Chiorino UK's Coated Fabrics Division supplies an extensive range of technical flexible materials to numerous and varied markets. These materials are carefully designed to provide specific characteristics, and can be divided into two main categories:
Most of these products are available from stock and small order quantities can be supplied.
Polyurethane Films
Weldable polyurethanes combine many of the benefits of high performance rubber with the major advantage of weldability – by high frequency, hot-air, hot wedge or impulse techniques.
The bond produced by welding is extremely strong and durable, and can withstand stress / relaxation cycling for several years.
This inherent reliability makes weldable polyurethane coated fabric or film the material of choice where reliability can literally make the difference between life or death, for example life jackets, life rafts and medical inflatables.
Many companies have switched to welding to eliminate emission of solvents into the atmosphere, which is becoming increasingly problematic due to strict environmental protection legislation.
Polyurethane is inherently flexible and contains none of the plasticizers used in PVC to promote flexibility, and is therefore not affected by problems associated with plasticizer migration/abstraction.
For this and other reasons polyurethane is frequently seen as a 'greener' alternative to PVC.
Other advantages over PVC include:-
- More resistant to petrochemicals
- Much better recovery after elongation
- Excellent flexibility at very low temperature
- High weld strength, particularly 'in peel'
- Higher tensile strength
- Much better abrasion resistance
This combination of advantages can result in dramatic improvements to product life and can more than compensate for higher material cost.
Types of Polyurethane Film
Polyether Polyurethane
- Can be used where there is prolonged contact with water
- Has National Water Council approval for contact with drinking water
- FDA approved for food contact
- Complies with European Food Directives
Polyester Polyurethane
- Has better resistance to hydrocarbons than polyether polyurethane
- Is stronger than polyether polyurethane
- FDA approved for food contact
- Complies with European Food Directives
- Is not suitable for applications involving long-term exposure to water
Pigmentation is strongly recommended for any application with long-term exposure to UV for both polyester and polyether polyurethanes.
Polyurethane films from Chiorino are produced by calendering rather than by 'blowing'.
This results in a number of major advantages.
- Embossed surfaces possible on one or both surfaces
- gives lower drag, facilitating processing
- more receptive to adhesive
- prevents self-blocking - Wide range of colours possible with reasonable minimum orders
- Wide range of thickness available, from 60 microns to 4,000 microns
- No 'blowing aids' used
- Drinking-water contact approved and anti-static grades available
- Excellent lay flat properties
- Superb welding properties, including lower power settings
- Possibility of tear sealing
- RoHS Approval for skin contact
- High-clarity grades available
- provides better grip
Typical Applications
- Inflatable medical devices, especially alternating pressure air mattresses
- Skin-contact applications
- Inflatable Seating
- Inflatable Pipe-stoppers
- Flexible Connectors
- Protective clothing for the nuclear industry
- Disposable seals for vacuum presses
Weldable Polyurethane Coated Fabrics
The inclusion of a textile support provides a route for designing-in a number of potentially useful properties :
- Dimensional stability under load
- Improved tensile strength
- Improved resistance to permeation by hydrocarbons
- Improved puncture resistance
Chiorino have access to an incredibly wide selection of textile substrates to provide customers with the optimum design choice.
Typical Applications
- Inflatable medical and veterinary products
- Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs)
- Inflatable lifting systems
- Flexible fuel and drinking-water tanks
- Inflatable structures
- Chutes
- Inflatable pipe stoppers
- Oil Boom
- Petroleum storage
- Anti-slip soles
Chiorino UK gratefully acknowledge the permission of the following companies to illustrate products manufactured from our materials:
- Flexible Tanks :
Hovercraft Consultants Ltd, www.duratank.com
JW Automarine, www.jwautomarine.co.uk - Inflatable Decontamination Showers :
Professional Protection Systems, www.ppsgb.com - Lifting Bags :
Lindhurst Engineering Ltd, www.lindhurst.co.uk - Medical Inflatables :
RF Works Ltd, www.rfworks.co.uk - Rigid Inflatable Boats :
Tornado Boats Ltd, www.tornadoribs.com
Valiant, www.valiant-boats.com
XS RIBs, www.ribs.co.uk
Chiorino UK is part of the world-wide family of Chiorino companies, www.chiorino.com.
We also produce high-performance belting materials for a huge range of applications.