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Why are silicone tubes so expensive? Its advantages and unique advantages compared to other materials

The price of the silicone tube is determined by the material, production process and certification

Silicone tube because of its high price often makes people wonder: why a seemingly simple tube can be so expensive? In fact, behind the high price of silicone tubes, there is a comprehensive effect of many factors from raw material characteristics to the complexity of the production process, and then to the certification testing requirements. At the same time, it occupies an important position in food, medical, industrial and other fields with its excellent performance. This article will analyze in detail why silicone tubes are more expensive than other materials, as well as its specific advantages.

 

First, why is the silicone tube expensive from the material

Silicone is a special polymer elastomer, and the material itself is much more expensive to produce than ordinary rubber or plastic.

1. Unique chemical structure of silica gel

Silica gel is the main chain structure of silico-oxygen bond (Si-O-Si), this chemical structure gives silica gel many distinctive properties:

  • High temperature stability: Can be used in extreme temperature range from -60°C to +200°C.
  • Chemical resistance: Strong resistance to acid, alkali, oil and other chemical substances.
  • Environmental protection and non-toxic: Silicone material does not contain plasticizers, heavy metals and other harmful ingredients, can be directly in contact with food and human body.

 

2. The production cost of silicone material is high

The production of silica gel requires high-purity silica (SiO₂) as a raw material, which is prepared by multi-step chemical reaction:

  • Refining silica: Extracting silica and preparing key intermediates such as methyl chlorosilane.
  • Polymerization: The silica backbone is formed by a complex hydrolysis and polymerization process, which requires several refinations to remove impurities.
  • Additive cost: In order to enhance the properties of silica gel (such as color, flexibility), high-quality catalysts or fillers need to be added, further increasing the material cost.

 

In contrast, the production process of ordinary plastics (such as PVC, PE) and rubber is simpler and the raw material cost is lower. Therefore, the price of silicone raw materials is usually several times higher than that of ordinary plastics and rubber.

 

Second, the complexity of the production process: higher accuracy and stability requirements

The production technology of silicone tubes is extremely demanding, especially for food grade, medical grade and industrial high-precision applications.

1. Precision extrusion process

The production of silicone tubes is mainly based on the extrusion process, and each step requires extremely high technical control:

  • High precision extrusion equipment: Used to ensure that the inner diameter, outer diameter and wall thickness of the silicone tube are within a very small tolerance range.
  • Uniformity control: Ensures that the entire tube body is free of weak points and can maintain consistent performance under high pressure and extreme temperature.
  • Inner wall smoothness: For silicone tubes used to transport fluids (such as liquid medicine or food), the inner wall must be smooth and free of particles to reduce contamination and liquid resistance.

 

2. High temperature vulcanization

The silicone tube needs to be molded by high temperature vulcanization, a process that includes a complex multi-step process:

  • Platinum vulcanization process: Compared with traditional sulfur vulcanization, platinum catalyst vulcanization is more environmentally friendly and safe, and gives the silicone tube higher purity and flexibility, but the catalyst is expensive.
  • Multiple vulcanization and post-treatment: Some high-end silicone tubes require multiple vulcanization to further improve their performance stability and significantly increase production time and cost.

 

3. Quality inspection and scrap rate

  • High precision inspection: A number of tests are required during the production process (such as dimensional accuracy, pressure resistance, air tightness, etc.) to ensure that each silicone tube meets the standard.
  • High rejection rate: Because the silicone material is sensitive to the production environment, some slight impurities or temperature fluctuations will lead to unqualified products, thereby increasing the production cost.

 

In contrast, the production process of ordinary rubber and plastic pipes is relatively simple, the scrap rate is low, and the production cost is naturally lower.

 

Comparison with other materials

 

 

Characteristics

Silicone pipe

Common rubber pipe 

Plastic pipe (such as PVC)

Temperature range

-60°C to +200°C

-30°C to +70°C

  0°C to +60°C

Chemical resistance

Excellent

Generally

Poor

Biocompatibility

Excellent

Generally

Poor

Service life

Long time

A shorter time

Short time

Environmental protection property

 

Environment-friendly materials

May contain harmful ingredients

Contains plasticizers and

other harmful substances

 

Cost

High cost

Medium-price

Inexpensive

  

 

 

The advantage of silicone tube in comprehensive performance determines that its cost is higher than that of ordinary rubber tube and plastic tube.

 

Third, the certification and testing requirements are strict

Silicone tubes are mainly used in food, medical and high-tech industrial fields, so they must pass a number of strict certifications and tests. The cost of certification directly drives up the price.

1. Food grade certification

Silicone tubes need to meet international food grade safety standards such as FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) or LFGB (German Food Safety Standard) :

  • High temperature test: To ensure that no harmful substances are released in a long-term high temperature environment.
  • Chemical migration test: Verify that silicone materials do not migrate any harmful chemicals into food or liquids.
  • Non-toxic and environmental protection: Ensure that the material does not contain bisphenol A (BPA), plasticizer and other potentially dangerous ingredients.

2. Medical grade certification

Medical grade silicone tubing is subject to a series of biocompatibility tests (e.g. ISO 10993) :

  • Cytotoxicity test: Verify that the material is non-toxic upon contact with human tissue.
  • Allergy test: To ensure that the material does not trigger an allergic reaction.
  • Sterilization adaptability: Silicone tube should withstand high-temperature and high-pressure steam, ethylene oxide and other sterilization methods without deformation or degradation.

 

3. Industrial application standards

Industrial silicone tubes need to meet specific industry requirements, such as:

  • High pressure tolerance: It needs to pass the blasting test to ensure that it does not break under high pressure service conditions.
  • High insulation: Electronic grade silicone tubes must meet the requirements of high resistance and low dielectric constant for insulation applications.

 

4. Environmental certification

  • RoHS: Comply with the EU "Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive" to ensure that the silicone material does not contain lead, cadmium and other heavy metals.
  • REACH: Through the EU chemical registration, evaluation and certification, to ensure long-term safety.

In contrast, ordinary plastic and rubber tubes usually do not need to pass such a strict certification.

 

Four, the advantages of silicone tube: Why is it worth it?

Although expensive, silicone tubes are irreplaceable in many fields due to their excellent performance. The following are its main advantages over other materials:

1. Performance stability

  • High and low temperature resistance: Silicone tubes maintain flexibility and structural integrity in extreme temperature environments, while plastics and rubber are prone to aging or embrittleness.
  • Chemical corrosion resistance: The resistance of silica gel to weak acid, weak base and solvent is much better than that of rubber and plastic.

 

2. Security

  • Non-toxic and tasteless: Silicone does not contain harmful ingredients such as plasticizers and bisphenol A, while some plastics (such as PVC) may release toxic gases at high temperatures.
  • Food and medical compatibility: Silicone is the material of choice for food - and medical-grade applications where regular rubber does not offer this safety.

 

3. Long life

The silicone tube has excellent aging resistance and is not easily degraded by sunlight, humidity or high temperature, so it has longer life and higher cost performance than ordinary rubber and plastic tubes.

 

Comprehensive analysis: The logic of the high price of silicone tubes

From the material selection to the production process, to the final certification and testing, the silicone tube embodies high standards and high technical content. The combination of these factors makes its price significantly higher than that of ordinary pipes.

 

Link

Specific factor

 Cost contribution

Materials

High purity silica gel raw material, expensive catalyst and filler

High

Production

Precision extrusion, complex vulcanization process, multiple testing

High

Certification

Testing and certification fees for FDA, ISO, RoHS and other standards

High

Application value

Long life, reliable performance, high security for users to create long-term economic benefits

High value-added benefit

 

 

Why choose Ruixiang silicone?

 

  • Rich experience: With 12 years of professional silicone tube manufacturing experience.
  • Advanced facilities: Equipped with 10,000 purification workshop to meet the needs of high standard production environment.
  • Strict certification: Through ISO13485, ISO9001 system certification, to ensure product quality and reliability.
  • A variety of production environment: With 100,000 purification workshop, 300,000 food-grade workshop and ordinary workshop, to meet different customer needs.
  • Advanced technology: Platinum vulcanization process is used to produce high-precision silicone tube.
  • Wide application: The products are widely used in medical, food, electronics and other fields with high performance requirements.
  • Safety guarantee: Can pass USP Class VI, FDA, LFGB, RoSH, REACH, VOC, flame retardant rating and biocompatibility test.

 

Conclusion

 

The high price of silicone tubes is due to the high cost of many links from raw materials to production processes, and then to certification testing. Compared with ordinary rubber and plastic tubes, silicone tubes have irreplaceable performance advantages, especially in the food, medical and high-tech industrial fields. Despite the high initial price, the long life and high performance of silicone tubes make them more cost-effective in many applications. Because of this, silicone tubes are widely used in scenarios with high safety and performance requirements, becoming the industry's first choice.

If you have customized precision silicone tube needs, welcome to consult!

 

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