One of the most impressive things about steel tubes is the numerous ways you can adapt them to create various products. This makes them useful for a vast array of applications. An interesting product you can choose is steel tubular rings. We want to take a closer look at them today. Focusing specifically on whether to opt for open ended or joined products. Then, if you want to arrange tube ring rolling for a project, you can speak to us.
What are the two main options?
The process to create the rings is quite interesting. What you do is take a section of straight steel tubing and pass it through a machine with a series of rollers. These mechanically bend it, creating a curve. With repeat passes you ultimately get a ring.
Where you get the different options here is what to do after the rolling itself. Firstly, you could leave the rings open ended. This simply means that the ends are not joined together in any way. Therefore, there will be a gap between the edges.
The second option is to choose welded rings. Here there has been an extra step to join the ends together to create a full ring. There are various ways to achieve this, and it can have a big impact on the final products.
Options for welding rings
The simplest way to join the ends after tube ring rolling is butt welding. It is a versatile option and can provide high strength if you get proper fusion.
What you do with butt welding is get the ends of the ring so they are parallel and tack weld them. You then use a filler metal and weld to create a strong joint. If you are careful, you can achieve great results with a small heat affected zone.
There is a lot of flexibility with butt welding. You can do different things to improve the finish, including edge preparation and creating grooves. Pre-heating may also be necessary. Plus, you can create different joint shapes if necessary, including V, U, and J.
Another option is to choose flash butt welding. It is different because you don’t need to use any filler material. Instead, what you do is position so the ends of the ring are touching perfectly. This means you need more precision from the tube ring rolling. You then use electric resistance welding. It heats up both ends until they melt. You then gently apply pressure to push them together, forging a bond.
There are some interesting benefits with flash butt rings. Crucially, because there is no filler material, there is no difference in the properties. So, you can typically use extra processes like heat treatment with no concerns. Plus, the welding is fast and you can get very strong joints.
What to choose?
Now you know more about the options, it is a good idea to look at what to choose. Simply, if you want maximum strength, flash butt welded rings are generally best. However, you have more design options with standard butt welding. If you’re unsure of your requirements, it can be best to order open ended rings. You can then decide what to do, including additional processing.
Talk to us about tube ring rolling
Multiform Tubes Engineering Ltd is one of the best companies to work with if you need to adapt tube. We can do almost anything, including bending, drilling, and various types of end forming such as beading. Most importantly, we can work with an array of materials, including different types of steel, brass, titanium, and more.
If you specifically need steel tubular rings, we can provide them. You can speak to us to talk about tube ring rolling and any specific needs. We can then work to offer the products you need for many applications, including automotive uses, oil and gas, and much more.