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Product zoom : air tubing

Experience

NEXTIS (previously known as Bain & Cie) is located in Chalon Sur Saône (71 - France), and has more than 30 years experience in the field of thermoplastic extrusion.
We have developed know-how in the field of polyurethane air tube extrusion: a know-how which few other companies possess in Europe.

Production capacity

In terms of production capacity, 8 extrusion lines are reserved for air tube production.
Two of these lines are dedicated to automised reel coiling between 25 and 100 meters.
The six other lines are reserved for bulk coiling between 200 and 1000 meters.

Respect of prevailing norms

The polyamide and polyurethane tubes respectively meet French quality norms NF E 49-100 and NF E 49-101 relating to air transmissions.
Nextis seeks consistently to respect quality, security and environmental norms in terms of materials (PU, PA and colorants), dimensions, pressure and markings for better traceability.

Raw materials

Air tubes are produced using different raw materials :

Raw materials	Abbreviations
Polyuréthane	PU base Ester / Pu base Ether
Polyuréthane gainé PVC	PU gainé PVC
Polyamide	PA
Polyamide gainé PVC	PA gainé PVC
Polyethylene low density	PEBD

The choice of raw material influences tube rigidity and properties.

The PU can be divided into two main families:

.: Ester Base:

- The most used of the two standard materials
- Good resistance to oils and lubricants
- Very good resistance to abrasion
- High mechanical properties
- Anti-static solution

.: Ether Base:

- Wet strength material
- Can be transparent
- Microbiological strength material
- Flexible at low temperatures
- Compatible for use in the agri-business field
- Anti-spark protection solution

Controlled process

Due to its know-how, Nextis masters different technical processes connected to air tubing such as spiralling, bi-tubes, multi-tubes, frequently used in the industrial field.

Colours

For a better use and identification, the tubes and colours correspond to customer requests.

Existing dimensions

Corresponding to French Norms (NF), tubes are extruded in different dimensions in terms of external/internal diameter and thickness. We propose a diversified and adapted product range to meet our customers’ needs.
The possible combinations are as follows:

Tubes en PA12 :

External Diameter (mm)	Thickness (en mm)	Inner Diameter (mm)	Minimal radius of curve at 23°C
3	0.60	1.8	15
4	1.00	2	25
4	0.65	2.7	30
5	1.00	3	30
6	1.00	4	35
6	0.75	4.5	45
8	1.25	5.5	55
8	1.00	6	55
10	1.50	7	60
10	1.25	7.5	75
10	1.00	8	90
12	2.00	8	75
12	1.50	9	75
12	1.00	10	92
14	2.00	10	80
14	1.50	11	100
14	1.00	12	120
16	1.50	13	115
16	2.00	12	90

Tubes en PU:

External Diameter (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Inner Diameter (mm)	Minimal radius of curve at 20°C
			Ester	Ether
3	0.60	1.8	8
4	0.75	2.5	20	8
5	1	3	13	11
6	1	4	15	12
8	1.25	5.5	20	18
10	1.5	7	25	22
12	2	8	35	35
14	2.25	9.5	45	45

Tubes en PEbd :

External Diameter (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Inner Diameter (mm)	Minimal radius of curve at 20°C
4	1	2	25
6	1	4	35
8	1	6	55
10	1	8	80
12	1.5	9	65
14	1.5	11	80

The PEbd is a good barrier against gas and offers good resistance against chemical substances. It meets FDA specifications, which enables it to be used for different food applications.

Antistatic PU tubes are available, which have slightly different characteristics to standard PU tubes.

Tubes en PU anti-statique (Résistivité inférieure à 10^E7 ohm) :

External Diameter (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Inner Diameter (mm)	Minimal radius of curve at 20°C
3	0.75	1.5	8
4	0.75	2.5	10
6	1	4	15
8	1.25	5.5	20
10	1.5	7	25
12	2	8	35

In fact, flexible air tubes enable a certain degree of curving depending on their external diameter and thickness.
Over a certain degree of curving, fluid flow can be impacted due to a deformation of the tubing.
This explains why we respect the minimal radius of the French Norms.

Pressure is tolerated by the PA depending on the temperature.

Concerning maximal pressure which an air tube can be subjected to, it is important to know:

- An air tube’s resistance to pressure depends on its dimension and the surrounding temperature.
- Tubes are expressed/shown depending on their external diameter and their respective thickness.

A test used to define the safety factor of each tube by dividing the maximum burst pressure (maximum allowable pressure = before bursting) by maximum pressure in constant use at +20°C.

Pressure tolerated for the TPU raw material function of the temperature

The resistance of the tube been able to vary according to the temperature and to the diameter of the tube.

Tries realized on the tube

Determine the quality of pneumatic tube by verifying the absorption of the humidity, the resistance in the zinc chloride, the ageing in shalves ultraviolet, the flexibility and the cold impact.

The pneumatic tubing have different characteristics of beings adapted to various sectors such as automobile, medical, industry and the computing