Stainless Steel Tube

Stainless Steel Tube
Form	Welded and Seamless.
Type	Fluid, Food, Decorative & Structural.
Round Tube (mm)	4.76 OD to 203.2 OD.
Spiral welded (mm)	76.2 OD to 1016 OD.
Square (mm)	12.7 to 150 A/F.
Rectangular (mm)	12.7 x 25.4 to 200 x 100.
Grades	304/304L & 316/316L.
Wall Thickness (mm)	0.7 to 6.0
Processing	Cut-to-length & polishing.

The information provided is for standard stock product and does not encapsulate all available combinations. Please contact your nearest Atlas Steels Service Centre if non-standard product is required and we will enquire about its availability through our global supply network of mills and stockists.

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Stainless Steel Tube Systems
Stainless steel tube is typically specified as OD (outside diameter) and WT (wall thickness) and mechanical properties of the base stainless steel material. It is resistant to many forms of corrosion, has hygienic sterile properties, high quality aesthetic appeal and exceptional strength.

Tube is manufactured in round, square and rectangular sections in a variety of wall thicknesses. It is usually manufactured by the processes of longitudinal welding, hot and cold drawing (seamless) or spiral welding.

Finishes or appearance range from unpolished to highly polished. Unpolished has a 2B mill finish, standard polished is a finely grit polished finish and there is a finer buffed finish giving close to mirror appearance. Finishes are selected to suit application and aesthetic appeal.

Stainless steel tube can be joined by welding, which facilitates rigidity in construction, or using mechanical fittings which enables dismantling for hygienic cleaning.

Tube is usually annealed if extensive forming and bending is required, such as for bending or expanding. The tubular products system incorporates a comprehensive range of stainless steel fittings in the form of elbows, tees, reducers and flanges in various sizes, wall thickness, grades and finishes to suit tube dimensions and tolerances.

As-welded (AW) tube

Decorative and Structural tube
This tubing is produced direct off the continuous tube welding mill, using cold rolled stainless steel strip made to ASTM standards, with tube produced to commercial limits of straightness in standard or specific customer lengths. AW tube has a higher yield point than annealed tube and is generally used for decorative applications or in mildly corrosive conditions. It is not suitable for applications requiring significant flaring, expanding or bending.

Manufacturing specification: ASTM A554.

Food quality tube
This tube at the point of manufacture goes through a process where the internal weld bead is rolled. The result is an improved internal finish along the weld, reducing the chance of a crevice where liquid or food product may be trapped. This assists with ‘clean in place’ (CIP) environment food and beverage process lines or other applications such as the pharmaceutical industry.

Manufacturing specification: ASTM 1528.

As-welded annealed (AWA) tube
This tube is produced by the same process as AW tube but is annealed to relieve stresses and improve ductility. Bright annealing is carried out in a controlled-atmosphere furnace, so that no oxide or scale is formed on the surface.

Annealing both increases the corrosion resistance and softens the tube which allows severe manipulation such as bending, expanding and forming.

Manufacturing specification: ASTM A269.

Cold worked annealed (CWA) tube
This tube is typically destined for heat exchanger applications and is produced in a similar way to AWA product except that the internal bead is rolled flush with the inside tube surface prior to annealing.

Manufacturing specification: ASTM A249M.

Cold drawn welded (CDW) and cold drawn welded annealed (CDWA) tube
The tube is produced by drawing through a hardened steel or tungsten carbide die, at room temperature. The purpose of cold drawing is to reduce the OD or wall or both, to produce a smooth surface finish and to break up the weld structure, which results in recrystallisation when annealed.

Through cold drawing tube in the AW and AWA conditions, fine dimensional tolerances are achieved, with excellent uniformity of wall thickness and concentricity, grain structure and hardness.

Manufacturing specification: ASTM A249M.

Cold drawn seamless (CDS) tube
This tube is produced by drawing from hollow billets. It is usually supplied in the annealed and pickled condition and used where service conditions involve high pressure and corrosive conditions and where good surface finish and close tolerances are required, e.g. heat exchanger and condenser tubing, instrumentation tubing and some refinery applications.

Manufacturing specification: ASTM A269 for general service ASTM A213M for heat exchanger service.

Spiral welded tube
This tube is produced by the helical forming and automatic welding of a continuous strip of stainless steel.

Typical applications include water and pulp in paper mills, product and effluent lines in chemical processing, water lines for brewing, dust fume extraction, furnace and boiler flues, stormwater down-pipes in high-rise applications and ventilation ducts and condensation lines for air conditioning.