Air Hose Couplers
Basic Design of Air Hose Couplers
Air hose couplers are short pipes or tubes, about two inches long, whose basic function is to link two other pipes or tubes in order to attain a longer reach. The outside diameter of the latter two tubes matches the inner diameter of the former, thus minimizing if not eliminating the possibility of leaks.
These links are therefore threaded inside the tube. This is known as a female pipe thread or FPT. On the other hand, the tubes that are joined have threads outside, known as male pipe thread or MPT. These threads are commonly sized at 1/4 or 3/8 of an inch.
There are a few variations to the basic design. An example is the link that features an FTP on one end and an MTP on the other. There is also the T-link that connects three tubes, with the stem of the T providing the supply and the other two as the outward channels. A hex manifold adds another outlet providing for three output channels. You can think of this as a letter Y with an additional vertical line in between the two diagonals. The stem of the Y provides the supply. A variation of this is the tripod manifold. It looks like a, well, tripod.
Air hose couplers are usually made of brass but they can also be made of other materials such as fiberglass or aluminum.