When Boss display contacted us to make a colored-tubing exhibit we were hesitant to take the order. The display consists of four large bends with clockwise and counterclockwise rotations with evolving radii and angles. But, these tubes would be twenty-two feet in...
Problems and Solutions
Building a Flow Loop with Clear Rigid Plastic Tubing and NPT Threads We were recently contacted by a Ph.D. student working on a multi-phase flow problem. The application called for a clear rigid tubing flow loop that would maintain a circular shape under pressure with...
As we have been developing a Stratus tubing line we had a challenge brought before us this week. Our customer wanted to see if we could make a tight-radius 2" OD tube that could be sectioned together to form a circular helix. The challenge here is the length of tubing...
It happens a lot; don't feel bad. You may not know the exact angle, nor the radius of the bend; you just know that you need the exact replacement fast. This blog will explore several ways to identify your bend, but we start out with the most painless way devised by...
We now have an option for a hard-baked static dissipative coating for our transparent tubing. Most plastics do not give up their electrons easily; they are insulators. And since they are insulators, they are poor conductors of electricity. Thus, electrical charges can...
Is butyrate an antistat? We get this question often, and the answer is 'at times' and 'no.' Every winter we receive calls asking for help with static buildup in pneumatic systems. Lower humidity brings an increase in static electricity. In pneumatic systems, you can...
In any pneumatic tubing system, the installer must choose not only the pathway of the tubing, the radius of the bends, and airspeed, but also support. One can support the tubing by many means but sometimes the engineer needs to accommodate for a long span. In cases...
One simple way to connect your butyrate sleeves is using four to six cone set screws. Simply mark the spot from 1.5 to 2" from the end of the sleeve. Drill, tap, and lightly torque. The set screws will bite into the tubing. They can be removed for cleaning and...
Sometimes our customers need to couple dissimilar plastics tubing. Most often they couple provista (PETG) tubing with butyrate (CAB) sleeves. We recommend this technique. It is simply using the molding shrinkage of a heated tube to form a compression coupling. After...
We recently received an inquiry on how we cut bends through the arc (remove the tangents). We basically do it two ways, with a Marvel, tilt frame vertical bandsaw or through a Conair up-cut saw. With pneumatic pistons, the saw holds the bend snugly (notice a...
Dealing with Angel Hairs Angel hairs in pneumatic conveyance is a longstanding problem. It certainly is not welcome in transparent tubing. Angle hairs are described by Theile as "those fuzzy, fitful, filmy pieces of plastic that drive us crazy, and. there is nothing...
Purpose Protection, ready visibility, and ease of access are three conditions desired of sluice gate, valve stem, slide gate, and weir gate protectors. Before transparent butyrate covers, these were particular problems. The traditional protection employed galvanized...
Does butyrate stink? It’s a misguided question and we get it all of the time. Our basic answer is "No, butyrate does not stink; butyric acid stinks.” We extrude CAB tubing: Cellulose Acetate Butyrate formula 576E (with odor mask). Frankly, next to common acrylic it...
We recently had an inquiry regarding a transparent easy access port in their pneumatic tubing lines. Our simple solution is to install, wherever necessary a grouping of two axial-slit sleeves and a removable tubing section. The sleeves are to be mounted by hose...