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Anyone know where to buy a roll of polypropylene film?

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jpsmith123

Sat Jun 20 2009, 05:30PM

Registered Member #1321 Joined: Sat Feb 16 2008, 03:22AM
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Posts: 843

Does anyone know where online to buy rolls of polypropylene film "off the shelf", preferably with a selection of widths available? I found one source, but all they have is 2.5 mil thickness and I was hoping for something heavier than this.

Conundrum

Sat Jun 20 2009, 08:14PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

hmm.. ask a sign shop? i have some here but the roll is only 10" across and i don't know the thickness.

regards, -A

Sulaiman

Sun Jun 21 2009, 05:37AM

Registered Member #162 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 10:25AM
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3141

I don't know where to get pp film
but guessing it's for 'rolling your own'
you can use polythene (polyethylene/polyethene)
probably the most common dielectric for hand-rolled capacitors.

P.S. it has been found better to use a few thin layers rather than one thick layer
it makes punch-through due to material defects less likely

jpsmith123

Sun Jun 21 2009, 06:09PM

Registered Member #1321 Joined: Sat Feb 16 2008, 03:22AM
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Posts: 843

Hello Sulaiman,

Thanks for the reply.

Right now I'd like to get some for use as transformer layer insulation, but at some point in the future most likely also for experimenting with capacitors, spiral pulse generators, etc.

I guess I'll have to go with the 2.5 mil stuff. I planned on using multiple layers anyway, but I would've preferred a more robust film of 5 or 8 mil thickness.

Proud Mary

Sun Jun 21 2009, 07:04PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

There's seems no difficulty buying polypropylene film in Britain, so I would guess it is readily available in all developed countries:

Flexible Products
BOPP

* Packing in horizontal and vertical machines (chocolates, ice-creams etc.)
* Wrapping of boxes
* It can be used in complexes with normal coextruded products, metalized ones, coated ones etc.
* Due to its flatness and corona treatment, it can be printed by photogravure and flexography.
* Packaging for snacks and other foods.

This means they check to make sure there are no micro holes in it.

jpsmith123

Sun Jun 21 2009, 07:43PM

Registered Member #1321 Joined: Sat Feb 16 2008, 03:22AM
Location:
Posts: 843

Hello Harry,

Apparently it's not difficult to buy anywhere as long as you're willing to buy, say, 5000 ft or so. That way you can have it exactly as you want it, right from the manufacturer.

The difficulty arises when you want to buy only, say, 50, 100 or even 200 feet or so.

Thus, as with many other things, a low budget experimenter is generally restricted to buying only products available "off the shelf".

And being that most "off the shelf" items are intended for some specialized purpose, it seems you usually don't get a lot of choices.

For my purposes, I think I want just plain polypropylene film (apparently most of it is already "biaxially oriented", which is what capacitor manufacturers use); i.e., I don't think I want adhesive, antimicrobial, antistatic or other special coatings, etc. (Although corona treatment might be an advantage for PP that will be potted or immersed in oil).

Anyway, as of right now, I think my best "off the shelf" option is probably the polypropylene film used for "archival" purposes - hopefully it has no coatings and is highly pure "archival grade", and luckily, it seems to be available in various widths and lengths. But in the U.S., I can only find it in 2.5 mil thickness. I see it in AU and NZ in 4 mil thickness, but it's probably not worth the extra money for international shipping costs for the extra 1.5 mil of thickness.

HV Enthusiast

Mon Jun 22 2009, 05:00PM

Registered Member #15 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 01:11PM
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Posts: 3068

Just go to

Bored Chemist

Mon Jun 22 2009, 05:26PM

Registered Member #193 Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 07:04AM
Location: sheffield
Posts: 1022

Just go to McMaser, put the phrase "polyproylene film" into their search engine and come up with six different products.
All of which are black so they probably won't do the job.

Proud Mary

Mon Jun 22 2009, 08:40PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

The clear plastic film used by florists to wrap flowers is polypropylene. Here's one UK supplier of medium size rolls - 39m

I'd guess they use polyprop film for flower wrapping in the USA too.

jpsmith123

Mon Jun 22 2009, 09:20PM

Registered Member #1321 Joined: Sat Feb 16 2008, 03:22AM
Location:
Posts: 843

Yes, the same stuff is available here. The problem is it's only available in 1.0 and 1.2 mil thickness.

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