They significantly break the standard perfluoroplastic barrier of 260°C for continuous use when tested according to ISO 2578. DuPont's new ECCtreme® ECA fluoroplastics can be extruded, compression-moulded or injection-moulded on the same machines and with the same productivity as the corresponding standard types of perfluoroplastics. Their outstanding properties are derived from a several-day post-heat treatment at a temperature of around 300°C after processing, ideally in-situ.
With significantly reduced flow properties but largely the same mechanical properties, the heat-treated ECCtreme® ECA (Epitaxial Co-crystallized Alloy) offers a melt point around 5°C higher at over 320°C. Other advantages compared with the starting material are higher thermal resistance, a flex life (MIT flexural test) that is many times higher than before, and higher stress crack resistance and permeation resistance. As a result, ECCtreme® ECA allows not only higher long-term service temperatures but also longer service life in existing applications.
At present, three types of ECCtreme® ECA are available with different melt flow rates (before and after heat treatment) for a broad range of applications. Alongside the universal grade ECA 3000, there is ECA 4000, which is intended primarily for wire and cable insulation and offers the lowest viscosity, and ECA 2000, which has the highest viscosity and is well suited to the chemical process industry, with flex life increasing with the viscosity.
