#Product Trends
The Real Causes of Pipe Wall Thickness Variation
Discover what causes pipe wall thickness variation!
Maintaining consistent pipe wall thickness is one of the most important challenges to overcome in pipe extrusion. Even small variations in wall thickness can affect product quality, pressure performance, material usage, compliance with specification, and overall production profitability.
When wall thickness issues appear, tooling is often blamed first, and for variation around the circumference, that is frequently correct. But variation along the length usually begins further upstream, in the stability of the extrusion process itself.
What Is Pipe Wall Thickness Variation?
Pipe wall thickness variation is any deviation of the pipe wall from its target thickness, and it takes two distinct forms. Variation around the circumference (eccentricity) means one side of the pipe is thicker than the other. Variation along the length (axial) means the average wall drifts up or down over time. The two have different root causes and different fixes.
Why Does Pipe Wall Thickness Control Matter?
