Plastic Tubing

About Plastic Tubing and Plastic Tubing Manufacturers Including: PVC Tubing, Plastic Tubes, Surgical Tubing, Nylon Tubing, Latex Tubing & Fiberglass Tubing.

Plastic tubing is a general term for tubing used to conduct fluids or gases. Numerous types of plastic compounds are available to plastic tubing manufacturers. When choosing the right type of plastic tubing for the application, it is imperative to consider the diameter (i.e. is it large enough to hold the required flow volume) and its ability to withstand the internal pressure. Other important performance considerations include minimum bend radius and temperature range. Sizes of tubes are designated by a dash system in which the numerator (top number of a fraction) is given in 16ths of an inch (e.g. 6 tubing has a 6/16-in. OD). Plastic tubes and PVC tubing may be colored or clear, flexible or rigid and thick or thin, all depending on the application.
 
Plastic tubing manufacturers provide supply for almost every area of life. Applications vary widely from beverage tubing to aerospace, from bird feeder tubing to medical or pharmaceutical, also, filtration, refrigerant, high viscosity, irrigation, oil or fuel, pneumatic or compressed air and even golf tubes. Available compounds vary almost as much as the applications. Common materials are as follows: nylon, polyethylene, polyurethane, urethane, latex, silicone, polyolefin, polypropylene (PP), PVC, CPVC, vinyl and many more. Plastic tubing manufacturers can make their products with various characteristics, including coiled, corrugated (or convoluted), anti-static, reinforced, spark resistant, explosion proof, multi-element and multi-layered.
 
Plastic tubes and PVC tubing used for industrial purposes are generally smaller and more flexible than hoses or pipes. Materials for flexible tubing include polyurethane, santoprene, flexible vinyl (FPVC), low density and linear density polyethylene (LDPE and LLDPE), flexible nylon 11 and nylon 12. Some applications require rigid tubing. In these situations, the following materials are commonly used: polycarbonate, rigid vinyl (RPVC), ABS, high impact polystyrene HIPS, butyrate, propionate and PETG. Semi-rigid materials include polypropylene and high density polyethylene (HDPE).
 
Although each type of plastic tubing has too many characteristics to provide exhaustive comparisons in this small space, some differences are as follows. Latex tubing has better elasticity, flexibility and gripping power than silicone, though silicone has a better deterioration rate. Nylon tubing is preferred for pneumatic lines and low-pressure lines and has good impact and abrasions resistance, but some types of nylon can be damaged by moisture. Polyethylene tubing can be used for liquids and gas lines at temperatures ranging from -60° to 160°F (-51° to 71°C). Polyurethane tubing provides resistance to chemicals but has low temperature flexibility, while polyolefin is highly flame retardant and has a wide temperature range. PVC tubing can also be used for pneumatic lines at pressures reaching 125 psi with continuous temperatures reaching 100°F/38°C.

Plastic Tubing and Plastic Tubing Manufacturers Image Provided by NewAge Industries Inc.

Plastic Tubing and Plastic Tubing Manufacturers Image Provided by Stone Industrial	Plastic Tubing and Plastic Tubing Manufacturers Image Provided by Genplex

Plastic Tubing and Plastic Tubing Manufacturers Image Provided by Polytec Plastics Inc.

Types of Plastic Tubing

• Cast acrylic tubing is a glassy thermoplastic that will not age, is not affected by sunlight, stays stable under the variable conditions of heat, cold, moisture, etc., will not warp, crack, craze or corrode, is half the weight of comparable glass and has good shatter resistance and durability.
  
• Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) tubing is similar to PVC tubing but handles corrosive water at temperatures above the limits of other vinyl plastics, has excellent chemical and fire resistance characteristics and high impact and tensile strength and is crush resistant and nontoxic.
  
• Fiberglass tubing has good abrasion resistance, exceptional cut-through characteristics and will not fray at the ends. It is widely utilized in applications where temperatures reach up to 265˜F/130˜C at which other kinds of tubing would knot, end or torque.
  
• Heat shrinkable tubing fits around an object and provides it with insulation and protection. Once heated the tubing shrinks and conforms to the object.
  
• Latex tubing returns to its original shape after stretching, remains flexible in sub-zero temperatures and has immense holding strength.
  
• Medical tubing is tubing used for medical purposes such as IV’s, catheters, coating on some surgical tools and more.
  
• Nylon tubing is strong and resists abrasion. This tubing is typically used for high temperature or high pressure needs.
  
• Plastic tubes are hollow cylinders used to transport fluids or gases.
  
• Polycarbonate tubing is excellent for harsh environmental applications, because it has high tensile strength, good chemical resistance, good optical clarity, high impact strength, good dimensional stability and rigidity and is self-extinguishing.
  
• Polyethylene (PE) tubing is unaffected by water and many chemicals because of its tough and waxy texture.
  
• Polycarbonate tubing is clear plastic tubing that has good optical clarity and strength. This tubing is sensitive to some chemicals and should not be used in high temperatures or humidity.
  
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing is corrosion resistant, flexible and flame retardant, does not shrink in heat and has excellent electrical and physical performance.
  
• Silicone tubing is a rubber-like thermoset material that is used in the medical field for applications such as medical devices, pharmaceutical processing, laboratory, veterinary, pharmaceutical drug delivery systems and cardio pacemaking leads, because it meets the industry’s requirements of cleanliness and non-toxicity. It is also resistant to extreme temperatures, generally exhibits inertness toward U.V. radiation and ozone and is not altered by effects of weather.
  
• Surgical tubing is plastic tubing that is used for IVs, catheters, and other medical purposes.
  
• Vinyl tubing is a clear, strong, lightweight and flexible tubing that has thousands of applications in the home, office, factory and classrooms, because it is chemically resistant to alkalis, alcohol, aliphate, hydrocarbons, oils and some acids, retains transparency, stands up to rough handling and is odorless, tasteless and nontoxic. It is used to transport liquids, gases and some solids.

Common Terms Related to Plastic Tubing

Crazing - Small cracks close to the surface of the plastic tubing.
 
Ductility - The amount of strain that plastic tubing can handle before breaking.
 
Expansion - The process in which the diameter of a plastic tubes is enlarged while its wall thickness is reduced. This process is often used to create heat shrinkable tubing.
 
Extrusion - A process in which a solid plastic resin is melted and pushed by a screw through a heating chamber.
 
Fish Eyes - A small mass in a transparent material, such as plastic used in plastic tubing, created by incomplete blending.
 
Flaring - A process in which mechanical pressure works to increase the diameter of plastic tubes from the inside.
 
Jacket - The outer part of a heat shrinkable tube's dual wall.
 
Latex - A solution also referred to as rubber that usually consists of water and polymer.
 
Liner - The inner part of a heat shrinkable tube's dual wall.
 
Polymerization - A process typically carried out by a catalyst in which a large number of simple molecules combine to form a more complex, chain-like compound (polymer).
 
Polystyrene - A flammable, transparent plastic that is an excellent electrical and thermal insulator because of its high strength and impact resistance.
 
Polyurethane - A general term for a broad class of thermoplastic polymers that have good resistance to solvents and abrasion and can be either solid or foam (cellular).
 
Pultrusion - A process that produces reinforced plastic shapes with constant cross sections by pulling the reinforcing fibers, wetted by a thermoset resin mix, through a heated steel die.
 
Shore Hardness - Scale used to measure the hardness of an object. Although there are different scales (plastic tubing uses the "A" scale), they are consistent in that the larger the number, the harder the object.
 
Strain Relief - A process in which plastic tubing is used as an outer cover for an object in order to reduce the stress that is being placed on the object by providing additional support and stiffness.
 
Stress Cracks - Small cracks, typically found in clusters, which occur in plastic tubing due to mechanical stress.
 
Thermoset - A material that remains hardened, even when reheated, due to its having undergone a chemical reaction.
 
VW 1 - A rating given to highly-flame retardant plastic tubing by the Underwriter's Laboratories (UL).