Rigid Plastic Tubing
Tubing is a non-reinforced, extruded cylinder of any size. Rigid plastic tubing is a type of tubing extruded from plastics that can be used in applications where tubing needs to be stiff and unbendable. Frequently, said tubing must comply with FDA, NSF, or UL requirements. Industries where rigid plastic tubing is often employed include medical, plumbing, mining, gas transmission, and beverage.
Quick links to Rigid Plastic Tubing Information
Materials in Rigid Plastic Tubing
Materials from which rigid plastic tubing is made include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), cellulose acetate butyrate (CABS), polyvinyl deneflo (PVDF), PET polyester, polypropylene, HO, polypropylene, CO, polyvinyl, polystyrene crystal, acrylic, and polyvinyl chloride rigid. Some of these materials are thermoplastics. A thermoplastic is a plastic material (polymer) that becomes moldable or pliable above a specific temperature and then solidifies upon cooling. This means the plastic can be melted and remolded into a new shape without harm to its molecular structure. This aids in the shaping of rigid plastic tubing, which generally can be extruded into round, oval, triangular, rectangular, square, or custom shapes.
Applications of Rigid Plastic Tubing
Tubing can be designed with other custom specifications as well, such as sizing, coloring, and thickness. Tubing can take on a wide array of solid colors and be made multi-colored, translucent or clear. Each coloring choice has its own advantage. For example, clear tubing is important for fluid handling operations in which the flow must be monitored. Solid color tubes can be usefully employed in applications involving multiple tubes that need different colors to help distinguish them as separate flow lines or cables. Translucent tubing provides partial light passage. This allows fluid to be monitored but still partially concealed from the outside world, which may be important in its regulation. Finally, multi-colored tubing is useful for decoration or indication applications. It may have a high gloss or matte finish, and it can comply with a wide range of wall thickness requests. Rigid plastic tubing can be drilled, cut, machined, stamped, bent, and bonded to other tubes. Rigid plastic tubing applications include beverage tubing, cores, dip tubes, feeder tubes, filtration tubes, irrigation tubes, medical tubes, packaging tubes, sample tubes, shipping tubes, and rigid plastic for structural applications.