It is made from natural or synthetic rubber and is usually tear resistant, durable and supple. In order to be shaped and bent in different ways, the tubing is soft and can be twisted, tied and stretched without cracking or becoming kinked. The walls of the tube are strong enough to support themselves while being thin enough to allow the maximum amount of fluid to pass through unrestricted. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
NewAge® Industries, Inc.
Southampton, PA | 800-506-3924We are rubber tubing experts, and we have been since our founding in 1954. We serve the entire world with quality tubing products right from the heart of Pennsylvania.
Atlantic Rubber Company, Inc.
Littleton, MA | 800-882-3666As the largest in-house pure gum inventory carrier in the U.S., Atlantic Rubber Company has cost-effective and resilient rubber tubing. We carry a variety of materials so that we can make the best product for your needs.
Britech Industries
Stuart, FL | 772-286-9278Manufacturer of standard and custom rubber tubing. Made of EPDM, neoprene, nitrile, dense, recovery sponge rubber and silicone compounds. Secondary processes such as die cutting, notching, and glue splicing are offered.
GSH Industries, Inc.
Cleveland, OH | 440-238-3009Established in 1986, GSH Industries supplies plastic, aluminum and rubber tubing to an array of industries including automotive, consumer, marine and electrical.
Aero Rubber Company, Inc.
Tinley Park, IL | 800-662-1009For over 45 years, Aero Rubber has set ourselves apart from our competitors by being a responsive partner to the ever-changing needs of our customers. Aero offers custom rubber tubing in solid and closed cell sponge rubber.
Flexible Rubber Tubing - Atlantic Rubber Company, Inc.Some materials used in rubber tubing are more flexible than others. Gum rubber is made from pure gum and is a natural rubber that exhibits high flexibility under stress. Latex tubing is also a natural substance that is flexible. High performance tubes made out of Viton or EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomers) are flexible to some degree but are more valued for their resiliency, durability and industrial applications. Because flow lines cannot always be designed in straight lines or direct paths, flexible rubber tubing is invaluable for delivering liquids and gases to places that are difficult to access or that are very small. For example, intravenous lines use flexible tubing to make the patient more comfortable; if a stiff tube was used, the patient would need to remain still and would have a small range of motion.
Natural rubber is made from latex, a milky substance found in the bark of certain trees. When the bark is cut, latex drips out and can be collected. At the processing plant it is mixed with water and chemicals, which thicken it and add certain qualities such as color or buoyancy, as in the cases of black rubber tubing and neoprene tubing. Natural rubber is made up of isoprene monomers while synthetic rubber can be made up of many different kinds of molecules. After the rubber has been mixed it is given its shape. For rubber tubes, there are three main ways this is done: molding, extrusion and dipping.
Liquid rubber can be poured in a mold and pressed into place; for tubes, this is done in halves that are later attached. Rubber extrusion involves forcing raw rubber material through an extrusion die. The third method is used most frequently for latex tubing. A cylinder of the desired diameter is dipped into the rubber mixture and slid off when dry. After any of these processes, the rubber is dried and cured. Some tubing undergoes vulcanization, which is the process applying heat and sulfur to a rubber in order to improve its qualities of strength and durability.