clear plastic tube sizes When you need plastic tubing for a product you learn how many clear plastic tubing sizes exist. You also learn about customizing the profile extrusion process.

So where do you start your research to learn about custom plastic tubes?

This article covers the popular types of plastic tubes. We’ll also address the variety of tube shapes and sizes.

What are Custom Plastic Tubes?

Custom plastic tubes get manufactured in many different configurations. The key factors include material, shape and size, coloring, and any use specifications.

Tubing Material

Thermoplastic resins are used to manufacture many forms of plastics for tubing. The most popular include:

Polycarbonate
Nylon
Acrylic
PE
PP
ABS
PVC
TPR
Kraton™
Urethanes

Extruding Explained

Extrusion is the forcing of a material through a shaped die. This works like a child’s playdough machine. With a squeeze, the dough pushes through a star-shaped die.

The output is a long rope of dough shaped like a star.

The same thing happens with polymers on a more complex level. Advanced manufacturing adds materials to enable certain characteristics of the tubing to form.

Shapes and Sizes

The manufacturing of tubing incorporates many different shapes, sizes, and colors. The most popular tubing shapes include round, oval, square, and rectangular.

Some tubing gets manufactured flat for applications like drainage and wastewater diffusion. For these flat applications, polyurethane, TPR, and Flex PVC are often used.

Uses of Tubing

Both regulated and non-regulated industries use plastic tubing. The military and government filtration sectors use very tight specifications. The FDA gets involved in many products manufactured for food and pharmaceuticals.

For instance, the medical sector uses extruded plastic tubing for patient oxygen in intensive care. The food and beverage sector uses plastic tubing in their equipment. There are other uses that include products like straws and automotive products.

What is PTEG?

PETG is a crystal clear tubing manufactured from clear PETG copolymer (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol). The material’s durability makes it ideal for the retail packaging market. It’s often used for point-of-purchase displays.

This low-cost solution works for rapid prototyping and fabrication. The material is resistant to chemicals, has good impact strength, and has a long lifecycle. The FDA approved its use and you can recycle it.

This material works for:

Blister packaging
Personal care items
Food packaging
Electronic packaging
Pharmaceutical and medical packaging
And more

What is CAB?

Tenite™ CAB (Cellulose Acetate Butyrate) is one of the first thermoplastics ever used. This clear product has been around for more than 60 years. The bio-based tubing comes from 100% renewable softwood material.

The tube has exceptional clarity. It has a high gloss and toughness to withstand abuse, environmental stress cracking, and is chemically resistant.

CAB is easy to fabricate and has a high melting strength for thick heavy parts. This material works for:

Packaging tubes
Pneumatic conveying tubes
Point-of-purchase displays
Prototypes
Sight glasses
And more

What is CAP?

Tenite™ CAP (Cellulose Acetate Propionate) plastic. This material is known for the following characteristics:

Toughness
Hardness
Strength
Surface gloss
Clarity
Heat resistance
High tensile strength
Dimensional stability
And a warm feel

The material comes in natural, clear, selected ambers, smoke transparent, and black translucent. The material also meets FDA regulations for certain food-contact applications.

Customization of PETG, CAB, and CAP

When standard off-the-shelf tubing won’t meet your specifications, customization makes a great solution. Petro Packaging Co. Inc. creates custom designs using PETG, CAB, and CAP. Here is a partial list of special applications engineered:

Medical Components
Component Storage Tubes
Soil Sampling Tubes
Mailing Tubes
Retail Packaging Tubes
Bird Feeders

The only limitations for customization are dimensional limits. The outer dimension can’t be smaller than 0.125″ or bigger than 5.125″. Also, the wall thickness must be at least 0.010″ and not exceed 0.375″.

Other materials are also available for customization. But the three mentioned above are the most popular choices.

In Stock Clear Plastic Tubing Sizes

The clear plastic tubing sizes use standard tube lengths of 6′ ft. in pre-packed boxes. The quantity of tubes depends on the inside diameter (ID), outside diameter (OD), and wall thickness (WT).

In Stock PETG Sizes Offered:

PPS38A PETG: OD-3/8, ID-5/16, WT-1/32
PPS38B PETG: OD-3/8, ID-1/4, WT-1/16
PPS12A PETG: OD-1/2, ID-7/16, WT-1/32
PPS12B PETG: OD-1/2, ID-3/18, WT-1/16
PPS58A PETG: OD-5/8, ID-9/16, WT-1/32
PPS58B PETG: OD-5/8, ID-1/2, WT-1/16
PPS34A PETG: OD-3/4, ID-11/16, WT-1/32
PPS34B PETG: OD-3/4, ID-5/8, WT-1/16
PPS1A PETG: OD-1, ID-15/16, WT-1/32
PPS1B PETG: OD-1, ID-7/8, WT-1/16
PPS114A PETG: OD-1 1/4, ID-1 3/16, WT-1/32
PPS114B PETG: OD-1 1/4, ID-1 1/8, WT-1/16
PPS112A PETG: OD-1 1/2, ID-1 7/16, WT-1/32
PPS112B PETG: OD-1 1/2, ID-1 3/8, WT-1/16
PPS134A PETG: OD-1 3/4, ID-1 5/8, WT-1/16
PPS134B PETG: OD-1 3/4, ID-1 5/8, WT-1/16
PPS2A PETG: OD-2, ID-1 15/16, WT-1/32
PPS2B PETG: OD-2, ID-1 7/8, WT-1/16
PPS212A PETG: OD-2 1/2, ID-2 7/16, WT-1/32
PPS212B PETG: OD-2 1/2, ID-2 3/8, WT-1/16
PPS3A PETG: OD-3, ID-2 15/16, WT-1/32
PPS3B PETG: OD-3, ID-2 7/8, WT-1/16

In Stock CAB Sizes Offered:

PPS18A: OD-1/8, ID-1/16, WT- 1/32
PPS14A: OD-1/4, ID-3/16, WT-1/32
PPS14B: OD-1/4, ID-1/8, WT-1/16
PPS38A: OD-3/8, ID-5/16, WT-1/32
PPS38B: OD-3/8, ID-1/4, WT-1/16
PPS12A: OD-1/2, ID-7/16, WT-1/32
PPS12B: OD-1/2, ID-3/18, WT-1/16
PPS58A: OD-5/8, ID-9/16, WT-1/32
PPS58B: OD-5/8, ID-1/2, WT-1/16
PPS58C: OD-5/8, ID-3/8, WT-1/8
PPS34A: OD-3/4, ID-11/16, WT-1/32
PPS34B: OD-3/4, ID-5/8, WT-1/16
PPS34C: OD-3/4, ID-1/2, WT-1/8
PPS1A: OD-1, ID-15/16, WT-1/32
PPS1B: OD-1, ID-7/8, WT-1/16
PPS1C: OD-1, ID-3/4, WT-1/8
PPS114A: OD-1 1/4, ID-1 3/16, WT-1/32
PPS114B: OD-1 1/4, ID-1 1/8, WT-1/16
PPS114C: OD-1 1/4, ID-1, WT-1/8
PPS112A: OD-1 1/2, ID-1 7/16, WT-1/32
PPS112B: OD-1 1/2, ID-1 3/8, WT-1/16
PPS112C: OD-1 1/2, ID-1 1/4, WT-1/8
PPS134A:OD-1 3/4, ID-1 5/8, WT-1/32
PPS134B:OD-1 3/4, ID-1 5/8, WT-1/16
PPS134C:OD-1 3/4, ID-1 1/2, WT-1/8
PPS2A: OD-2, ID-1 15/16, WT-1/32
PPS2B: OD-2, ID-1 7/8, WT-1/16
PPS2C: OD-2, ID-1 3/4, WT-1/8
PPS214A: OD-2 1/4, ID-1 3/16, WT-1/32
PPS214B: OD-2 1/4, ID-1 1/8, WT-1/16
PPS214C: OD-2 1/4, ID-2, WT-1/8
PPS212A: OD-2 1/2, ID-2 7/16, WT-1/32
PPS212B: OD-2 1/2, ID-2 3/8, WT-1/16
PPS212C: OD-2 1/2, ID-2 1/4, WT-1/8
PPS234A: OD-2 3/4, ID-2 11/16, WT-1/32
PPS234B: OD-2 3/4, ID-2 5/8, WT-1/16
PPS234C: OD-2 3/4, ID-2 1/2, WT-1/8
PPS3A: OD-3, ID-2 15/16, WT-1/32
PPS3B: OD-3, ID-2 7/8, WT-1/16
PPS3C: OD-3, ID-2 3/4, WT-1/8
PPS314A: OD-3 1/4, ID-3 3/16, WT-1/32
PPS314B: OD-3 1/4, ID-3 1/8, WT-1/16
PPS314C: OD-3 1/4, ID-3, WT-1/8
PPS312A: OD-3 1/2, ID-3 3/16, WT-1/32
PPS312B: OD-3 1/2, ID-3 3/8, WT-1/16
PPS312C: OD-3 1/2, ID-3 1/4, WT-1/8
PPS4A: OD-4, ID-3 15/32, WT-1/8
PPS4B: OD-4, ID-3 7/8, WT-1/16
PPS4C: OD-4, ID-3 3/4, WT-1/8

Custom vs. Stock

There are many stock clear plastic tubing sizes to meet your needs. But if your size is not listed above, consider customization. There are also more materials available for custom products.

Contact us to determine the best materials for your product. We’ll be happy to discuss your specifications and manufacture a great solution.

Our Stock Clear Plastic Tubing Sizes