Setting new standards in hoses

Jon Lawson

Willi Emde discusses standard-tested hoses for greater security in the operational process

Hose lines are often referred to as a weak machine component – unfairly, as it happens. Sometimes they are capable of more than pipelines, and their flexibility is what makes the production process itself truly flexible.

In some cases hoses are absolutely indispensable. To ensure that a hose can reliably and safely meet all the demands made of it in the industrial application over the long term, the hose material must be precisely tailored to the respective medium and the conditions of use. Differences in quality and thus durability of the material used in hoses usually cannot be seen at first glance.

And bursting hoses – caused by premature material fatigue – can cause unforeseen costs. High-quality hoses manufactured in accordance with domestic and international standards ensure the highest possible degree of operational dependability.

Designation and type approvals

In addition to requirements in terms of materials, structure, dimensions and physical characteristics, the standards also include specifications for the designation and type approvals for the hoses.

With the type approval, the manufacturer indicates that the production process and hose design fulfils all the requirements of the respective standard.

The approvals are conducted at regular intervals or whenever there are changes in the production process or to one of the materials.

All standards are also checked at defined intervals in order to adapt them to changed technical prerequisites. If a standard no longer conforms to the latest state of technological development, the standard is either withdrawn or its content revised.

Precise extruding and product-specific braiding technologies and vulcanization processes likewise contribute to the high quality of hoses.

The material composition and design of the Trix hoses from Contitech give them robustness and high flexibility. Other characteristic properties include resistance to high and low temperatures, ozone and UV, and long service life.

As a result, they are highly resistant to the thermal and mechanical stresses to which they are subjected in daily operations. The use of high-quality materials in computer-controlled manufacturing facilities, as well as comprehensive quality controls during production, ensure that metre for metre, a hose is always of the same high quality.

Collaboration in standards committees

As a technology partner of industrial companies, ContiTech is active in numerous international and national committees for the standardisation of technical hoses.

Companies that are actively involved in the standards committees play an important role in promoting occupational safety and environmental, consumer and health protection.

At the same time, through collaboration with the science and research communities, they are in a position to set the course for new technologies at an early stage and thus set benchmarks on the markets with product innovations.

Willi Emde is head of R&D and Production for ContiTech Industrial Fluid Solutions

Recent Issues