IC Tubes are mainly used for packaging and shipping Electronic Components such as Switches, Relays, Sensors, Capacitors, Connectors, Power Modules, Semiconductors, etc. It is also called Antistatic IC Tubes, IC Shipping Tubes, ESD Tubes, Plastic IC tubes, IC Storage Tubes, Tube Containers, and so on. IC Tubes are used for transporting components from vendor to user and also used for loading into machines that assemble boards. And at the same time, provide exceptional ESD protection while maintaining a very low cost of packaging to product ratio. There are thousands of different configurations and there is not a one tube fits all scenario.
Tube packaging is similar to Tape and Reel packaging in that it can safely store and transport larger parts that are not suitable for tape and reel packaging. With this method, sets of components are secured in dedicated packaging
Features Of IC Tubes
- Anti-static, not easy to jam, no impurities, no thorns
- High definition, good ductility
- High wear resistance, product pressure resistance, strong drop resistance
- High toughness, not easy to deform
- High impact toughness, good water tightness and durability
- Simple installation, very suitable for automatic production lines
Our Advantages And Services
- Quickly propose the tube designs and it’s quotation
- Process and technical support for various materials such as PVC, PS, PC, PET, ABS, etc.
- The anti-static property be treated by surface layer process or material built-in additives.
- Meet the customization of various tube lengths or shapes.
- Printing of kinds of Symbols on the surface of tubes is options.
- Various Stoppers can be provided according to the characteristics of the tubes or customer request
- Lead Time and Quality is guaranteed.
- Small or large quantities available
- Quality management system such as ISO14001 and after-sales service
Tube Quotes
For quoting IC Tubes, Sewate will need one of the following:
- Drawing of the tube you wish to order
- Drawing of the IC component that’s going into the tubes
- A sample tube if there is no drawing
- If none of the above is available, we will need your physical component that goes into the tube so we can take measurements.
Considerations for custom-made IC tubes
- One time tooling set up cost
- Extruded Plastic IC tube tooling must be designed & manufactured based on the shape of the extrusion
- Minimum tube order requirement
In our Four points to pay attention to when purchasing Anti Static Plastic IC Shipping tubes, you can get more details for purchasing.
Custom IC Tube Design Guide
SEWATE specializes in a wide range of Custom IC Tubes for almost every application you can think of. Our tubes can be customized in terms of material, length, color, shape and level of anti-static!
Design Process for Custom IC tubes
A typical process follows some or all of the steps mentioned below. These steps help ensure that the tube is working properly when the process is complete.
- Free Quote. This involves a review of the application, key design requirements and tube functionality. The specific design process will be indicated in the estimate.
- Using the purchase order, create a drawing for approval. This step helps ensure that the tube is as expected and serves as an opportunity to make adjustments and/or changes to the design.
- Mold making and Tooling trial
- Sample production, free samples of 20-50 tube will be provided
Custom IC Tube Lead Time
The time to Custom IC Tubes depends on many factors. 25-day ARO on the low end if the project is basic and low volume. Typical lead time is 4-6 weeks. This time may increase if changes are made during the design process. Lead times for complex tools or high volume items can be as high as 10-12 week
Available for: SOP, SSOP, TSSOP, SOIC, SOJ, DIP, PLCC, LCC, QNF, MFL, LPCC. TO Series, Sockets, Rubber End Plugs, Plastic Pins/Nails, Plastic Caps, EPE Plugs also available.
Keep Reading: Anti Static IC Shipping Tube customization guidelines
What Material To Be Choosed
Material Selection is important when specifying a tube. IC Tubes can be made of plastics of various materials such as PVC, PS, PET, PC, ABS, etc. The packaging tubes of different materials will have different performances.
PVC, the full name is polyvinyl chloride. The material has the advantages of non-flammability, high strength, good flexibility, easy molding, not being brittle, excellent geometric stability, non-toxic and non-polluting, and long storage time. It is commonly be used as the materials for the IC Tubes.
| Features | Benefits |
| Good impact strength | crack free tubes |
| Stable dimension | Excellent smooth interfacing |
| Critical dimension control within 5 mils | Higher productivity |
| Short cycle time | Short lead time |
HIPS, is an abbreviation for impact-resistant polystyrene, an impact-resistant polystyrene product produced by adding polybutadiene rubber particles to polystyrene. HIPS has the characteristics of easy processing, good performance, low price, and environmental protection. However, the gloss of the material is poor, the impact strength is low, the product is brittle, and its all-around performance is lower than that of PVC and ABS.
| Features | Benefits |
| Halogen free | Reduced environmental impact |
| Improved clarity/transparency and impact strength | Good clarity/transparency without compromising impact strength |
| Available in clear or translucent |
ABS is a terpolymer of acrylonitrile (A)-butadiene (B)-styrene (S). It combines the properties of three components:
- Acrylonitrile has high hardness and strength, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance.
- Butadiene has impact resistance and toughness.
- Styrene has high surface gloss and easy coloration and is easy to process.
Therefore, ABS plastic has high strength, is lightweight, has a large surface hardness, is very smooth, easy to clean, dimensionally stable, and environmentally friendly. ABS is susceptible to stress cracking due to solvent, poor weather resistance, and sunlight, discoloration, and brittleness.
PET is an amorphous copolyester. Its products are highly transparent, excellent in impact resistance, challenging, good in gloss, non-white under pressure, good in low-temperature resistance, easy to form and post-process, as Environmentally friendly materials that meet FDA standards for food contact. PETG has a low heat distortion temperature and poor drying performance.
| Features | Benefits |
| Halogen free | Reduced environmental impact |
| Strongest impact strength | Excellent for heavy duty big packages |
| Excellent clarity/transparency | Application examples: microprocessor heat sink and ceramic TO packages. |
PC is the abbreviation of polycarbonate. It is an amorphous thermoplastic resin with excellent comprehensive properties. It has excellent electrical insulation, elongation, dimensional stability and chemical resistance, high strength, and heat resistance. And cold resistance; also has the advantages of self-extinguishing, flame retardant, non-toxic, colorable, and so on.
| Features | Benefits |
| Tight tolerance. Critical dimension control +/- 2 mils | Accurate unattended high speed device loading and unloading |
| Superb clarity/transparency | Ease of visual inspection |
| Package guide profile design | Prevent device piggy back, shingling and unit rotation |
| High impact strength | Ideal for MSOP and TSSOP square body packages |
FAQs(Frequently Asked Questions About IC Tubes)
Does the supplier have the ability to develop and design IC tubes?
Yes. Sewate has 20 years of research and development and design capabilities for IC tubes. The R&D and design capabilities of the supplier are critical. Independent R&D and design capabilities are necessary factors in designing an Anti-static IC tube that meets the requirements. A good supplier can design a shipping tube that meets the requirements by simply providing a part drawing or the real part samples.
Will IC tubes get stuck during the packaging process?
The IC Tubes designed and produced by our company is more suitable for automatic assembly line packaging because of its reasonable design, stable production process, and well-controlled dimensional precision which may effectively prevent parts jamming. At the same time, we have established a complete inspection system And quality management system to ensure product performance.
Is the transparency of the IC tubes good?
Yes, The IC tube produced by our company has high transparency, no impurities and burrs, which is beneficial for customer staffs to check the quality of the parts inside through the tubes.
The IC tubes are easy to crush the components during transportation? Can it better protect the parts?
The IC tubes produced by our company has excellent elasticity, wear resistance and toughness, and is not easy to be damaged during transportation, so that it can better protect your parts.
What is the Lead Time of custom tube typically?
The time to Custom IC Tubes depends on many factors. 25-day ARO on the low end if the project is basic and low volume. Typical lead time is 4-6 weeks. This time may increase if changes are made during the design process. Lead times for complex tools or high volume items can be as high as 10-12 week.
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