PRODUCTION OF FLEXIBLE PIPE FOR ENDOSCOPE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously and easily obtain a flexible pipe for an endoscope which may be formed highly flexible at a front end and less flexible at a rear end, extremely facilitates insertion operation, may be flatly formed over the entire outer peripheral surface and minimizes the pain to be given to a patient at the time of insertion. SOLUTION: This flexible pipe is formed by masking part of the outer peripheral surface of a braid of a flexible pipe forming base material with a heat resistant tube, then coating the tube with skin of a thermoplastic material from the masked side. The heat resistant tube used for masking is then stripped and both of the entire outer peripheral surface of the braid and the outer peripheral surface coated with the skin are coated with the skin consisting of the thermoplastic material having the hardness different from the hardeness of the skin with which the outer peripheral surface is previously coated over the entire surface.