A tube or tubing can serve you multiple purposes from fluid transportation to sheathing electrical wires/cables or for structural applications. It is a cylindrical-shaped hollow structure with a round, square, or rectangular cross-section. A tube may be flexible or rigid depending upon the material used in making the tube.
Let’s look at some of the commonly available tubes, based on its construction material:
- Plastic Tubes: Plastic tubing is made up of plastic compounds such as Polyethylene(PE), Polypropylene, Polyurethane, PVC, Vinyl, or Nylon. These are lighter in weight and commonly used in structural systems, transporting fluids, and insulation due to low cost and easy availability.
- Metal Tubes: Metallic tubes are generally made up of metals such as aluminum, copper, steel, or brass, etc. Due to its stronger and robust nature, it is a suitable choice for specific industrial use such as high-pressure passage for liquids and gas. Depending upon the material, the tubes may be lighter or heavier with different conductivity, durability, and strength features.
- Rubber Tubes: Rubber tubes, made up of synthetic or natural rubber, are highly flexible and resilient tubes. Also, good thermal stability and high elasticity make them a perfect choice for vacuum-based applications. They are also useful for applications related to hydraulic, pneumatic, and medical purposes.
Rubber Tubing and Its Types:
Rubber tubing is put to versatile uses owing to its flexibility, durability, strength, and capacity to bear extreme temperatures. Various kind of synthetic and natural elastomers and composites are generally used to make these tubes. Let’s look at some of the major benefits of rubber tubes:
Benefits of Rubber-Tubing:
- Offers high tensile strength
- Flexible with a capacity to bear electrical discharge
- Available in multiple color options
- Doesn’t require special bending
- Can absorb shock and vibration
Choosing the right tubing can help you enhance your product standard and design. Though metal tubes also have good strength and resistance capacity, they are less flexible and costlier than rubber tubes. Also, metal tubes are susceptible to rust or corrosion issues over time.
Below are the different types of rubber tubing that are commonly used for industrial purposes:
- Silicone Tubes: Silicone is a synthetic rubber that is available in a wide variety of formulations and different durometers. These tubes are highly flexible, durable, water-resistant with great tolerance to extreme temperatures (high and low) and some commonly used chemicals. Tubing made from silicone rubber are chemically inert, odorless and tasteless.
Application: Silicone tubes are mainly used in medical, pharmaceutical and scientific equipment such as peristaltic pump, fluid and plasma transfer, continuous positive airway pressure machine and sleep apnea machine etc… Also, silicone tubing is extensively used in dairy and brewery application, kitchen appliances such as coffee machines or refrigerators and other food & beverage related application.
- Neoprene Tubes: These tubes are durable and strong elastomer that is resistant to flame and abrasion and maintains its flexibility at low temperatures. Also, it stays tolerant to commonly used petroleum derivatives. Neoprene performs poorly where electrical properties are essential so not recommended for electoral applications.
Application: Neoprene tubes are useful in applications which requires moderate resistance to chemicals, acids, oils, grease and solvent. It offers excellent resistance to sunlight, ozone, or weather so popularly used for outdoor application. Neoprene tubing are also used in buses, railways, and other transportation vehicles etc.
- EPDM Tubes: EPDM tubes are synthetic rubber tubes that are resistant to weathering, heat, ozone, and common chemicals used in industries such as solvents and easter-based fluids, acids and weak alkalis. Also, they exhibit excellent resistance to flame and good flexibility at low temperatures. EPDM performs poorly in petroleum environment which makes it unsuitable for fuel and oil transfer application.
Application: EPDM tubing offers flexibility, durability and excellent resistance to ozone & UV light. It is widely used in automotive heating and cooling systems, mobile devices, and other industrial and commercial applications which requires heat & ozone resistance, good strength with flexibility.
Select the Right Rubber Tubing:
Looking at the various features of rubber tubing, it can be deployed in various industries for multiple uses. While selecting the right rubber tube, you must consider important performance specifications such as rated pressure, temperature range, maximum vacuum, and minimum bend radius. Also, you must check the important dimensions at the time of purchase, such as inside and outside diameter, wall thickness, etc.
Accurate Rubber Corporation for all your customer rubber parts requirements:
Accurate Rubber Corporation is ISO 9001:2015 certified a leading manufacturer and supplier of custom rubber and silicone parts. The major products include silicone rubber tubing, platinum cured silicone tubing, silicone rubber strips, extruded silicone gasket, silicone rubber cord, molded rubber parts, food-grade gasket, and rubber seal, die-cut gasket and seals, etc. to meet all your rubber component requirements. Also, we provide secondary fabrication services and relevant value-added services to our customers.