Stainless steel tubes are popular for his or her versatility. They are some of the vital elements of fabrication and manufacturing projects. Two of the most common varieties of stainless-steel tubes that you usually see on the market are welded and seamless. You must decide to involve the two depending on the form of project you will be taking care of. Whichever type of tube you end up picking, don’t forget that they have to match the quality standards and project specifications. If you are wondering which tube is way better, this guide can help clarify your doubts.

Before heading into the differences, you need to understand that steel pipes and steel tubes are certainly not exactly the same thing. Even though the base material is the same and is generally both hollow structures, there are a few reasons that separate tubes from pipes. For instance, you measure tubes by looking at the wall thickness and outside diameter. On the other hand, you measure simply the inside diameter of pipes. Pipes are essential for projects involving transporting liquids, gases, and fluids, while tubes are necessary for structural applications.

Seamless VS Welded

The easiest way to find out the real difference between a SS seamless pipe and welded steel tube could be the manufacturing methods. Welded tubes, because the name suggests, pass through a welding process. They have a welded seam.

Seamless tubes go through an extrusion process. With this process, the manufacturer draws the tube from among the solid stainless steel billets after which extrudes it into a hollow form. First, the billets experience different stages of heating to create oblong circular molds. These molds have hollow piercings. Next, the maker will draw the molds through among the mandrel rods and elongate them one by one.

The mandrel milling stage is very important mainly because it increases the length of each mold by almost twenty times. This provides them with a seamless stainless-steel tube shape. The tubes are further shaped with the help of cold drawing or cold rolling.

Welded steel tubes experience an activity called roll forming. This technique gives shape to the tubes that are later welded longitudinally over the seam. Manufacturers either use cold forming or hot forming methods to get SS welded pipe. Cold forming provides tighter tolerances and smoother finishes. But hot forming is additionally great at producing durable tubes.

Which One to Select?

As mentioned previously, you need to choose between the two kinds of steel tubes depending upon any project. Seamless tubes provide superior corrosion resistance, strength, and will withstand higher pressure in comparison to welded tubes. They are compatible with chemical injection lines, oil and gas control lines, fluid and gas transfer, and chemical processing of warmth trace bundles.

Welded tubes are generally less expensive due to their simpler manufacturing process. They are also available in various industries, thus leading them to be ideal for the marine industry, automotive industry, hypodermic needles, architectural applications, and food and beverage industry.

If you need high-quality seamless steel tubes, you are able to contact Wanzhi Steel. It is amongst the leading steel manufacturers that produce premium-quality steel tubes and pipes.