Plastic Pipe and Tube Packing: Operation and Applications

Executive summary

Plastic pipe and tube packing for small-bore pipe means coiling: our vertical coiler winds PE, PEX or PE-RT pipe onto an expanding reel, counts the length, cuts it and ties the coil for dispatch. The FCL range takes pipe OD from 4 to 63 mm and coil OD up to 1,600 mm. A worked example sizes a 200 m coil of 20 mm floor heating pipe.

Table of Contents

Why small plastic pipe is sold in coils

Floor heating pipe, water pipe and gas pipe up to about 63 mm are bendable, so they are sold in long coils rather than straight lengths. A 200 m coil covers a full room loop with no joint, and a coil packs more metres per pallet than cut bars.

The coil has to be the same every time: same length, same ID, tight layers and straps that hold it during transport. That is the job of an automatic coiler at the end of the extrusion line.

Our blue vertical pipe coiler

Our blue-frame vertical coiler sits downstream of the extrusion line. The purple pipe enters through guide rollers and winds onto a black, spoked reel that turns on a horizontal shaft, so the coil builds standing on its edge. A traverse guide moves the pipe across the reel width to lay each turn beside the last. A green run lamp and a yellow warning lamp sit on top of the frame. The finished coil comes off tied with white straps.

Operation, step by step

  1. Thread. The operator threads the pipe end onto the reel once, at line start.
  2. Wind and count. The reel turns in step with the extruder while a meter counts the length.
  3. Cut. At the set length the cutter parts the pipe.
  4. Tie. The coil is strapped at several points while still on the reel.
  5. Unload. The reel spokes retract so the coil slides off, and the next coil starts.

All of these values are PLC recipes: length, number of ties and reel diameter. A change of pipe size is a recipe change plus the reel setting.

FCL coiler data for small pipe

From our hose and pipe coiling and strapping machine page:

Model Pipe OD Coil ID Coil OD (max) Coil width (max)
FCL100 4–12 mm 150 mm 300 mm 150 mm
FCL200 8–28 mm 200–400 mm 650 mm 200 mm
FCL600 8–28 mm 380–600 mm 1,050 mm 300 mm
FCL800 12–32 mm 490–860 mm 1,200 mm 350 mm
FCL1000 20–63 mm 600–1,300 mm 1,600 mm 400 mm

The page offers horizontal and vertical coiler versions, and one or two coil heads. Pipe from 40 to 180 mm moves to the FPCL frames.

Worked example: 200 m of 20 mm PEX pipe

Illustrative order: PEX floor heating pipe, OD 20 mm, 200 m per coil, coil ID 600 mm, coil width 300 mm.

Model. 20 mm sits in the FCL600 band (8–28 mm). ID 600 mm is the top of its 380–600 mm range, and width 300 mm is its maximum.

Turns per layer. 300 ÷ 20 = 15 turns.

Layer lengths. Mean layer diameter is ID + OD × (2n − 1), and each layer is 15 × π × D:

Layer Mean D Layer length Total
1 620 mm 29.2 m 29.2 m
2 660 mm 31.1 m 60.3 m
3 700 mm 33.0 m 93.3 m
4 740 mm 34.9 m 128.2 m
5 780 mm 36.8 m 164.9 m
6 820 mm 38.6 m 203.6 m

Running totals are summed from unrounded layer lengths, then rounded to 0.1 m.

200 m ends in layer 6, so the coil OD is about 600 + 2 × 6 × 20 = 840 mm, inside the 1,050 mm limit.

Cycle. At a line speed of v m/min, one coil takes 200 ÷ v minutes to wind. The cut, tie and unload time must fit in the gap the line allows; if not, a two-head coiler or an accumulator keeps the extruder running. On longer lines we build the full chain: pay-off, accumulator, tensioner, then coiling and strapping. The tensioner holds the pipe tension steady into the reel. We confirm machine-side times at quote.

Applications

  • PEX and PE-RT floor heating pipe in 100–600 m coils
  • PE water and irrigation pipe
  • PA and PU air and fluid tube
  • Corrugated conduit, on the FCL hose versions

Each one coils on the same principle. The changes are the reel diameter, the traverse pitch and how many ties hold the coil.

Selection checklist

  1. Pipe material, OD and wall.
  2. Length per coil, coil ID and width.
  3. Extruder line speed.
  4. Ties or straps per coil, and the strap material and width (we confirm the strapping head to suit).
  5. Whether the coil is bagged or film-wrapped after coiling.
  6. Destination country, for voltage and the CE file.

Safety: EN 415-10 and ISO 12100

A coiler is a packaging machine but not a pallet wrapper, so EN 415-10 applies to it rather than EN 415-6. Our CE risk assessment for it follows ISO 12100. The hazards are the turning reel, the traverse, the cutter and the pipe under tension at the infeed. Guard doors are interlocked, and threading is done at jog speed. The yellow warning lamp shows when the reel may move.

Engineering FAQ

Q: Can the coiler follow the extruder speed? A: Yes. The reel speed is set from the line speed, so the pipe is wound without pulling or slack. We set this up at commissioning.

Q: Can one coiler handle 16 mm and 32 mm pipe? A: Both sit in the FCL800 band (12–32 mm). The reel setting and recipe change between sizes.

Q: Is the coil bagged or wrapped as well? A: This coiler winds and ties. Bagging or film wrapping is a separate station after it.

Q: Which standard do you work to? A: We work to EN 415-10 for the coiler, and the CE risk assessment follows ISO 12100.

Next step

  1. Send pipe OD, coil length and line speed to info@fhopepack.com.
  2. We check the coil size against an FCL model.
  3. We reply within 24 hours with the model, coil sketch and layout.

Sources

  • FHOPE hose and pipe coiling and strapping machine product page: FCL and FPCL data
  • Our blue vertical pipe coiler shown above
  • Worked example: illustrative figures
  • Standards: EN 415-10; ISO 12100:2010

Last reviewed: 2026-10-18

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