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Everything You Need to Know About Rubber Tubing
Rubber tubing is a hollow line that carries liquid or gases. Some of the industries that use rubber tubing include food, medical, HVAC, landscaping, and sanitation. The tubing is available in a variety of compositions, and each one has unique characteristics. Therefore, you must know some of the basics of this product.
Manufacturing
The first step in the manufacturing process is preparing the materials. If a company uses natural rubber, they will need to extract and treat it. This involves harvesting it from a Para tree. To harvest the materials, the tree is tapped, and a container is used to collect the latex.
After extraction, the natural latex is mixed with other materials. For instance, it may be heated and mixed with sulfur. This is a method used to make rubber stronger. Other substances may also be added to give the finished product unique characteristics.
If a company is choosing to make a synthetic mixture, it will skip these steps. Instead, they will mix their own materials to create synthetic rubber. Technical reports claim that if a manufacturer does not use natural rubber, they are likely using neoprene, silicone, vinyl, EPDM, or Viton.
After the materials are created, they go through the extrusion process. This is where the tubing is actually made. The uncured rubber is forced into molds to make the desired shape. Professionals in the industry, such as Patrick James Trico Group, will decide the design based on the products’ intended use during this phase. Using specific details, they can create special products with different properties, colors, and shapes. They can also include attachments so the tubes can be hooked to machines.
Once this is finished, the materials go through several other processes. These are known as finishing processes and turn the tubing into a finished product. They involve curing, coating, cutting, and labeling.
Materials
Obviously, you won’t come across things like crumb rubber when browsing the different tubing types, but you will see many other types of rubber. Latex rubber is one of the most common. This uses ingredients from the Para tree and is considered the natural form of rubber. It is very flexible and doesn’t react to most chemicals. This is often black and is used for conductive tubing, surgical tubing, and rubber hoses. However, it is a common allergen. That is why synthetic rubbers have become increasingly popular.
One of your most popular types of synthetic rubber that will be used for tubing is neoprene. This is hypoallergenic, buoyant, elastic, light, and chemical resistant. Therefore, it is popular for transporting chemicals and gases, as well as protecting wires.
You may also come across PVC or vinyl rubber tubing. It is popular because it is chemical, alkali, and acid resistant, as well as insulating. It can also be manufactured so that it is either flexible or rigid. These qualities make it popular for many activities, including food processing, brewing, draining, pool cleaning, wastewater management, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and insulating.
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Another common type is silicone tubing. This is popular in most industries because it is elastic, flexible, smooth, and heat and water-resistant.
If you need particularly strong tubing, you may also be interested in one made with ethylene propylene diene monomers. Better known as EPDM rubber, this tubing is robust. Therefore, it is prevalent in industrial and automotive applications.
You may also come across metal rubber tubing. It is made with rubber with metal ions in it to give the material flexibility while keeping it lightweight. This is a recent development and is popular because it is elastic, and chemical and weather resistant.
Finally, the last major material you may come across is Viton rubber. This is a relatively new development. It is prevalent in the aerospace industry because it can resist chemicals and conditions that other materials cannot.
Products
These numerous materials can be used to create a lot of different tubing products. For instance, companies making tubing for the medical industry will likely have to make microbore tubing. This is the tubing used for IV lines. It is strong and allows liquids to move through it easily. It must also be sterile, smooth, and chemical resistant. In fact, most tubing made for the medical industry must be sterile. The tubing is sterilized through chemical treating, gamma irradiation, or dry heat treatments.
Meanwhile, if a company manufactures tubing for the electronics industry, it will likely produce products such as conductive tubing. This tubing is conductive. It is designed to protect electronics by preventing the accumulation of static electricity. It may be made with natural or silicone rubber.
If you are looking to purchase rubber tubing, there are a lot of options you can choose from. Therefore, you need to make sure you get the products that are right for you. In other words, you are going to need a product that meets all of your specifications. Knowing what your options are can make this task a lot easier.
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