Use this tag for questions that use low friction tubes to transport filament.
PTFE is short for Polytetrafluoroethylene which is commonly known as Teflon (note that this is a specific brand name).
PTFE is a fluorocarbon solid, as it is a high-molecular-weight compound consisting wholly of carbon and fluorine. PTFE is hydrophobic: neither water nor water-containing substances wet PTFE, as fluorocarbons demonstrate mitigated London dispersion forces due to the high electronegativity of fluorine. PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any solid.
This low coefficient of friction makes it very very suitable to use as mantles for transporting filament from the spool to the extruder or from the extruder to the hotend as typically seen in Bowden style extruder systems.
