COIM FILCO waterborne film formers for glass, basalt, and carbon fiber sizing, plus composite and mat binders. Polyester, epoxy, epoxy-urethane, and polyurethane dispersion chemistries, matched to your matrix.
A fiber size is the coating applied to glass, basalt, or carbon filaments as they are drawn. The film former is the part of that size that forms a continuous film around the fiber. It does four jobs: it protects the filament during winding, weaving, and handling; it holds the strand together so it stays manageable; it keeps the fibers evenly distributed in the finished part; and it couples the fiber to the end-use resin so load transfers from the matrix into the reinforcement.
P.A.T. Products supplies COIM FILCO film formers and binders for North American composite and fiber manufacturing. COIM, an Italian manufacturer, makes the FILCO line as waterborne dispersions across several chemistries, plus powder binders for mat. We supply samples to qualify and back every grade with documentation.
FILCO film formers are made in several chemistries because the right film former depends on the fiber and the matrix it has to bond to. The line is waterborne, with low VOC, and it spans:
Waterborne polyurethane dispersion. Tough, flexible, well-adhering film formers, several formulated specifically for polyamide (nylon) and other engineering-thermoplastic matrices.
Epoxy and epoxy-urethane. Film formers for epoxy and thermoset matrices and for carbon fiber, where epoxy-modified urethane chemistry protects and couples the fiber.
Polyester. Film formers for unsaturated-polyester and vinyl-ester systems, plus polyester powder binders for mat.
Because the line is broad, we can match the chemistry to your fiber and your resin rather than force one film former across every job.
The single most important choice in a size is whether the film former is compatible with the matrix resin. Get it right and the interface transfers load and resists moisture and fatigue. Get it wrong and the part delaminates.
Epoxy and epoxy-urethane film formers pair with epoxy and many thermoset matrices and with carbon fiber. Polyester film formers pair with unsaturated-polyester and vinyl-ester systems. Polyurethane film formers are formulated for polyamide and engineering thermoplastics such as PBT, polycarbonate, and ABS. Tell us the fiber, the matrix, and the process, and we will point you to the film former that fits.
Film formers for chopped strand, roving, and continuous-filament glass, tuned to the matrix and to the handling the line needs.
Surface treatment for basalt reinforcement, where urethane chemistry pairs well with polyamide and other matrices.
Epoxy-modified urethane film formers that protect and couple carbon fiber for thermoset and thermoplastic composites.
Sizes selected for the matrix and the downstream process, from compounding to weaving to direct-draw roving.
Styrene-soluble powder binders for chopped-strand mat that dissolves into the resin, and insoluble binders for continuous-filament mat that holds its form.
Hold reinforcement in place and bond fiber to resin in SMC and BMC, pultrusion, filament winding, and lamination.
Sizing for glass-reinforced polyamide and other long-fiber and chopped-strand thermoplastic compounds used in structural and under-hood parts.
Waterborne binders that saturate and bond nonwoven webs for strength, drape, and durability.
Sized fiber feeds four end-markets growing quickly right now. If your program is in one of them, the film former is where performance starts.
Composite rebar. Glass and basalt fiber-reinforced rebar, made by pultrusion, is the largest glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer segment and is replacing steel where corrosion is the enemy, in bridges, marine, and coastal work.
Wind-turbine blades. Every longer blade consumes more sized glass roving and fabric, a high-volume, quality-critical use.
EV lightweighting. Battery-tray, underbody, and structural composites are pulling glass and carbon demand specifically in electric vehicles.
Glass-reinforced polyamide. Polyurethane film formers built for nylon matrices feed the reinforced thermoplastics in engine covers, mounts, and brackets.
Waterborne is the point. FILCO film formers are water-based with low VOC, which is the reason formulators move off solvent-based polyurethane, and they carry a milder safety and handling profile. APEO-free and NMP-free or NEP-free grades are available for restricted-substance requirements, and food-contact-compliant grades exist for packaging-adjacent composites. Tell us the specifications you have to meet and we will confirm a grade against them and supply the Technical Data Sheet, Safety Data Sheet, and the compliance documentation your customer asks for.
P.A.T. Products supplies FILCO film formers and binders to fiber producers and composite manufacturers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Samples are available to qualify a grade on your line, and we arrange shipments sized to your run.
Technical Data Sheets and Safety Data Sheets are available for every grade, and a Certificate of Analysis ships with each lot covering solids, pH, and the properties your process depends on. If you are qualifying a replacement for a film former you buy now, tell us the fiber, the matrix, the chemistry, and the process, and we can match it.
The film former is the part of a fiber size that forms a continuous film around the filaments. It protects the fiber during winding, weaving, and handling, holds the strand together so it stays manageable, ensures even fiber distribution in the part, and couples the fiber to the end-use resin so load transfers from the matrix into the reinforcement.
Match the film-former chemistry to the matrix. Epoxy and epoxy-urethane film formers pair with epoxy and many thermoset matrices and with carbon fiber. Polyester film formers pair with unsaturated-polyester and vinyl-ester systems. Polyurethane film formers are formulated for polyamide (nylon) and other engineering-thermoplastic matrices such as PBT, PC, and ABS. Tell us the fiber, the matrix, and the process, and we will recommend a grade and send a sample.
A waterborne polyurethane dispersion is polyurethane finely dispersed in water instead of dissolved in solvent. It dries into a tough, flexible, well-adhering film with very low VOC, which is why it is displacing solvent-based polyurethane in fiber sizing and binders under tightening emissions rules. As a film former it gives the flexibility and adhesion that protect filaments and couple them to the matrix, with a milder safety and handling profile than a solvent system.
Film formers are tuned to the process. Chopped-strand and roving sizes use waterborne film formers selected for the matrix and the handling the line needs. Chopped-strand mat and continuous-filament mat use binders, including styrene-soluble powder binders for mats that dissolve into the resin and insoluble binders for mats that hold their form. Tell us whether you run chopped strand, roving, or mat, and the downstream process, and we will match the product.
Low-VOC is the main reason formulators move to waterborne dispersions, and APEO-free and NMP-free or NEP-free grades are available and are an increasingly common requirement. Tell us the specifications you have to meet, including VOC limits and restricted-substance lists, and we will confirm a grade against them and supply the documentation. Food-contact-compliant grades exist for packaging-adjacent composites.
Yes. Samples are available to qualify a film former or binder, with Technical Data Sheets and Safety Data Sheets for every grade and a Certificate of Analysis per lot covering solids, pH, and the spec your process needs. If you are qualifying a replacement for a film former you run now, tell us the fiber, the matrix, the chemistry, and the process and we can match it.
