Seamless metal tubes are made through a process involving heating metal billets, shaping them into hollow molds, and elongating them using a mandrel.
Here's a breakdown of the process:
- Heating the Billet: Metal billets, the raw material, are heated to a high temperature to make them malleable.
- Piercing: The heated billet is then fed into a piercing mill, which forms it into an oblong, circular mold with a hollow center. This creates a basic tube shape.
- Elongation: While still hot, the mold is drawn through a mandrel rod. This process significantly increases the length of the mold, often by as much as twenty times, ultimately forming the seamless tube. The mandrel helps control the inside diameter and wall thickness of the tube.
In essence, the process involves creating a hollow form in a solid piece of metal and then stretching it out to achieve the desired tube dimensions without any welding or seams. This results in a tube with uniform strength and integrity.
