In bottling, filling, food processing, beverage production, and packaging equipment, tubing is a critical component of the fluid-transfer system. The right tubing needs to fit properly, withstand repeated use, handle the required temperature and fluids, and meet applicable food-contact requirements.
For OEMs, bottling equipment manufacturers, food and beverage processors, and industrial maintenance teams, finding the right tubing isn’t always as simple as choosing a standard catalog size. Different machines and applications can require specific inside diameters, outside diameters, wall thicknesses, lengths, hardness levels, and packaging configurations.
From standard tubing available from stock to custom sizes, custom durometers, cut-to-length pieces, custom-length rolls, and custom packaging, SantopSeal works with both small and large orders to help customers get tubing configured for their specific application.
What Is Santoprene® Tubing?
Santoprene® is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE/TPV) that combines many of the useful characteristics of rubber with the processing advantages of a thermoplastic material.
Santoprene® tubing offers flexibility, durability, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, and excellent flex-fatigue performance. Depending on the specific formulation and application, it can be an alternative to materials such as silicone, Tygon®, and neoprene tubing.
For food and beverage applications, SantopSeal offers Santoprene® tubing manufactured from FDA-grade material. The material used for our 73A FDA tubing is also NSF Standard 51 / NSF 61 certified and RoHS/REACH compliant.
These characteristics make Santoprene® tubing suitable for a variety of fluid-transfer and processing applications.
FDA Food-Contact Santoprene® Tubing
Food and beverage processing equipment often requires tubing manufactured from materials appropriate for the intended food-contact application.
SantopSeal’s Santoprene 73A FDA tubing is manufactured using FDA-grade (NSF 51/ NSF 61
) material and is designed for use in various food-contact applications in the United States and around the world.
Typical applications include:
- Food processing equipment
- Beverage processing and dispensing
- Dairy processing
- Bottling and filling machinery
- Hot and cold food processing
- Peristaltic pumps
- Fluid-transfer systems
- Cosmetic production
- Chemical-transfer applications
- Industrial processing equipment
For customers who require supporting documentation, SantopSeal can also provide Certificates of Conformance (COC) and Certificates of Analysis (COA) when applicable.
Customers should always specify their intended application and fluid when requesting tubing so that the appropriate material and configuration can be evaluated.
Santoprene Tubing for Bottling & Filling Equipment
Bottling and filling machinery can place demanding requirements on tubing. Tubing may be exposed to repeated flexing, temperature changes, cleaning processes, chemicals, pressure, and continuous operating cycles.
For equipment manufacturers and bottling-system suppliers, tubing also needs to fit properly within the machine.
An off-the-shelf tube may have the right material but the wrong dimensions. In other cases, the dimensions may be correct but the hardness, length, or packaging may not match the production requirement.
SantopSeal can provide standard and custom Santoprene® tubing for bottling and filling equipment, allowing customers to specify the tubing characteristics required for their particular system.
Custom Santoprene® Tubing Sizes
Not every application uses a standard tubing dimension.
SantopSeal can manufacture Santoprene® tubing according to customer requirements, including custom dimensions and configurations.
Depending on the application, custom tubing options can include:
- Custom inside diameter
- Custom outside diameter
- Custom wall thickness
- Custom tubing length
- Cut-to-length tubing pieces
- Custom-length rolls
- Custom packaging
- Custom durometer
- Application-specific production requirements
If your equipment requires a tubing size that isn’t listed in a standard catalog, contact SantopSeal with your dimensional requirements. We can evaluate the specifications and determine whether a custom tubing solution is available.
Custom Durometer Santoprene® Tubing
Tubing hardness can have a significant effect on how a tube performs in an application.
A softer tubing compound may provide greater flexibility, while a harder material may be desirable when additional dimensional stability or resistance to deformation is needed.
SantopSeal can manufacture thermoplastic rubber tubing in a broad range of hardness levels, from approximately 55 Shore A to 90 Shore A, depending on the material and application requirements.
This makes custom durometer an important option for OEMs and equipment manufacturers that need tubing designed around the performance requirements of a specific machine.
Cut-to-Length Tubing for OEM Production
OEMs and equipment manufacturers don’t always want tubing supplied in a standard coil.
Some applications require tubing to be cut into specific lengths and supplied ready for assembly. Others may require different lengths for different components within the same machine.
SantopSeal can provide cut-to-length Santoprene® tubing pieces to customer specifications.
Custom packaging can also be considered for production environments where tubing needs to arrive organized and ready for assembly.
This can help reduce in-house cutting, handling, and material preparation for equipment manufacturers and maintenance departments.
Custom Rolls and Packaging
For some customers, the best solution is a custom-length roll rather than individual cut pieces.
SantopSeal can provide tubing in configurations designed around the customer’s handling and production requirements, including:
- Standard coils
- Custom-length rolls
- Cut pieces
- Custom packaging
- Production-specific quantities
Tell us how the tubing is used in your operation, and we can discuss the most practical supply configuration.
Standard Sizes Available From Stock
When replacement tubing is needed quickly, availability matters.
SantopSeal maintains inventory of standard Santoprene® tubing sizes that can often be shipped the same day.
For custom requirements, typical production lead times can be approximately 1–2 weeks, depending on the tubing specifications, quantity, and production requirements.
This combination of stocked standard sizes and short custom lead times makes SantopSeal a flexible tubing supplier for both replacement and OEM applications.
Santoprene Tubing Material Properties
Santoprene thermoplastic rubber provides a combination of properties that can be useful in demanding fluid-transfer applications.
Our Santoprene 73A FDA tubing offers:
- Approximately 73 Shore A hardness
- Wide operating temperature range of approximately -60°C to +135°C (-81°F to +275°F)
- Good chemical resistance
- Resistance to oils and lubricants
- Resistance to acids and alkalis
- Excellent flex-fatigue performance
- Good abrasion resistance
- Weathering and aging resistance
- Latex-free material
- RoHS compliance
- NSF Standard 51 certified Santoprene® material
- FDA-grade material for applicable food-contact applications
Actual performance depends on the specific application, fluid, temperature, pressure, fittings, and operating conditions. Customers should provide application details when selecting tubing for a new system.
How to Choose the Right Santoprene Tubing
When specifying tubing for bottling equipment, food processing machinery, or another fluid-transfer application, several factors should be considered.
- Inside and Outside Diameter
The tubing dimensions must be compatible with the equipment, fittings, pumps, and connections being used.
- Wall Thickness
Wall thickness can affect flexibility, dimensional stability, pressure performance, and how the tubing fits within the equipment.
- Durometer
The required hardness depends on the application’s flexibility, handling, compression, and mechanical requirements.
- Temperature
The operating temperature—including cleaning and processing conditions—should be considered when selecting the tubing material.
- Fluid Compatibility
The type of fluid being transferred is an important factor. Alcohols, oils, cleaning chemicals, food products, beverages, acids, and other fluids can have different compatibility requirements.
- Flexing and Movement
Applications involving pumps, moving equipment, or repeated bending may require tubing with good flex-fatigue characteristics.
- Regulatory Requirements
For food and beverage applications, specify the applicable FDA food-contact requirements and any other certifications or documentation required for your application.
- Length and Packaging
Determine whether your operation requires standard coils, custom-length rolls, individual cut pieces, or custom packaging.
A Flexible Tubing Supplier for OEMs and Industrial Applications
For an OEM or equipment manufacturer, tubing is rarely just a commodity. It needs to meet the dimensions, performance requirements, regulatory specifications, and production schedule of the equipment.
SantopSeal provides standard and custom Santoprene tubing solutions for customers that need more flexibility than a standard catalog product can provide.
Whether you need a few pieces for a replacement application, custom tubing for a prototype, or ongoing production quantities, SantopSeal works with both small and large orders – with no minimum order requirement for many applications.
Our capabilities include:
Standard FDA-grade Santoprene® tubing NSF 51/ NSF 61
Custom tubing sizes
Custom durometer
Cut-to-length pieces
Custom-length rolls
Custom packaging
Standard sizes from stock
Short custom lead times
COC and COA documentation when required
From bottling and filling equipment to food processing, beverage dispensing, peristaltic pumping, and other fluid-transfer applications, SantopSeal can help you find a tubing configuration built around your requirements.
Looking for Custom FDA (NSF 51/ NSF 61) Santoprene Tubing?
If you have a tubing specification that doesn’t fit a standard catalog size, send SantopSeal your requirements.
Provide the inside diameter, outside diameter, wall thickness, length, durometer, application, fluid, temperature, quantity, and any certification or documentation requirements you have available.
Our team can review your requirements and help determine the appropriate Santoprene tubing solution.
Contact SantopSeal today for standard or custom FDA food-contact Santoprene tubing. Email- info@santopseal.com or call 412-444-1888