Frank M. Chapman
DuPont Chemical Company
Inducted 1988
Frank M. Chapman (1931 – ) is recognized as a pioneer in the fluoropolymer industry and developing fluoropolymer technologies and applications for the aerospace, chemical, and pulp and paper industries. He was born and raised in a small town in Vermont and graduated from the University of Vermont in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry.
Following graduation, he joined the DuPont Company in Wilmington, DE, and his first assignment was working with the newly invented material polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon®). He left DuPont in 1961 to become general manager of the Plastics Department of Parco Corporation in Los Angeles, followed by an assignment with the Mather Company in Michigan.
Chapman was one of the founders of Fluorodynamics Inc. and Chapman Industries Inc., both subsequently sold to Corborundum. In 1980, he formed Chapman Associates, a consulting firm.
Some of Chapman’s major achievements are as follows:
1957 – Developed automated molding techniques and defined the shrinkage characteristics for molding polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon®).
1958 – Studied and reported on the frictional properties of polytetrafluoroethylene-based resins and their reinforcement with inorganic additives.
1959 – Initiated the most comprehensive study on the physical properties of polytetrafluoroethylene, a work that is still a standard text today.
1960 – Developed an isostatic molding process and made the first missile nose cones of polytetrafluoroethylene.
1964 – Engineered the first sealer to make continuous seals of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) as strong as the base film. This led to the development of the process to manufacture and install the first FEP heat shrinkable roll cover on a paper mill dryer.
1965 – Pioneered techniques and successfully lined chemical processing vessels with fluoropolymers.
1967 – Made the first glass-backed melt processable fluoropolymer sheet and linings.
1981 – Pioneered in developing and applying wet-sprayed ultra-thick polytetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) coatings.
1988 – Founded Fluoron Inc. with his son Randall Frank Chapman.
Chapman is the inventor or co-inventor of ten U.S. and foreign patents. In 1979, he was elected chairman of the Fluoropolymer Division of the Society of the Plastics Industry (now PLASTICS).
Areas of Expertise:
Plastic processing, Plastic materials