Mica 
Mica is the term used to classify a group of silicate minerals which are characterized by highly perfect basal cleavage. The word ‘Mica’ is believed to have originated from the Latin word for glitter because of its appearance. Some of the varieties of Mica include Phlogopite, Biotite, Zinnwaldite, Lepidolite and Clintonite etc.
One of the most common types of Mica is MUSCOVITE. This is the most widely occurring and available kinds of Mica in the world. It is silver or white in color and contains more potassium than other varieties of Mica. It is very widely used because of its particular mechanical properties. Muscovite Mica is the most common substrate for sample preparation for the atomic force microscope.
 PHLOGOPITE is another variety of Mica which is characterized by its darker color and higher proportion of magnesium. The specific properties of Phlogopite make it able to withstand very high temperatures.
Mica has been in use since prehistoric times and modern application makes it one of the most widely used specialized industrial materials for thermal, insulation and electric material requirements in manufacturing and other sectors.
Mica occurs in all kinds of rock formations and the large crystals of mica that are much sought after are usually mined from granitic pegmatites.
In the beginning of the 19th century large deposits of Mica were found in South America and Africa, which is when the mineral came to be more easily available and less costly. Till then, large crystals of mica were both rare and expensive. Scrap and flake mica is produced all over the world and more abundantly available. On the other hand Sheet mica is not as abundant.
Mica is widely used because of its typical/specific characteristics which make it easy to cleave into very thin flakes of constant thickness. Moreover Mica is very resistant to high temperatures. For instance Muscovite can withstand temperatures of up to 700° and Phlogopite can withstand temperatures of up to 1000° C! Mica conducts practically no heat. This means that not only can it act as a flame retardant, it is also flame resistant. This taken along with the fact that it has excellent dielectric strength (above 25 kV/mm), makes it ideal for many products, applications, and manufacturing processes.
 Because mica has a high degree of resistance of heat it is used for windows for stoves and heaters. It is also used to separate electrical conductors in cables that are designed to have a fire-resistance rating in order to provide circuit integrity. Since mica has exceptionally high heat resistance it is used to keep the metal conductors from fusing in order to prevent short-circuit so that the cables remain operational during a fire, which can be important for applications such as emergency lighting.
Another unique characteristic of Mica is its excellent compressive and tensile strength and also its quality of elasticity. Now that use of asbestos has been practically eradicated, Mica is an excellent alternative for it. It performs all the functions that asbestos was required to perform and has none of the health and other hazards associated with asbestos. Mica is also very tolerant to water & most chemical agents, making it a very durable material, most suitable for its many applications.
 Because of its high dielectric strength and chemical stability, Mica is used extensively in manufacturing household and industrial appliances such as hair dryers, tumble dryers, strip heaters and for any appliances that require a high resistance to thermal, mechanical and electrical properties. Common uses of Mica include manufacturing capacitors for radio frequency application and insulators in high voltage electrical equipment. It is also birefringent and is commonly used to make quarter and half wave plates.
| SW-Micanite Flex SW-MICANITE FLEX M & P sheets are designed for providing outstanding thermal and electrical insulation for various heating elements used in household and industrial appliances such as hair dryers, tumble dryers, strip heaters,… and for all other applications where excellent resistance to thermal, mechanical and electrical properties are required. | | SW-Micanite Rigid SW-MICANITE RIGID M & P sheets are specially developed for providing outstanding thermal and electrical insulation for various heating elements used in household and industrial appliances such as hair dryers, tumble dryers, strip heaters,… and for all other applications where excellent resistance to thermal, mechanical and electrical properties are required. | | SW-Therm SW-THERM M & P sheets are used for high-performance thermal and electrical insulation in a broad range of industries such as
• construction of induction, arc or high frequency furnaces
• high voltage applications
• high thermal applications
• industrial sealing & gasket industries (e.g. oil & gas distribution)
• heating elements for electrical & thermo mechanical equipment | | SW-Temp SW-TEMP has a flexible texture & elasticity, and an outstanding performance as high-thermal insulation. SW-TEMP resists operating temperatures up to 1000 °C.
Gaskets/seals made of SW-TEMP are used in a broad range of industries: automotive (exhaust manifolds); gas & oil; chemical & petrochemical; medical; fuel cells; gas turbines & turbo generators. It can also be used as filler for spiral wound gaskets or as a material for cam profile gaskets. | | SW-Commutator SW-COMMUTATOR M & P mica sheets are hard, dense mica plates used in segments, separators and spacers. They exhibit good electrical & thermal properties and mechanical strength.SW-COMMUTATOR M & P mica sheets can be sawed, sheared and punched into customized shapes. Its superior uniformity enables automatic feeding and stacking within high speed assembly operations. SW-COMMUTATOR M & P mica sheets are used within a wide range of small and medium size commutators for all kind of household applications, industrial equipments and power tools. | | SW-Foundry Micanite SW-FOUNDRY MICANITE is used as a slip plane, coil insulation for the coreless induction furnace, wrapping material for the crucible form, protective barrier during sintering of the lining material | | SW-Foil SW-FOIL R & SW-FOIL RF are used as a slip plane, coil insulation for the coreless induction furnace, wrapping material for the crucible form, protective barrier during sintering of the lining material. | | SW-Sinter Foil SW-SINTER FOIL is used as a slip plane, coil insulation for the coreless induction furnace, wrapping material for the crucible form, protective barrier during sintering of the lining material | | SW-Foil RF PGM SW-FOIL RF PGM is used as a slip plane or high electrical isolation of the coil in a coreless induction furnace, barrier against approaching metal fins, wrapping material for the crucible form, protective barrier during sinte-ring of the lining material. | | SW-Combi SW-COMBI is used as slip plane and coil insulation for the coreless induction furnace. | | SW-Combi 2000 SW-COMBI 2000 is used as slip plane and coil insulation for the coreless induction furnace. | | SW-CA AL Combi SW-CA AL COMBI is used as coil insulation for the coreless induction furnace. The additional layer of a special aluminum alloy has been proven to prevent zinc diffusion toward the coil in a low frequency induction furnace. | | SW-Mesh SW-MESH – a stainless and antimagnetic steel net sandwiched between 2 layers of Phlogopite mica to sense and report worn out lining, metal run out and early leakage of the molten metal through the refractory lining to an electronic control unit |
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