Electric resistance welding is a technique used to create high quality tubing. We are a company that understands this practice. In fact, we have become the foremost ERW steel tube supplier West Midlands has. With our large array of tube sizes, we are certain we can meet your requirements.
Nothing is perfect
Electric resistance welding is a technique that produces seam or spot welds. It does this by using a material’s electric resistance as well as pressure to bond during the weld.
ERW is an advantageous procedure, however it is not perfect. There are a handful of typical defects that you can expect to show up. Said defects can include paste welds, entrapments, hook cracks, and pre-arcs. Other flaws can include stitching, lack of fusion, porosity, and cast weld.
Following welding OD and ID trim can lead to a product that is scrapped or downgraded. Prior to welding, skelp going into the line can have internal or surface defects. Or it could be out of specification for thickness. Due to these reasons, you must have an efficient ERW inspection set up in place. This is something we have and makes us the best ERW steel tube supplier West Midlands businesses can work with.
Go beyond standard inspection
Standard methods for ERW inspection employ piezoelectric transducers. These may be effective. However, the transducers must be coupled to the component under inspection with a liquid medium or high pressure. This can create interference or restrict your scanning capabilities. What you might want to do instead is use an EMAT system. You will want to favour this over traditional inspection.
One of the main reasons to use EMAT is that it is non-contact inspection. It does not need any sort of couplant. This enables the system to carry out inspections on parts that have greater temperatures. It can do so while everything is operating at full production speeds. This benefit makes it simpler for you to integrate into the automated production lines as well.
Immediate inspections
Furthermore, it is possible to inspect welds with EMAT immediately after the welding process. This lowers the amount of waste by catching the weld discontinuities. It will also catch the trimming and API standard defects. Trimming issues by themselves make up the majority of scrapped tubes. This is because people detect them long after issues manifest.
An ERW steel tube supplier in the West Midlands
At Union Steel Tubes, we always have a large variety of products to offer our clients. By keeping the options open, it is much easier for everyone to find tubes that suit their particular needs. We even have a steel cutting service if you need very specific lengths.
If you need the assistance of the top ERW steel tube supplier West Midlands has, get in touch with us. We offer fast delivery and excellent prices.
