Seamless steel tubes are tubes that are made of a single piece of material. On the surface of seamless pipes produced by hot rolling or cold drawing, there is no trace of joining as there is no need to weld the material. The seamless tubes are threaded together. The absence of a seam significantly affects the tightness and durability of the pipe, so that this type of pipe is intended for the most demanding applications, such as transport of liquids and gases under pressure.
As seamless pipe offers a higher safety standard, it is generally more expensive than welded pipe. Seamless tubes are also shorter than welded tubes. Another difference is the much higher corrosion resistance of seamless pipes.
Seamless steel pipes are used in almost all industries, including power plants and combined heat and power plants (boilers, boilers, heat exchangers, turbines, coolers, etc.).
Seamless precision tubes are mainly used in the hydraulic and pneumatic industries (hydraulic equipment, hydraulic arms, booms, cylinders, pistons, telescopic cylinders, etc.), in the Automotive industry (for the production of dampers, shock absorbers, steering systems, etc.) and in the machinery industry ( bearings, hydraulic cylinders, anchors etc.).
Welded steel pipes are formed by coiling steel sheets or strips. The connection formed in the production process is welded, creating the so-called seam. We divide pipes with a seam into pipes with a longitudinal or spiral seam. Today’s production technologies provide welded pipes of very high quality, however, any type of connection (including a weld seam) carries a certain risk of leakage. Due to the manufacturing technology, welded pipes can have much larger diameters and can be produced in much longer sections than seamless pipes. However, the welding makes the welded pipes less aesthetically pleasing, which means that they are less often used in visible elements of the installation or, for example, in the furniture industry.
Galvanized welded steel pipes are used in the construction of water supply systems. Black welded pipes are used, among others in the construction of heating installations. Welded pipes are also used in steel structures. Electrically welded or submerged arc welded are used in pressure equipment and in high temperature situations.