Advice For Cutting Into LDPE Tubing
LDPE tubing shows up on a lot of sites to transport various liquids. Sometimes this tubing has to be cut in order to get it properly set up. If you're performing this customization to this special type of tubing, remember these tips.
Account for the Thickness
You want to carefully observe the overall thickness of LDPE tubing that needs to be cut because it's going to give you direction on what cutting tools to use. Thicker sections of LDPE tubing will require stronger cutting tools, such as a power saw.
Whereas if you're working with very thin pieces of LDPE tubing, a simple hand tool like a box cutter may be enough to cut through all sections. If your thickness changes when cutting into LDPE tubing, see if you need to adjust cutting tools before manipulating the material.
Cut All the Way Through
If you want to get precision cuts when working with LDPE tubing, then you need to always try to cut completely through this material. If there is any excess material that isn't cut, that's going to cause problems if you try to remove it. You could take off more tubing material than you need and then this material is compromised.
Whereas if you make sure you cut all the way through LDPE tubing when you need to adjust its size, you'll have a smooth finish and won't have to perform any adjustments that put more pressure on this tubing material.
Make Sure Cutting Tools Are Properly Primed
Whatever you plan on using to cut through LDPE tubing, you want to make sure this instrument is fully primed. Then you will get better cutting results and won't put yourself in danger.
For instance, if you're planning to use a hand saw to cut through LDPE tubing, you want to look the handsaw over and make sure the blades are sharp. Then you won't get rough edges after cutting through this tubing. Or if you're using a power tool, you want to use the right speed setting based on the properties of the LDPE tubing that you're working with.
LDPE tubing sometimes has to be cut, whether it's because something changed with your project or you just have too much of it to fit a work site. As long as you use the right cutting tools and prepare them correctly, you shouldn't have trouble adjusting the size of this type of tubing. Reach out to a company like Seiler Plastics that provides LDPE tubing to learn more.