To Know Glass Fiber Extraction Thimbles, Understand Glass Fiber First

According to the material, extraction thimbles can be divided into three categories: cellulose extraction thimbles, glass fiber extraction thimbles, and Quartz fiber extraction thimbles. So the main difference would come from the material. Today we will talk about the glass fiber extraction thimbles.

What is glass fiber?

Glass fiber has a wide variety of advantages, such as good insulation, strong heat resistance, good corrosion resistance, and high mechanical strength, but the disadvantage is crispness and poor wear resistance. It is made of glass balls or waste glass as raw materials through high-temperature melting, drawing, winding, weaving, and other processes. The diameter of its monofilament is several microns to more than 20 microns, which is equivalent to 1/20-1/5 of a strand of hair, and each fiber strand is composed of hundreds or even thousands of monofilaments.

Raw materials and applications

Glass fiber has higher temperature resistance than organic fiber, non-combustibility, corrosion resistance, good heat and sound insulation (especially glass wool), high tensile strength, and good electrical insulation (such as alkali-free glass fiber). Glass fiber is mainly used as electrical insulation material, industrial filter material, anti-corrosion, moisture-proof, heat insulation, sound insulation, and shock absorption material. It can also be used as a reinforcing material to make products such as reinforced plastics or reinforced rubber, reinforced plaster, and reinforced cement.

Coating glass fiber with organic materials can improve its flexibility, and can be used to make packaging cloth, window screening, wall covering, covering cloth, protective clothing, and insulation and sound insulation materials.

As a reinforcing material, glass fiber has the following characteristics, which make the use of glass fiber far more extensive than other types of fiber, and its development speed is also far ahead. Its characteristics are listed as follows:
(1) High tensile strength and low elongation (3%).
(2) High elastic coefficient and good rigidity.
(3) The elongation is large Within the elastic limit, it will have large elongation and high tensile strength, to achieve large impact energy.
(4) As an inorganic fiber, it features good chemical resistance and non-combustibility.
(5) Low water absorption.
(6) Good scale stability and heat resistance.
(7) Good processability, which can be made into products of different forms such as strands, bundles, felts, and woven fabrics.
(8) Transparent and can transmit light.
(9) The development of a surface treatment agent with good adhesion to resin is completed.
(10) Cost-effective.
(11) Not easy to burn, it can be melted into glass beads at high temperatures.

Classification of Glass fiber

Glass fiber is made of quartz sand, limestone, dolomite, paraffin, etc., and is melt-spun with soda ash and boric acid. Its main components are silica and some metal oxides. According to the composition and performance, it can be divided into four types of glass fibers: no-alkali, medium-alkali, high-alkali, and special glass fibers; according to the form, it can be divided into continuous glass fiber, fixed-length glass fiber, and glass wool. Glass fiber has flame retardancy, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, low moisture absorption, low elongation, high tensile strength, brittleness and fragility, good thermal insulation, chemical stability, and good electrical insulation and other characteristics.

1.Alkali free glass fiber
The alkali-free glass fiber is a continuous fiber drawn from the alkali-free glass with an alkali oxide content of 0-2%. It belongs to the aluminoborate glass fiber series, with a strength of 3.43*109Pa and a density of 2.54g/cm³. The elongation is 3% per month, the initial modulus is 7.1*109P, and the softening point is 846°C. It has good electrical insulation and water resistance.

2. Superfine glass fiber
The fiber refers to a glass fiber with a single filament diameter of about 4 μm. The fiber has a small diameter, good flexibility, and softness, high strength, and has the common characteristics of glass fiber such as chemical resistance, non-combustibility, and low elongation. The fabric made has the characteristics of high strength, light weight, soft hand, wear resistance, crease-resistance, no wrinkle, no shrinkage, no conductivity, no mildew, and so on.

3. High strength glass fiber
High-strength glass fiber is a very good substitute for metal materials, which has become an indispensable raw material for many industries, such as transportation, electrical, chemical,  environmental protection, and other industries.

4. High alkali glass fiber
High alkali glass fiber is one of the glass fiber varieties, which belongs to the soda lime silicate glass fiber series. The main raw materials are quartz sand, dolomite, limestone, soda ash, uranium feldspar, etc. Due to the high alkali content in the fiber, its water resistance and strength are not as good as alkali-free and medium-alkali glass fibers, but it has good acid resistance.

5. Glass wool
Glass wool is man-made of inorganic fiber. The fineness and length of the fiber vary with the manufacturing method. The fineness is generally about 3-10μm, the length is generally about 25-300mm, the density is 2.4-2.7g/cm³, the thermal conductivity is small, and it has good corrosion resistance and electrical insulation.