Material and Mechanical Properties of Polyimide 1

[83118898]

hi

I know polyimide is commonly used as a base material in flexible PCB manufacturing.

I am curious about its properties.

For a normal piece of polyimide paper,

1) For example,can it be welded to other materials such as to a metal or plastic and if so, what type of welding is/are recommended?

2) What type of adhesives do it stick well to?

3) Are there other industrial applications of polyimide besides its use in PCB? If so, why is it used?

4) Any good website that i can view to learn more about polyimide will be great.

Thanks.

 

[RPstress]

Polyimide is a rather expensive plastic. Kapton film is a polyimide. Polyimides can be either thermoplastic (TPI) or thermoset (PI). One of their main characteristics is resistance to high temperatures. Some sorts simply won't burn or melt (they just degrade at maybe 400+ degrees C). They also have quite high mechanical properties. Their use in PCBs may be due to their high dielectric properties.

1. Some sorts of TPI will melt (e.g., Avimid K3B), and can be welded.

2. If the adhesive has to resist high temperatures then a polyimide adhesive is about the only option. Otherwise, epoxy adhesives are generally compatible.

3. Kapton is used extensively in satellites as an insulator (it's the gold-covered stuff you see on the TV). They are also used as the insulation of wires in aircraft. Other polyimides are used because of their fire resistance. Others are used as the matrix for high temperature polymer composites. There are many other uses.

4.

http://www.dupont.com.

DuPont make Kapton and Vespel polyimides.

http://www.cytec.com.

Cytec supply Avimid polyimides. There are many others. See also general plastics knowledge sites such as

http://pslc.ws/macrog/imide.htm.