When it comes to choosing plastic tubing for any fabrication project, it's important that you consider your selection carefully. For those new to buying plastic tubing, sometimes it's difficult to know exactly what you need or what you should get. Here are a few things that you should consider to help you choose the plastic tubing that's best for your fabrication needs.

Pressure Rating

All plastic tubing is rated based on the amount of pressure that the tube can withstand. You'll need to consider the amount of pressure that you need within the system when you're choosing plastic tubing to ensure that your tubing selection can withstand the pressure within your system.

After all, installing tubing that's rated lower than you need for pressure tolerance can leave you with cracked tubing due to too much pressure being applied against the internal walls.

Vacuum Tolerance

Another important consideration is the vacuum tolerance of the tubing in question. If your system depends on a specific vacuum within the lines, you need to be sure that your tubing can withstand it. Otherwise, you may find that an excessive vacuum in the system collapses tubing that's not rated accordingly. 

Take time to talk with your machine specialist to find out about the vacuum demand within the system lines. That way, you can be sure that you are picking up plastic tubing that's adequately rated to maintain the system vacuum without an internal collapse.

Acceptable Temperature

If the system where the tubing is placed operates at particularly high or low temperatures, you need to be sure that the plastic construction of the tubing can withstand the temperature range in question without melting or freezing.

Make sure that you check with the tubing manufacturer about the temperature range tolerance for any plastic tubing before you install it in your system. That way, you can be sure that you don't damage the tubing.

Flexibility

You also need to think about the route that the tubing must run and how much flexibility it requires. This is often determined by the wall thickness and the stiffness of the tubing. You need to be sure of how far the tubing can bend without threatening the integrity of the tubing's operation. That way, you don't risk clogging the flow due to a sharp bend that the tubing can't tolerate or cracking the walls of the tube because it's not strong enough to withstand the bend.

Talk with your custom plastic tubing supplier today for more information and to get the help that you need to choose the tubing that's best for your application, or go to websites that contain information on plastic tubing.

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