Tube Forming Industry Information
Tube Forming
TTubes are cylindrical shapes that, depending on their application, may be hollow or solid. They are created through tube forming, a general name that applies to all those processes that convert, or form, raw metal or plastic materials into tubes. The range of possibility with tube forming is quite large and, thus, the applications of tubes and the industries that utilize them are equally diverse. Some of the industries that rely on tube forming include: architecture and construction, automotive engineering, industrial manufacturing, marine and naval and sports and recreation. In architecture and construction, builders use tube products for components like floor flanges, grab bars and steel handrails. In auto engineering, tubes facilitate power transmission applications via roles as exhaust pipes, fuel lines and the like. Meanwhile, industrial manufacturing, tubes wear many hats, functioning as, among other things, heat exchangers, heating elements and hydraulic cylinders. In marine and naval, tubes are used as launcher tubes, telescope components and masts. Finally, in sports and recreation, tubes serve as tent frames, tent frames and goal posts.
To ready tubes to serve the many applications for which they may be commissioned, tube manufacturers rely on two main main processes: tube rolling and tube extrusion. Tube rolling is performed in three main steps. First, manufacturers take pre-impregnated materials, cut them and roll them around mold or mandrel. After this, they wrap the mandrel in a film for sleeve that gets rid of any excess air, ensuring the final product will not have any air-related imperfections, like air bubbles, creases or wrinkles. Finally, manufacturers engage in heat-curing. Once this is done, they remove the mandrel, leaving behind a hollow formed tube. The next process, extrusion, begins with a round metal billet that is heated until it is fully molten, or plasticized. In order to avoid oxidation, this step is often done inside a vacuum. After plasticization, the billet is forced by a ram through a die, which has, in this case, been pre-shaped as a hollow tube. In addition, hot tube extrusion can be either direct or indirect. Direct extrusion is performed when the die is held immobile as the billet is pushed through its opening. Indirect extrusion, on the other hand, is performed when, once again, the die is held immobile, as, unlike before, the billet is also held stationary. In this case, the ram is hollow and moves into the billet from one end, forcing it to flow through the die. Regardless of the method, after extrusion is complete, the metal tubing is straightened into its desired length by a stretcher.
Tube forming processes are also frequently subsidized by tube fabricating processes, which are fundamentally secondary processes that bend, shape, cut and enlarge tubes. One such operation is tube swaging, a cold-working process that deforms and reshapes tube end diameters so that they can better attach to different tube, pipe or cable fittings. Other processes that may be utilized during tube forming include cutting, joining, tensile forming (expanding, stretching, recessing), bending, shearing, ice packing, sand packing, rotary draw bending and heat induction. During any and all of these processes, manufacturers typically use metals such as carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass and bronze. Which metal is chosen for an application mainly depends on the properties of the metal and how they match up with the application’s specifications and requirements.
In addition to all of this, manufactured tubes can be generally divided into three different classes: seamless tubing, as-welded or electric resistant welded (EWR) tubing and drawn-over-mandrel (DOM) tubing. Some of these tubing types highlight addition ways in which tube forming can be performed. Seamless tubing, for example, can be formed not only through the extrusion process but also through the rotary piercing process, which involves applying compressive forces to a cylinder in order to create a thick-walled, seamless tube. DOM tubes highlight the cold drawing process of mandrel drawing. This process works by inserting a mandrel, or metal ball or rod, into previously formed tubes while they are bent through a die. Mandrel drawing imparts upon a tube the qualities of improved surface finish, weld integrity and dimensional accuracy. To find out more about how tube forming could benefit their operations, potential customers are encouraged to reach out to a manufacturer with their questions and specifications.
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