At TFP we believe in continuous innovation, from the performance advancement of our materials to the development of complementary technologies to expand our portfolio.
We use a specially developed wet-laid nonwoven manufacturing process to create high quality materials with exceptional fibre dispersion and unrivalled flexibility in design. This is typified by our 2 g/m² veil – the lightest weight wet-laid carbon nonwoven in the world. Our capability is not limited to nonwoven manufacturing however; we also offer a number of additional technologies which complement and enhance our nonwoven portfolio, including nano-coating, particle plating, lamination and fibre plating.
In addition to our nonwoven materials TFP also have a subsidiary, TFP Hydrogen Products Ltd, which specialises in electrochemical materials for hydrogen technologies such as fuel cells and water electrolysers. To find out more click here.
NONWOVEN PRODUCTION:
Our nonwoven manufacturing capability is located in the UK and is based around a number of speciality forming machines derived from paper making technology developed by our parent company James Cropper plc. These advanced production techniques enable the transformation of synthetic or mineral fibres into veils and mats in such a manner that the key performance characteristics of the fibres are transferred into the finished product.
The wet-forming process enables a unique level of flexibility; materials can be manufactured from an extensive range of short-chopped fibres, binders and, when necessary, particulates or fillers can be incorporated as well. The process enables production of material up to width of 2100 mm (82.7”), with areal weights from 2 g/m² up to 3000 g/m² possible.
In addition to our nonwoven manufacturing, our advanced material capabilities consist of a high spec laminator with powder scatter capability, 3 fibre coating/plating lines, an NIOSH/OSHA compliant commercial nanocoating line, as well as the recently added capability to metallise carbon particulates/powders.
LAMINATION
TFP’s lamination capability can be used to add functionality, eliminate downstream processing steps or simplify part fabrication, enabling our customers to reduce processing time and cost.
There are 3 primary ways in which it can add value, these are; through the bonding of multiple types and/or layers of material, the compression of substrates to improve flexibility or the addition of powder to produce surface coated materials.
NANOCOATING
The emergence of nanotechnologies has been a significant advancement in the specialty materials sector. Early on, TFP recognised the potential for utilising nonwovens as a carrier for nanomaterials, providing a means to insert them into a material or product. We have realised this potential via significant investment in nanotechnology expertise development, ultimately resulting in the installation of one of the world’s largest textile rolled good nanocoating facilities, based at Schenectady NY.
The line provides the capability to incorporate nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes & nanofibres, graphene or other micro-scale particles into or onto the nonwoven. This nano particulate addition can provide multiple benefits including enhancement of surface conductivity, EMI shielding, thermal and structural properties.
FIBRE PLATING
Our subsidiary Electro Fibre Technologies LLC enables us to offer the unique capability to tune material properties at a fibre level via both electroless and electrolytic metal plating. These techniques provide both superior metal-carbon bond adhesion and ensure that every fibre is consistently plated in terms of coverage and coat weight. This is no mean feat when one considers that the typical carbon tow used contains 12,000 individual filaments!
Our plating expertise enables metal coating type and deposition weight to be fine-tuned to meet targeted fibre properties, such as the level of electrical conductivity or EMI shielding effectiveness.
To find out more about our metal coated fibres just follow the link below.
PARTICLE PLATING
TFP has recently extended its plating technologies to include particle plating. The metallised particles can contain up to 65% metal and are produced from carbon, graphene and graphite based materials. They can be used as functional ingredients to create a hybrid nonwoven material or simply as additives/fillers for plastics compounding or specialty resin/coating formulations.
