Corrugated pipes, not only round

The corrugated pipe in its double wall variant has for several decades now found its common application where it is required that the element inside can be inserted or slide easily, whether they are cables or water. And, if it was air? We hear more and more often about controlled mechanical ventilation; the need to create high energy efficiency homes and buildings limits the interaction of the internal environment with the external one and can bring along with the countless and undeniable benefits, also a limited air exchange. This condition is essential to avoid, for example, condensation and mould in our homes and in general to ensure healthy conditions in our rooms. The mechanical systems of forced but controlled ventilation comes to our aid.

The traditional double wall corrugated PE pipe in its round version is an essential component and in concealed applications where there is a need to contain overall dimensions, its oval version is the ideal solution. Itib Machinery double wall pipes extrusion lines can produce also this particular pipes. Its extrusion does not only require the realization of oval-shaped moulds and dies, that would be reduced to the however not simple machining of mechanical component. Above all, it is essential the study and a consolidated knowledge of plastic materials, their behaviour inside and at the exit of not full symmetrical dies, where straight sections are followed by round sections. In this condition, different speed and thickness of the plastic material are possible if the flowing channels are not properly designed.

For the design of its extrusion heads and dies, Itib Machinery uses advanced simulation software, relying when necessary also on researchers from the engineering department of the University of Brescia. The oval-shaped moulds are made on five-axis numerical control machines and are mounted on a corrugator; in the manufacturing of corrugators the company boast an experience of more than sixty years. The FV200 and FV250 corrugators are the most commonly used machines for the production of double wall pipes, also in their oval variant, which emphasizes the need for very tight tolerances of mechanical components and an absolute constancy of the production speed to allow a uniform flexibility of the pipe.

The oval shape can be found not only in pipes for controlled mechanical ventilation systems but also in smaller pipes like in the automotive industry, the household sector and in all those applications where the containment of the overall dimensions is fundamental. The long and solid experience of Itib Machinery, combined with a complete and up-to-date range of corrugators is a strong worldwide reference for study, development and production of corrugated pipes of any shape.