Clear Flexible PVC
Industry Uses, Properties, and Common Questions
Clear flexible PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is a transparent, versatile, and durable material renowned for its unique properties.
It boasts unmatched transparency and flexibility, along with impressive chemical resistance. From the construction to the healthcare sector and applications from signage to car interiors, countless industries are turning to PVC to revolutionise their manufacturing processes and products.
Read on for all you need to know about clear flexible PVC, its broad array of uses, and how you can begin using it to enhance your business today.
What is clear flexible PVC?
strength, high flexibility, electrical insulation, and resistance to outdoor weather and chemicals.
Flexible PVC’s unique production method — the polymerization of vinyl chloride monomers — gives the material a remarkable set of characteristics that mean it can be used in many different ways and settings.
It typically comes in rolls or sheets of different thicknesses. It is possible to sew it for industrial textile usage, or weld it using high frequency, ultrasonic, electric impulse, and hot air. Many industries choose to work with flexible PVC for its versatility and relatively low industry costs.
What is flexible PVC used for?
The uses of transparent flexible PVC are extremely wide-reaching.
It is particularly well suited for textile structures like tents, pergolas, and marquees, as well as storage covers, vertical awnings, and camping, glamping, weather-proof domes, and canopies. Its transparency makes it ideal for flexible windows and covers to allow in the light while protecting from UV rays.
Other uses include signage and visual displays, strip curtains, hoses and tubing, transparent packaging materials for consumer goods and food, wire and cable insulation and jacketing, inflatable products, gaskets, stationery and office supplies, pool liners, grow tunnels, and car interiors.
What are the properties of flexible clear PVC?
The characteristics of flexible clear PVC make it extremely attractive for multiple industries and applications.
Durability and resistance
Resistant to wear, tear, and impact, clear flexible PVC is hard-wearing and long-lasting. It can be used in many environments, especially outdoors due to its water resistance and protection from UV rays. It is also fire retardant, its non-flammability allowing it to self-extinguish fires and flames. It is also resistant and non-reactive to chemicals allowing it to withstand the rigours of demanding industrial settings.
High transparency:
Clear PVC has high transparency akin to that of glass. This allows light to easily pass through and makes it an ideal choice for uses where visibility is essential.
Adaptability, flexibility, and malleability:
The extreme flexibility and pliability of PVC allow it to bend and fold effortlessly without breaking. This makes it exceptionally adaptable to different requirements, for example, custom-fit covers or flexible tubing. Its ability to flex to fit contours also allows for easier installations without compromising structural integrity.
Affordable - Good benefit-cost ratio:
Compared to other transparent materials like polycarbonate or acrylic, clear flexible PVC is a cost-effective option without compromising on performance or functionality. With relatively low production costs, it can be a budget-friendly solution for businesses, particularly for projects with tight budgets or high-volume requirements.
Electrical insulating material:
Clear flexible PVC is electrically insulating, serving as a protective shield against electrical shocks and short circuits. It can therefore be highly valuable for electrical and electronic applications, especially regarding the safety of both equipment and personnel.
PVC industry uses
PVC’s multiple industrial applications make it extremely valuable for use across a variety of sectors.
Hospitality sector:
Construction industry - textile architecture:
With high durability and transparency, clear PVC can be used for flexible roofing membranes, curtain walls, and transparent windows, providing weather resistance and enhancing natural light transmission in buildings. Premium PVC offers superior quality, strength, and transparency, or choose wide panel PVC for roofing structures.
Medical and healthcare industry:
Useful for manufacture of medical tubing, IV bags, blood bags, and other medical devices due to its biocompatibility and transparency.
Agricultural sector:
PVC is instrumental in agriculture, serving in greenhouses, tunnels, and protective covers for crops, extending growing seasons and safeguarding plants from adverse weather conditions. Low shrinkage PVC is especially resistant to changes in temperature, and polyester net laminated PVC is high resistance and ideal for agricultural uses.
Marine and contract industry:
The marine industry benefits from PVC with applications like inflatable boats, life rafts, and various flotation devices, window panels, covers, flexible windows, buoyancy aids, and safety equipment. Press polished PVC is especially good for windows. For biminis and other marine applications, try marine quality PVC with glass-like clarity and anti-smudge properties.
Marketing and retail sector:
Some common uses of clear flexible PVC in retail include visual displays for products, point-of-sale materials like banners and transparent signage, transparent packaging, display pockets, or in-store dividers. High transparency PVC is ideal for displays.
Automotive industry:
PVC is widely used in the automotive industry. It is suitable for car interiors like soft panels, covers, armrest and seat covers, door panel inserts, interior trim, and more.
Frequently asked questions
PVC, or Polyvinyl Chloride, is typically available in both flexible and rigid versions. Different types of PVC plastic range in flexibility. Flexible PVC is highly flexible due to the addition of more plasticizers which give it a soft, pliable texture and rubbery finish.
Depending on where and how it is used, flexible PVC can last from 25 to 100 years.
Simply, it is just called flexible PVC and is exactly as it sounds. Flexible PVC is soft, pliable and bendable while being extremely durable and weather-resistant.
Yes, clear flexible PVC is UV resistant making it ideal for outdoor use. As PVC is also waterproof, flame retardant, and extra strong it is very durable and resistant to outdoor elements.
Your high-quality, affordable clear flexible PVC solution
If you are looking for a hardwearing, transparent and flexible solution, discover the Clearfol flexible clear PVC options available with Expafol. Expafol is Europe’s go-to brand in the market of PVC for sun protection and textile architecture.
The Clearfol range offers a plethora of cost-effective options, tailored to meet your specific needs across various industries. Whether you’re in construction, hospitality, boating, retail, or the automotive industry, Clearfol’s versatile and transparent flexible PVC solutions guarantee exceptional quality and cost-effective offers. Expafol also adheres to strict environmental standards with all its PVC materials being free of phthalates.
For further guidance or more information on the quality PVC options available, contact our experts at Expafol, who will be happy to help you get started.
DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR TECHNICAL TEXTILES?
CONTACT US
