressive media & fluids.

Virgin  PTFE will withstand most acids & bases. There are some chemicals which are known to attack it and with which it should not be used. These include elemental fluorine, molten alkali metals and chlorine trifluoride at high temperatures and pressures. Permeation occurs with helium, chloride and bromine. PTFE should not be exposed to fluoridric acid. 

Excellent Temperature Resistance.

Virgin PTFE is able to withstand continuous exposure to temperatures between -150°C and +260°C. It will also tolerate short-term spikes above this range.

These rods are non-flammable and have a flammability classification of UL 94VO.

They are also very resistance to UV and sunlight making them suitable for use outdoors. There are not suitable for use with high energy radiation.

Easy to Work With (Unless You Want to Glue It).

All PTFE has a smooth surface finish that is non-stick, low friction and easy to handle. PTFE Rod from Swift have excellent physical strength and machinability characteristics. Tensile strength is >14 MPa and its hardness rating is 60 Shore D.

PTFE is a high-density plastic that is tough and long lasting. More information on its technical attributes (including deformation under load, coefficient of linear expansion & specific gravity) are included on the Specifications Tab for our Glass Filled Teflon Rods.

How to Glue PTFE Rods.

This isn’t easy. As explained above, PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any material. Looking at it from a bonding point of view; it’s a nightmare that surpasses notoriously hard to bond plastics like Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). That said, nothing is impossible.

Gluing PTFE can be achieved in a few ways. For smaller jobs, we have found that our industrial-grade CA Primer for Polyolefins combined with either our VA 8312 or VA 8406 industrial-strength super glues will do the job. More information on each is available from their dedicated product pages.