...
When working with pump tubing of small size (#13, #14, Orange-Yellow, and Yellow-Blue), it is necessary to use microbore tubing to hydraulically connect the pump to the experimental apparatus. The microbore tubing most commonly used in the lab is PTFE with OD of 1.6 mm (1/16") and ID of 0.8 mm (1/32"). This tubing can be purchased at ... In order to McMaster-Carr or Cole-Parmer. To connect the microbore tubing to the peristaltic pump tubing requires a barbed tube fitting sized for tubing of 1/16" ID (can be purchased at McMaster-Carr), shown below.
This barbed tube fitting inserts easily into the small diameter pump tubing as shown below.
Connecting the microbore tubing to barbed fittings poses more of a challenge, since the barbed fitting is designed to fit inside a tube fitting sized 5463K36of 1/16" ID, but must instead fit over a tube of 1/16" OD. This would not be possible if not for the ductility of the microbore tubing. In stretching the microbore tubing, its diameter is decreased, and can be stretched to fit within the barbed fitting. Stretching can be accomplished in a number of ways, but the recommended approach is to use the puller shown below.
After coiling the microbore tubing tightly around its spool, the puller can be used to grip the microbore tubing and stretch it as shown below.
Stretching can also be accomplished by wrapping the tubing around the handle of a screwdriver, for example, in the absence of the puller.
Once the tubing is sufficiently stretched, locate the section of tubing where the cross section is narrowest. It is here that the tubing should be cut so that it can be pulled through the narrow opening. When cutting, try to make the cut at an acute angle, as shown below, so that the tubing will fit even more easily into narrow opening.
If the tube has been stretched enough and the cut has been made neatly, it should be fairly easy to pull the tubing through the narrow opening of the barbed fitting. Once the tubing comes out the other side of the fitting, pull it through until it fits snugly in the opening of the fitting, as shown below.
Once the tubing is secure in the fitting, any excess can be removed and the other side of the barbed fitting can be inserted in the pump tubing as shown below.
The same process of stretching the microbore tubing to fit it snugly in smaller openings can be applied in other places. One common application is to bore a 1/16" hole in a 1/4" push-to-connect plug so that the plug can then be inserted into a push-to-connect through-wall or tee fitting. This is the most common way to make the connection between microbore tubing and an experimental apparatus.
Pump Calibration
ProCoDA has a pump calibration routine available on the configuration tab. The pump must be on and running (controlled by ProCoDA) in order to complete the calibration.
...