FILCO epoxy film formers for filament winding
Epoxy dispersions with a soft self-lubricating film for filament winding. Four grades at 230 to 270 g/eq, including a high solids and a high performance option.
Epoxy dispersions with a soft self-lubricating film for filament winding. Four grades at 230 to 270 g/eq, including a high solids and a high performance option.
Filament winding drags fiber over pins, eyelets and rollers under tension, continuously, for the length of a part. Abrasion at every guide is what limits how fast the machine can run and how much fuzz ends up in the resin bath. COIM answers that with a self-lubricating film.
The family is epoxy resin in non-ionic water dispersion, and COIM specifies three properties: a soft self-lubricating film, easy processability, and quick solubility in thermosets. Self-lubricating is the property that separates this family from the direct roving epoxies, which are otherwise close in chemistry.
Four grades are published. FILCO 309 is the all-purpose grade at 54 percent solids and 270 g/eq. FILCO 348 carries the self-lubricating effect explicitly, and 348HP is the same chemistry at 63 percent solids. FILCO 349 is the high performance filament winding grade, at 61 percent solids and the lowest EEW in the family at 230 g/eq.
Tg values run minus 4 to 10 degrees F, so the film stays soft in every grade. A hard film on a winding line is a fuzz generator.
It is also written as filament winding sizing, epoxy film former, self-lubricating sizing, and glass fiber sizing film former.
| Property | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | Epoxy resins in non-ionic water dispersion |
| Carrier | Water based, non ionic |
| Epoxy equivalent weight | 230 to 270 g/eq depending on grade |
| Solids content | 50 to 63 percent depending on grade |
| Average particle size | 300 to 500 nm depending on grade |
| Tg range | Minus 4 to 10 degrees F |
| Film character | Soft and self-lubricating, quickly soluble in thermosets |
| Published grades | 4 |
| Matrix | Thermoset |
Typical values from the manufacturer's technical data sheet. They describe the product, they are not a specification. We will send the current TDS and the batch documentation your qualification needs.
Tell us the binder system, the property you are targeting, and the volume you expect. We will confirm the grade, send the documentation, and ship a sample from North American stock.
| Grade | Solids | Av. particle size | EEW | Tg | Main features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FILCO 309 | 54 percent | 500 nm | 270 g/eq | 5 degrees F | All-purpose |
| FILCO 348 | 50 percent | 300 nm | 270 g/eq | 10 degrees F | Self-lubricating effect |
| FILCO 348HP | 63 percent | 300 nm | 270 g/eq | 10 degrees F | Higher solids content |
| FILCO 349 | 61 percent | 500 nm | 230 g/eq | Minus 4 degrees F | High performance filament winding |
Values are the manufacturer's published typical figures. Ask for the current technical data sheet on any grade and we will send it with the matching safety data sheet.
CNG and hydrogen tanks, where the wind pattern and the fiber condition decide burst performance.
Filament wound GRP pipe and storage tanks, run continuously for long parts.
FILCO 348 and 348HP, where the self-lubricating film is what keeps abrasion down at the guides.
FILCO 349, the lowest EEW in the family at 230 g/eq.
It is specified where the formulation needs self-lubricating film that reduces abrasion at guides and eyelets, quick solubility in thermosets for fast wet-out in the resin bath, a high solids option at 63 percent in FILCO 348HP, and a high performance grade in FILCO 349.
Applied at the forming line in a sizing bath alongside the coupling agent and lubricant. On a winding line the sizing and the guide hardware have to be solved together, because a change to either shows up as fuzz.
If a line is generating fuzz on an all-purpose grade, move to FILCO 348.
FILCO 348HP is the same chemistry as 348 at higher solids. It is a throughput change rather than a performance change.
Package sizes: Made to order in the pack size the line needs. Tell us the volume and we will confirm..
Storage: Store in the original sealed container, protected from frost and from direct sun. Freezing destroys a water based dispersion permanently. Confirm the shelf life on the current data sheet for your grade.
Read the safety data sheet before handling. We supply the current SDS with every grade.
The film reduces friction between the strand and the hardware it runs over. Winding drags fiber across pins, eyelets and rollers under tension for the whole length of a part, and abrasion there produces fuzz that ends up in the resin bath. COIM names the effect explicitly on FILCO 348 and 348HP.
FILCO 309 is the all-purpose grade. Move to 348 if abrasion or fuzz is the problem, to 348HP if the line needs higher solids, and to 349 for high performance winding. Tell us the part, the resin system and the line speed and we will take it to COIM's technical group.
Chemistry is close, and both are non-ionic epoxy dispersions. The difference is the film. Filament winding grades run 230 to 270 g/eq with a self-lubricating film for abrasion resistance; the direct roving grades sit at 200 g/eq and are built for the fastest possible impregnation.
Filament wound pressure vessels are the classic application for this family. The qualification is done on the finished vessel rather than on the sizing alone, so tell us the standard you are building to and we will get COIM's technical input before you trial.
Yes. Tell us the process, the matrix resin and the fiber and we will send the current technical data sheet with the matching safety data sheet, and arrange sample material.
Yes. We send the Technical Data Sheet (TDS) and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) on request, in the manufacturer's current revision. Use Request TDS or SDS above and tell us what your qualification review needs.
The low EEW epoxies at 200 g/eq, built for the fastest impregnation.
Where the service temperature is the specification.
Where flexibility through the loom is the specification.
What a film former does in a sizing, and how the chemistries divide.
The selection logic, worked through on the carbon side.