152C JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL
Later, the impregnation of paper, linen, cotton, nylon,
asbestos, and glass fiber with phenolic resin produced a wide
variety of high strength laminates, which were very useful
because of their ease of fabrication. Introduction of melamine
resins, followed by the recent silicone resins, produced
laminates with high arc resistance and low flammability.
These laminates have great strength, especially those with
glass fiber fillers. Development of the polyester resins made
possible low pressure laminates, which can be produced in
intricate shapes with very low mold pressure.
Wax is a good electrical insulating material, but for a long
time its low mechanical strength and flexibility confined its
use to impregnation of electrical insulation. Attempts to
improve its properties led to the production of the vinyl
compounds: vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, and vinylidene
chloride. The discovery of a method for polymerizing ethylene
gave another compound for extrusion on wire in the same
manner as some vinyl type compounds. For greater heat
resistance, fluorine was substituted for hydrogen in ethylene,
resulting in tetrafluorethylene, commercially known as
"Teflon." These compounds failed to produce the properties
desired for magnet wire insulation. Modification of polyvinyl
acetate produced polyvinyl formal, which has good abrasion
resistance and fihn strength. This compound is extremely
useful for magnet wire insulation.
A whole host of rubber substitutes, neoprene, the Buna N
and Buna S compounds, butyl and thiokol rubber, and the
silicone rubbers, have been developed as a result of the
Vinyl Insulation
J. R. Bukey*
In 1928, the vinyl resins began to appear on the market.
Their versatility has resulted in a steady increase in pro-
duction to reach an estimated 400 million pounds in 1951. Of
this 400 million pounds of resin produced, a substantial
quantity is being processed into vinyl insulation as extruded
wire covering or calendered fihn for pressure sensitive or
harness wrapping tapes.
Vinyl derivatives are basically those produced by the substi-
tution of one of the hydrogens in ethylene by some other
group. Thus, the vinyl radical is CH2 = C H - . When a
chlorine group replaces the hydrogen, the basic compound
becomes vinyl chloride; analogously, the compound con-
taining an acetyl group is vinyl acetate. When either of these
basic compounds are polymerized alone or in combinations,
the resulting resinous material is polyviny] chloride, poly-
vinyl acetate, or a copolymer of polyvinyl chloride and
acetate. There are numerous other substitutions and combina-
tions possible, but for purposes of simplicity only, the poly-
vinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride acetate copolymer will
be considered.
A short time after the vinyl resins appeared on the market,
the insulation chemist found that the hard horny thermo-
plastic polyvinyl resins had good electrical properties, but,
as is so often the case, their physical and chemical properties
would not permit their application without modification.
This modification required that the resin be compounded
with plasticizers, stabilizers, and fillers to give the desired
physical and chemical properties to permit processing. In
* Firestone Plastics Company, Pot(stown, Pem~sylvania.
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SOCIETY July 1952
limited supply of raw rubber. Each of these compounds has
some useful and outstanding property which the electrical
industry has used. Many miles of wire are covered by ex-
trusion of rubber coats for protective coverings.
Attempts to improve amber led to the discovery of poly-
styrene, a material characterized by its exceptional dielectric
properties, low water absorption, good dimensional stability,
and high optic'd clarity. However, a heat distortion tempera-
ture of 82~ and low impact strength have limited its use-
fulness in many electrical applications. The introduction of
chlorine into the polystrene molecule forms a product known
as "polydichlorostyrene," a compound of low flammability.
Another important class of organic insulator materials
includes the natural fibers, cotton and silk. To improve their
properties, the chemist has produced many synthetic fibers;
among them are the rayons, acetates, nylon, saran, orlon,
and dacron, each of which has outstanding advantages for the
electrical industry.
The advent of electronic equipment and higher operating
temperatures has called for a group of resins to improve the
properties of the tars, pitches, and waxes. This group of
resins, called "casting resins" or "potting compounds," in-
cludes the polyesters, the epoxy compounds, and the poly-
urethanes, each of which has electrical uses.
This article does not mention all of the plastic compounds
available, nor many of the remarkable accomplishments in
this new field which promise valuable developments in the
future.
compounding polyvinyl chloride and copolymers of polyviny
chloride acetate, a careful choice of plasticizers, stabilizers
and fillers must be made in order that electrical properties
are maintained. The plasticizers used are combinations of
high boiling organic and inorganic esters chosen for their
electrical stability and permanence in the compound. Since
the compound will be subjected to high temperatures during
processing and application, the resin must be stabilized
against heat decomposition. This occurs when hydrogen
chloride splits off the resin molecule. To stabilize the com-
pound, it is necessary to add a hydrogen chloride acceptor
which is chemically stable after having reacted with hydrogen
chloride. Fine particle size inert fillers, usually clays, are
added to the compound to give toughness, lower pound cost,
and as a processing aid. The filler is chosen which adds the
most to the compound with a minimum of degradation in
electrical properties.
Vinyl insulation is presented to the trade in two general
forms, that applied to wire by an extrusion process, or in
tape form for use as pressure sensitive tape or harness
wrapping tape. Some polyvinyl paste resins have been applied
as potting compounds, but this usage has been small. The
Underwriters' Laboratories have approved vinyl insulated
wire for 60~ types T and TW, and oil resistant, 80~ types
T and TW, radio hookup wire and oil resistant at 60~ and
90~ and 105~ for radio hookup wire applications.
The first step in the preparation of compound for extrusion
or calendering consists of loading the material components in
a ribbon blender or double-arm mixer. These components
inclulle resin, plasticizer, stabilizer, filler, color, and lubricant,
 Vol. 99, No. 7 FIFTY YEARS OF ELECTRIC
After a mixing cycle, the blended material is emptied from
the mixer into a standard material drum which is conveyed to
the loading platform of a banbury mixer, or an extrusion
compounder. In either case, the pre-blend is fluxed into a
plastic mass and thoroughly mixed to assure complete dis-
persion of the dry ingredients and complete solvation of the
plasticizers. If a banbury has been used, the fused plastic
mass is dropped onto a heated two-roll plastic mill. The
plastic is stripped fi'om the mill in the form of a ribbon and
fed to a dice cubing device which cuts the ribbon into ~ in.
cubical pellets. The compounder-extruder is equipped with a
multihole rod (lie and hence produces rods ~ in. in diameter.
The rods after cooling are fed to a high speed pelletizer where
they are chopped into approximately 81in. lengths.
The prepared pellets of either type are fed to a crosshead
extruder designed for the application of vinyl compound to
wire. The extrudes' may be electrically or steam heated and
Developments in the Mica Industry
Moses D. Heyman*
Manufacturers of mica insulation are divided into two
classifications, namely, block mica processors and built-up
mica fabricators.
So dissimilar are these two branches of the industry that a
firm engaging in one does not engage in the other, or if they
do, the departments are kept separate.
Block Mica
Processing block mica involves splitting, cutting, or stamp-
ing pieces fl'om a solid sheet or block of natural mica. There
are in the United States approximately twelve concerns
engaged exclusively in this business, some employing several
hundred people. One concern manufacturing radio tube sup-
ports uses over 100 power presses in its daily production.
Up to the last quarter of the 19th century, block mica in
this country and abroad was used mainly as stove windows.
Following the invention of the phonograph and until 1922,
the diaphragm and stove were its two most important uses
in nonelectrical fields.
The employment of block mica in the electrical industry
has resulted in a thriving business. When Edison produced
his d-e motors and generators, he used Canadian phlogopite
mica to separate the commutator segments, the pieces being
hand cut from large sheets of block mica. Prior to 1920,
condensers were made in fairly large sizes for wireless ap-
paratus, and most of the good quality mica, aside from
diaphragms, was used in the manufacture of condensers for
magnetos. There are several concerns in the United States
today normally using 100,000 lb or snore of condenser split-
tings annually.
The electron tube was a great boon to the mica industry
because it enabled the smaller sizes to be utilized. Radio tube
supports arc sometimes only } in. in diameter, which enables
nearly all sizes to be used.
About 300,000 lb of mica are used nlonthly for this purpose.
Aside from condensers, most of the electrical mica consists
of stained or partly stained material. Nearly all of this in
size a 6 is used for radio tube supports or washers. It is
* Integrated Mica Corporation, 202 Franklin Place, Wood-
mere, New York.
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INSULATION 153C
have a delivery rate of 100 to 400 pounds of plastic stock per
hour.
In the calendering operation, the pelletizing step is omitted
and the strip fl'om the two-roll plastic mill is fed to a four-
roll plastic calender which forms the plastic mass into a
sheet. Calendered sheets may range from .()[33 in. to .020 in.
in thickness, and fl'om 54 in. to 72 in. in width. This sheeting
is wound into jumbo rolls preparatory to the apl)lication of
a pressure sensitive adhesive and slitting to desired widths.
Several large manufacturers of insulated wire are now using
dry powder blends in their extrusion process, thus elimi-
nating the compounding and pelletizing steps.
Vinyl insulation is rapidly growing into one of the major
consumers of vinyl resin and will be of greater importance
in the insulation field as soon as use in heavier wire applica-
tions is approved.
uneconomical to use a piece of mica that is smaller than one
from which a ~-in. disk can be cut.
Inasmuch as the percentage of mica over four square
inches is less than five per cent of an average mine's pro-
duction, it does not pay North Carolina and New Hampshire
producers to operate a mica mining industry for such sizes
only. Much of the production is mined by farmers in their
spare time. Although there were many sporadic attempts to
operate mica mines as a separate business, only a few of
these were successful. The result is that recourse is made
mainly to india, which has both of the indispensable qualifi-
cations for a mica industry, i.e., a substantial supply of the
raw material, and a large amount of cheap labor.
The last fifty years has seen a faMy steady rise in the cost
of all products. The price of mica up to the last seven ye'~rs,
however, has remained fairly constant. This was made
possible by the following factors:
1. A large amount of small mica could be utilized as
punehings for small parts.
2. The growth of the electrical industry made it possible
for many of the smaller sizes and cheaper qualities to be
sold at a profit.
3. The development of the spiittings industry in India
made possible built-up mica plate.
4. The extensive use of mica powder enabled a better
price to be paid for scrap that previously could not be shipped
profitably.
In 1938 the Army and Navy Munitions Board classified
certain raw materials as "strategic." Mica was the only
nonmetallic mineral that was given this designation. During
World War II, the situation became extremely critical and
even dangerous, so much so that the mica business was
taken completely under the control of the Government, and
a group of planes shuttled mica steadily from India to this
count13".
Further efforts were made to develop the mica mining
industry in America; in fact, a.t one time a flat lu'ice of $6
per lb was paid t)3" the Governnmnt purchasing agency for
mica that previously could have been obtained for 30 cents,
but even this failed to bring in a sufficient supl)ly of material.
A research program started with Government funds showed