The 4 types · side-by-side
Distributor-facing reading. Each row gives best-for, key trade-off, capacity, price band, and how many of SPC's tier slots carry an option at that product type.
Product type
Best for
Key trade-off
Typical capacity
Price band
Brands SPC carries
Polyethylene (PE) Tubing Low-cost utility runs · low-pressure · FDA grades available
Utility air, instrument-sense, drain lines.Cost-effective general-purpose tubing for utility air runs, drain and instrument-sense lines, and low-pressure connections that don't see oil, coolant, aggressive chemistry, or constant flexing. FDA-compliant grades for food-contact service.
Lower pressure, lower abrasion resistanceLower pressure and temperature ceilings than nylon; less abrasion and flex-fatigue resistance than PU. Should not be specified into a constant-motion application or a high-pressure circuit — pick PU or nylon there.
Metric + inch OD
LDPE · HDPE grades
LDPE · HDPE grades
$
2 / 5 · Mantova + Polyconn
Polyurethane (PU) Tubing The flex-life champion · highest-volume tubing
Default for general air + constant-flex motion.FRL to valve, valve to cylinder, fitting to fitting — the highest-volume tubing item in the category. Softest and most flexible polymer in the lineup, tightest bend radius, best flex-fatigue resistance. The right call for robot arms, end-effectors, and hand-tool drops.
Oils, solvents, sustained heat all push past PUDegraded by many oils, solvents, and cutting fluids; modest upper temperature ceiling; cracks under sustained UV/ozone unless stabilized. For oil or coolant service → nylon; for chemistry or high heat → fluoropolymer.
4-12 mm metric · 1/4"-1/2" inch
95A soft (robotics) · 98A firm (general)
95A soft (robotics) · 98A firm (general)
$
2 / 5 · Sang-A + Polyconn
Nylon (PA) Tubing PA12 workhorse · oil-resistant · 240-350 PSI
CNC coolant, lubrication, fuel, transport air-brake.CNC machine coolant and oil-lubrication lines, fuel service, transport air-brake lines, centralized lubrication plumbing. PA12 is dimensionally stable (very low moisture absorption) and resists fuels, lubricating oils, and aggressive coolants where PU would swell and fail.
Rigid · larger bend radiusLarger minimum bend radius than PU and less tolerance for constant flexing — nylon is a static-run and routed-run material, not a constant-flex material. For runs that articulate every cycle, stay with PU.
4-12 mm metric · 1/8"-1/2" inch
PA12 (workhorse) · PA6 (cost grade)
PA12 (workhorse) · PA6 (cost grade)
$ – $$
2 / 5 · Mantova + Polyconn
FEP / PTFE Tubing Near-inert · pharma, food, lab, semiconductor
Where PU and nylon both fail.Pharmaceutical, food contact, laboratory, semiconductor, and aggressive chemical service. Chemically near-inert across solvents, acids, and bases that would dissolve a thermoplastic; very wide temperature range; UV-stable; transparent for visual flow inspection.
Lower pressure rating · several times the costLower working-pressure rating than PU or nylon at comparable OD; costs several times more; project-based sourcing rather than deep stock. Specified when chemistry, purity, temperature, or UV exposure leaves no thermoplastic alternative — not as a general upgrade.
1/8"-1/2" + 4-12 mm metric
FEP (flexible) · PTFE (stiff, high-temp)
FEP (flexible) · PTFE (stiff, high-temp)
$$$
2 / 5 · Mantova + Polyconn
Reading the brand bench column — the bar shows how many of SPC's tier slots carry an option at that product type. The four tubing materials each run two brands deep: Mantova and Polyconn cover PE, nylon, and FEP/PTFE, while PU pairs Polyconn with the anchor. <b>Sang-A is the anchor on PU tubing</b> — one of the three deepest stock positions in the building, alongside composite and brass PTC. Tubing is selected by chemistry and motion, not by cost — the bench depth follows the spec, not the price tier.