It differs from the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resins in that it is melt-processable using conventional injection molding and screw extrusion techniques.
Because FEP is poorly soluble in almost all solvents, the polymerization is conducted as an emulsion in water, often using a surfactant such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).
It also features a higher coefficient of dynamic friction, is softer and has a slightly lower tensile strength than PTFE and PFA.
[6] A noteworthy property of FEP is that it is vastly superior to PTFE in some coating applications involving exposure to detergents.
[failed verification][6] Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), in many ways, can be thought of as belonging to a different group, as it is essentially a high strength engineering version of the others featuring what are likely to be considered slightly diminished properties in the other fields when compared with PTFE, FEP and PFA.
Due to its flexibility, extreme resistance to chemical attack and optical transparency, this material, along with PFA is routinely used for plastic labware and tubing that involves critical or highly corrosive processes.
Due to the aforementioned properties of high optical transparency and low friction, it is ideally suited for use on the bottom of the resin reservoir (opposite the build plate).