jetnuno

Hi

In the F18 I am building some air tube is supplied. Nevetheless I need some more and got some SMC 1/8" O.D. polyurethane tube. This tube is far more flexible and seems of better quality than the one supplied. It is much more flexible.

With the SMC air regulators and other SMC acessories, works just fine but when fitted in the barbed inlets of the door and gear cilinders, the fit is not as tight as the supplied in the kit tube.

I notetested that SMC also as nylon and other kind of plastic tubing wich are harder, so wanted to know what you guys recomend and use.

Also the best way to tight fit the tube in the barbed fittings.

regds
Nuno

jetnuno

Just forgot to mention...

What is better: a barbed T fitting or a SMC or Festo T?
Festo T seems to withstand better pressure, because the tube is forced outwards against the case. Am I wrong? sometimes theory does not converge with best practice.

Nuno

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

Todd at DreamWorks sells excellent tubing---I like barbs that are safety wired instead of Festo push to connect fittings as I have found them to be prone to leak at times..You have to cut the tubing exactly 90 degrees or risk a leak---There are tubing cutters for this purpose.

Kevin

PS---Lightly heat the end of the tubing and I like to get a little saliva on the fittings...Makes em' slide right on the barbs when heated and spit on!!!

Kevin

jetnuno

Thanks Kevin

I already got the SMC cutter. I understand that some stores might have specific tubing, but what I am looking for is the best material - polyurethane, nylon, etc.

Because of professional issues I can get SMC or Festo things very easily......and cheap

Nuno

Kevin Greene

My Feedback: (85)

Where I work we have a lot of machinery that uses pneumatics and we use plenty of Festo and SMC fittings---I like polyurethane tubing due to being the most flexable. You can get poly U in burst strengths much higher than what we need for our jets...Nylon generally has even higher burst strength but at the expense of flexability. If you try to navagate nylon around a tight curve this can cause the fitting(s) to leak...If you look here on RCU you will see that everyone uses polyurethane with the barbs as having numerous Festo/SMC fittings are prone to leak with fluxuations in temperature. Where as a barbed fitting that is properly safety wired will almost never give you problems...Air is a different animal as compared to liquids flowing through these lines. Liquids don't seam to form leaks as easily around Festo/SMC fittings as does air---I'm constantly fighting air leaks at work as a cumulative leak equivalent of just 1/4" of open line takes a five HP compressor just to keep up with it...[:@]

Kevin