A plain tube might get the job done in many scenarios. However, it won’t work for all of them. What you need to do here is put your faith in someone who specialises in altering tubing. This is where we come in. Ours is the top establishment excelling in tube drilling and other alterations. Thanks to our practices, clients can get the perfect item and also save themselves valuable effort, money, and time.

Using metals when manufacturing tubes is advantageous. They will be able to endure various environments, have impressive strength, and can offer a great aesthetic finish. One of the most crucial benefits with metals like copper and even steel is their ability to resist heat. Yet, it is possible to heat all metals to the point where they degrade. Burning and overheating can both occur when a metal reaches super high temperatures. It is important to know the different between the two so you know what to expect.

Overheating

We will begin with overheating. This is when high temperatures diminish the metal’s characteristics. The worst consequence of this is the influence on the metal’s mechanical properties. It can result in some serious problems, especially if the tube is no longer as strong or as sturdy as you think it should be. It could allow the tubing to fail, resulting in property damage, injuries, or even harm to the environment. In addition, it could increase the risk of damage during processes like tube drilling.

The changes in the tube will depend on the metal you are working with. For instance, a hardened steel could suffer a major loss of strength and hardness. This is because the heat transforms the microstructure of the steel.

Overheating can alter the mechanical attributes of other metals too. Precipitation-hardened alloys like 6061-T6 aluminium can suffer what people refer to as overaging. The precipitates within the alloy can also expand as a result of the heat. In turn, this causes them to become so large that they can’t block dislocations.

Burning

Now, we shall move onto burning. This happens when you overheat a metal to the point where you are unable to repair it. It is possible to rectify many of the negative outcomes of overheating to some degree. However, burning’s effects are more permanent. Usually, the only use left for the metal is as scrap.

When a metal burns, expect to encounter two common types of degradation. One of them is intergranular oxidation. This is corrosion that takes place at a metal’s grain boundaries. It tends to happen when oxygen can’t bond to corrosion resistant elements. Instead, they bond to an element that corrodes more readily. An example is when stainless steel has iron oxide on the exterior in the place of chromium oxide. As a result the material will degrade easier.

Professional tube drilling and more

At Multiform Tubes, we use tube drilling to give every item a hole that is precise and clean. With our first rate skills, we can offer you solutions for a host of needs. Not to mention, these holes will save time during the assembly.

When we adapt tubing we take care to ensure we do not harm the mechanical properties. Most of our processes are cold so there is no risk of heat harming the tubes. If it is a process like drilling where there is a little heat, we will take care to ensure it does not cause any damage.

If you would like to do business with us, please get in touch.