Tube (container)

A tube is a soft squeezable container which can be used for thick liquids such as glue and toothpaste. Basically, a tube is a cylindrical, hollow piece with a round or oval profile, made of plastic or aluminium. Both ends of this tube are treated differently during the manufacturing process and filling. In general, on one end of the tube body there is a round orifice, which can be closed by different caps and closures. The orifice can be shaped in many different ways. Plastic nozzles in various styles and lengths are just one good example.

To attach caps and closures, in most cases a thread is tapped onto the opening structure. Furthermore, something all aluminium tubes have in common is that the other open end is folded several times after the contents have been added. The tube is thus hermetically sealed and nearly germ-free due to the high temperatures during the production process. Furthermore, it is possible to coat the inside of the tube with special coatings to prevent the material from reacting with the contents.

As far as production methods are concerned, the way an aluminium tube is produced appears to be rather different from the way many people might think. Tubes are not poured from liquid aluminium; they are produced by the process of impact extrusion. In this process, the tube body is extruded from a small piece of aluminium with the round shape of a coin.

Unlimited printing designs can be applied to the tube, thanks to the wet-in-wet offset printing method. Six tones can be printed with this printing procedure, which gives packaging designers great opportunities to express their creativity.

The filled content can be easily squeezed out by the pressure of two fingers. The main characteristic of aluminium tubes is the total separation of the contents from the surrounding atmosphere; therefore, such tubes are especially suitable for the packaging of highly perishable contents. Aluminium tubes are used as packaging technology for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and technical products.

External links

* [http://www.combitool.ch/en/index.html?id=6 Tube production machines for plastic and laminate tubes]
* [http://www.aluminium-tubes.org English Homepage about Aluminium-Tubes]