Process |
World Class Tube Manufacturing
High quality, tight tolerance tubing has been a benchmark of Welded Tubes throughout its more than 60 year history. We invest annually in new equipment and process improvements to provide our customers a faster response time and a world class tubing product. OEM customers in the automotive, appliance, health and fitness, industrial machinery, and furniture industries have come to depend on Welded Tubes to deliver a cost-effective tubing solution. As an IATF 16949:2016 certified manufacturer, we adhere to the quality systems and standards essential to be a reliable OEM supplier.
Electric-Resistance Welding... a better process
The manufacturing process for precision welded carbon steel tubing begins with coils of steel, which are slit to the proper width for desired size. The cut strip passes through a series of rollers that progressively form it into a tubular shape. It then passes through our high frequency electric-resistance welder, which joins the edges together under pressure and forms a clean, strong bond.
The high frequency electric-resistance welding process assures a stronger weld than conventional TIG and laser welds. No filler metal is added to the weld and due to metallurgical changes occurring during the process, the welded joint is actually stronger than the parent material.
Large inventory of SAE 1008-1020 and HSLA steel lets us offer shorter lead times.
Uncoilers provide strip to the line and two arms are utilized for quick changeover.
We are tooled for hundreds of tube sizes, and can easily tool up for special sizes and shapes working closely with our suppliers.
Custom designed tube mills ensure tight tolerances enabling us to produce a wide range of T/D ratios and automotive quality OD tolerances.
The edges of the formed tube are high frequency electric-resistance welded, providing a smooth contour and maintaining tight tolerances
All mills are equipped with SPC control of OD to ensure a more consistent, on-spec product, which enables customers to maximize fabrication productivity and uptime.
Microscopic inspection of weld cross sections provides a systematic check of process integrity to ensure all quality standards are met.
A 100x view of a typical weld of a steel tube shows clear evidence of excellent welded integrity.
Macro optical inspection provides a quick and precise measurement of tubing dimensions -- OD, ID, weld integrity -- to enure the process is performing within specified parameters.
A specially designed and padded run-out table supports the tube along the length to optimize straightness and protect the finish, which is critical in subsequent fabrication and finishing operations.
Mill length tubes are cut to length and end conditioned in Welded Tubes' continuous integrated process.
Standard packaging along with customize packaging available. Shipping labels providing our customers what they need.
Proven Weld Integrity
Metallurgical testing and analysis confirms the effectiveness of electric-resistance welding. Microscopic inspection of weld cross sections shows the structure in the heat affected zone recrystallizes to form an excellent metallurgical bond.
Tight Tolerance Tubing
Our custom designed tube mills are equipped with SPC control of OD to ensure consistent on-spec tubing, which allows our customers to maximize their productivity and uptime. Macro optical inspection of our tubing confirms OD tolerances required to be held. In virtually every instance, these tolerances are superior to those of competition.
Repeatable Quality
With more than a half century experience, Welded Tubes has established a complete quality system that is repeatable "every time". In addition to meeting the specific requirements of IATF 16949:2016, we employ a range of quality control tools, including SPC (statistical process control), pre-control charting, 8D problem solving analysis, PPAP (pre production approval process), FMEA (potential failure mode effects analysis), control planning, MSA (measurement systems analysis), APQP (advanced product quality planning), and DOE (design of experiments analysis).