TUBE MANUFACTURING

1. Olin BrassFineweld Tube production begins with direct chill cast ingots manufactured by Olin Brass, an ISO 9001:2000 certified facility. These metallurgically homogeneous ingots are processed in our modern mills to produce long, continuous coils of high quality strip whose thickness becomes the final tube wall. This strip, approximately 2,000 feet long, is slit to a width corresponding to the specified tube diameter.

2. From the payoff reel, roll forming equipment converts the flat strip to a tubular configuration.

3. As the formed strip passes through the welding equipment, high frequency current is introduced and flows along the edges of the metal to be welded. Virtually instantaneous heat creates an essentially “plastic” condition in the strip edges with the rest of the tube remaining relatively cool.

4. Simultaneously the strip edges are brought together with forging pressure, thereby producing a high quality forge weld.

5. Excess metal, expelled during the forge-welding process, is continuously removed from both the inside and outside surfaces.

6. Highly-polished finishing rolls ensure tube straightness, uniform diameter, and excellent surface quality.

7. One continuous operation precision cuts the tube to length, deburrs the ends, removes any saw chips, and delivers the tubes for packing.