PRECISION STEEL TUBE

HANDBOOK
– COMPILATION OF TRAINING MATERIAL
FOR BENDING, WELDING AND COATING
PRECISION STEEL TUBE
HANDBOOK
– COMPILATION OF TRAINING MATERIAL
FOR BENDING, WELDING AND COATING

First edition SSAB 2016

ISBN 978-952-93-7673-5 (sid.)
ISBN 978-952-93-7674-2 (pdf)
Copyright © Juha Tulonen and SSAB
Graphic design: Halledo
Printing: Otava Book Printing Ltd, Keuruu 2016

SSAB and its subsidiaries have taken care to ensure that the content of this publication is accurate.
However, we do not accept responsibility or liability for errors or information that is found to be
misleading. Suggestions for, or descriptions of, the end use or application of products or methods
of working are for information only. SSAB and its subsidiaries accept no liability in respect thereof.
 Contents

Foreword....................................................................................................... 5
1. Introduction................................................................................................. 7
1.1 Manufacturing of longitudinally HF-welded precision steel tube..................................8

2. Steel designation and properties according to standards..................12

2.1 Technical delivery conditions...................................................................................................... 18
2.1.1 Dimensional tolerances................................................................................................................................18
2.1.2 Better elongation at fracture.................................................................................................................. 20
2.2 Inspection documents...................................................................................................................20
2.3 Surface condition, roughness and coating thickness...................................................... 21
2.4 Strength, Rp/Rm-ratio.................................................................................................................. 24
2.5 Elongation after fracture and uniform elongation............................................................ 25

3. What is not seen on product standards..................................................29

3.1 Tube diameter – thickness ratio, D/T......................................................................................29
3.2 Weld properties..................................................................................................................................33
3.2.1 Weld and heat affected zone (HAZ).....................................................................................................33
3.2.2 Strength and hardness of the weld.......................................................................................................35
3.2.3 Weld position and corrosion protection............................................................................................37
3.3 Impact strength................................................................................................................................ 39
3.4 Stress-strain curve, plastic material model, physical properties............................... 42
3.5 Work hardening, n............................................................................................................................48
3.6 Strain rate............................................................................................................................................49
3.7 Energy absorption........................................................................................................................... 52
3.8 Case study: deflection of different tube sizes and material strengths,
CE-marking......................................................................................................................................... 53
3.9 Case study: evaluating true stress – true strain curve...................................................... 61

4. Tube bending..............................................................................................65
4.1 Neutral axis and springback........................................................................................................66
4.1.1 Case study: springback and component tolerance........................................................................ 69
4.2 Bending methods and applicable radii................................................................................... 70
4.2.1 Roll bending.....................................................................................................................................................75
4.2.2 Push bending – three-point bending................................................................................................ 76
4.2.3 Compression bending................................................................................................................................ 79
4.2.4 Draw bending.................................................................................................................................................. 81
4.2.5 Free radius bending.................................................................................................................................... 85
4.3 Mandrels...............................................................................................................................................86
4.4 Case study: bending angle in plane..........................................................................................89
4.5 Case study: bending troubleshooting.....................................................................................90
4.7 Case study: cost savings with higher elongation................................................................97
4.8 Case study: large and small bending radii and moment of resistance......................99
4.9 Case study: requirements for the “freischwinger” type chair...................................... 101
4.10 Case study: FE-simulation of draw bending with mandrel...........................................109

2 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
5. ARC welding.............................................................................................. 115
5.1 Weldability of SSAB Form Tubes ............................................................................................. 116
5.2 MIG/MAG welding.............................................................................................................................118
5.2.1. Equipment.......................................................................................................................................................118
5.2.2 Welding technique......................................................................................................................................119
5.2.3 Advanced processes................................................................................................................................ 120
5.2.4 Special features......................................................................................................................................... 120
5.3 TIG method........................................................................................................................................123
5.3.1 Equipment.......................................................................................................................................................124
5.3.2 Welding technique.....................................................................................................................................124
5.3.3 Advanced processes.................................................................................................................................124
5.3.4 Efficient TIG welding...................................................................................................................................125
5.4 Welding gun selection.................................................................................................................. 125
5.4.1 MIG/MAG welding guns.............................................................................................................................125
5.4.2 TIG welding torches.................................................................................................................................. 126
5.5 General welding defects in MIG/MAG welding................................................................... 129
5.6 Case study: modern MIG/MAG equipment..........................................................................137
5.7 Case study: MAG welding parameters................................................................................... 138
5.8 Case study: welding galvanised surface............................................................................... 139
5.9 Case study: MAG welds of high strength tubes.................................................................. 142

6. Coatings and treatments....................................................................... 144

6.1 Continuous hot-dip galvanising.............................................................................................. 144
6.2 Batch hot-dip galvanising...........................................................................................................147
6.3 Electro galvanising..........................................................................................................................151
6.4 Chrome plating..................................................................................................................................151
6.5 Washing.............................................................................................................................................. 154
6.6 Painting...............................................................................................................................................155
6.6.1 Surface pre-treatment.............................................................................................................................155
6.6.2 Powder coating...........................................................................................................................................156
6.6.3 Wet painting.................................................................................................................................................156
6.7 Corrosion resistance of SSAB’s coatings..............................................................................157
6.8 Case study: lifetime of ZA255 in corrosion class C3.......................................................160
6.9 Case study: corrosion-resistant frames................................................................................ 161

7. Other Fabricating Techniques............................................................... 165

7.1 Laser cutting.................................................................................................................................... 165
7.1.1 Tube laser cutting..........................................................................................................................................165
7.1.2 Case study: cost savings in assembly by using laser-cut parts..............................................170
7.2 Punching and hole expansion.................................................................................................. 172
7.3 Flattening.......................................................................................................................................... 179
7.4 Spinning............................................................................................................................................. 182
7.5 Mechanical joining........................................................................................................................ 183
7.6 Quenching......................................................................................................................................... 184

8. Transport and storage of tubes..............................................................186

9. Precision steel tube properties in a nutshell...................................... 187

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 3
 “Does it contain any abstract reasoning
concerning quantity or number?
No. Does it contain any experimental
reasoning concerning matter of fact and
existence?
No. Commit it to the flames: for it can contain
nothing but sophistry and illusion.”
Hume, David: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

4 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Foreword
The manuscript of this publication is based partly on the Precision Tube
Handbook of 1997 (Röytiö, H. et.al.).

The manuscript of this edition of the handbook was written by Juha Tulonen.
Many other people and companies have also shared views and experiences
within their special fields of expertise, including:

Herber Engineering AB, Sweden, tube bending

Kemppi Oy, Finland, welding

Juha Tulonen, Cold working, forming and welding, SSAB

Heidi Förell, Coatings and long-term durability, SSAB
Marco Quercini, Calculations, SSAB
Ari Minkkinen, Punching, SSAB
Tuomas Vaskuri, Laser cutting, Tibnor
Juha Rajala, HF-welding, SSAB
Lars Troive, Finite element method, SSAB
Petteri Steen, SSAB
Jussi Minkkinen, SSAB
Stephen Skate, Language revision, SSAB

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 5
 Many treatments, fabricating processes and equipment described in this
handbook require attention to health and safety issues.

The handbook features Pro Tips to provide a summary rule of thumb:

PRO TIP: Need a change from engineering to design?

Change to your own unique cross section!

Disclaimer: While we have taken the greatest possible care in checking the
contents of this handbook, we disclaim any liability for any direct or indirect loss
or damages that may arise through possible misprints or as a result of incorrect
application of the information provided herein. We reserve the right to make
changes. For corrections, updated product information and contacts for tech-
nical customer service and sales, please go to www.ssab.com.

6 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
1. Introduction

This handbook is a compilation of guidelines and rules of thumb for the

usability and application of technologies for longitudinally high-frequency-
welded cold-formed precision steel tubes manufactured by SSAB. The tubes
referred to are defined by standard EN 10305, but the properties of the
tubes with regard to ultimate elongations to fracture of several steel grades
exceed the requirements of this standard. Tubes according to customer
specifications are also available when it comes to special cross sectional
shapes or other special requirements.

Precision steel tubes manufactured by SSAB include three product

groups:
- SSAB Form Tubes
- SSAB Boron Tubes
- Docol Tubes

Based on enquiries received from industries and on product presentations

given by technical staff, the handbook describes the most essential tube
fabrication technologies and tube properties peculiar to the manufacturing
method and SSAB as a manufacturer. The beginning of the handbook
discusses several partially theoretical but descriptive issues.

We trust that this handbook will give many product and production designers,
developers, purchasers and innovators a useful overview of practicable up-
grading technologies and support in their pursuit of cost efficiency. The right
choice of tube strength and dimensions is just the start.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 7
 Functional
Economic efficiency
requirements

Repairability/
Manufacturability
maintainability

Occupational safety
Assemblability
and health

Corrosion resistance
Quality assurance
and long term durability

Weight Environment

Figure 1. Some aspects affecting the quality of tubular components.

1.1 Manufacturing of longitudinally HF-welded precision

steel tube

Precision steel tubes are manufactured by cold forming and high frequency
(HF) induction welding, a.k.a. ERW – electric resistance welding, from hot-rolled
pickled, cold-rolled or metal-coated narrow strips slit from coils on a continuous
production line. Figure 2 shows the different manufacturing stages.

8 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 Removal of
weld bead

marking and bundling

Final inspection,
HFI welding

Oiling and cutting

Strip accumulator
Cutting and
welding

Calibrating and shaping

Figure 2. Principle of
manufacturing longitudinally
welded tube.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 9
 The steel strip passes between successive forming rolls to give it a circular
shape, see Figure 3, whereupon the open slit is closed by high frequency weld-
ing. In HF-welding, a narrow zone at each edge of the strip is heated and the
edges are pressed together in welding rolls without using any filler materials.

The weld is trimmed smooth externally (also internally subject to agreement)

to converge with the round shape before being cooled down. If tubes are
made of galvanised material, the weld seam is thermal coated after external
trimming, as discussed in section 3.2.

The tube is worked to its final size, a.k.a. calibration, in a roller machine. In the
profiling units, the circular tube is straightened and, when necessary, shaped
into a square, rectangular or other special cross-section, see Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3. Forming flower showing the shaping of strip into a circular form and
round tube shaping towards an angular profile.

The manufacturing process described has some features that provide

the following tube characteristics:
1) strengthening of material, including tube corners, more in section 3.1.
2) presence of weld seam creating discontinuity, section 3.2.
3) unchanged material composition and structure, chapter 2.
4) improved surface quality, section 2.3.
5) introduction of corrosion resistance, sections 2.3 and 6.1.
6) achievement of dimensional precision, section 2.1.
7) retained formability capacity, chapters 2 and 3.
8) wide variety of available steel grades, section 2.
9) wide variety of available cross sections, see Figure 4.

10 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 4. Some examples of some cross section shapes available for precision
tubes. Shape may be selected e.g. based on desired appearance, strength,
stiffness and future fastener or weld.

PRO TIP: Need a change from engineering to design?

Change to your own unique cross section!

Figure 5. Bicycle frame, including flat oval SSAB Form Tube 220 C
60x30x2.0. Courtesy of Helkama Velox Oy.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 11
 2. Steel designation and properties
according to standards
One classification method for different steel tubes is according to their
tensile strength, see Figure 6. This classification, of course, provides little
information about their yield strength or any other properties, but gives a
quick over view of available grades. SSAB neglects traditional carbon-
manganese grades in its offering, mainly due to their excessive grain size and
relatively poor weldability. High-strength low alloy (HSLA) grades are ferritic
steels and dual phase (DP) grades contain a martensitic component in
addition to ferrite in order to increase strength, but maintain comparatively
good formability. As Figure 6 shows, a compromise between strength and
elongation must be made.

60

50
Elongation A [%]

40

SSAB FORM TUBE

30 190 – 420

20
DOCOL TUBE SSAB BORON TUBE 24
590-980 AS QUENCHED
10

0
400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Tensile strength [MPa]

Figure 6. Steel tube grade type classification shown as a function of tensile

strength and elongation.

The designation used for precision steel tube products is compliant with Parts
3 and 5 of standard EN 10305 and consists of the standard number, steel
grade and delivery condition. The steel grade code refers to the steel’s
minimum yield or tensile strength depending on type of steel, see Tables 1, 2
and 3. The main delivery condition for SSAB’s precision tubes is +CR2: welded
and cold formed. The significant difference between the +CR1 delivery
condition and +CR2 is the latter’s supreme elongation, not to mention even
higher, above standard elongation for several steel grades. An example of the
designation used for SSAB’s precision tube products is provided below:

12 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Example #1
Product & bundle tag name
SSAB Form Tube 320 Z600
Test certificate & order confirmation name
SSAB Form Tube 320 Z600
E320-CR2-S4-EN 10305-3,5

Example #2
Product & bundle tag name
SSAB Boron Tube 24
Test certificate & order confirmation name
SSAB Boron Tube 24

Example #3
Product & bundle tag name
Docol Tube 590 GI100
Test certificate & order confirmation name
Docol Tube 590 GI100

The tube in example #1 above is manufactured in compliance with part 3 or 5

of standard EN 10305 and its minimum yield point is 320MPa. The tube is gal-
vanised (Z) and the minimum total mass of its internal and external zinc layer
is 600g/m2 . This corresponds to an approximately 42µm zinc layer on both
the inner and outer surfaces of the tube. The delivery condition of the tube is
+CR2, and therefore the steel’s minimum elongation according to standard
is 15%. However, SSAB Form Tubes have distinctly better elongation values
compared to the standard, here 23%. Table 1 shows the ultimate elongation
values of SSAB Form precision tubes above standard.

The code following the product name “Docol Tube” in the designation of
SSAB’s high-strength precision tubes refers to the minimum tensile strength
of the steel, for example, the tube designated as in example #3 above. The
tube has a minimum tensile strength of 590MPa, a minimum yield strength of
500MPa and a minimum elongation of 12%, see Table 3.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 13
 Table 1. Mechanical properties (minimum values) of SSAB Form Tubes.

Steel Grade Yield Strength Tensile Elongation A

Rp0.2 [MPa] Strength Rm [%]
[MPa]
SSAB Form Tube 190 190 270 35
SSAB Form Tube 220 220 310 28
SSAB Form Tube 320 320 410 23
SSAB Form Tube 420 420 490 14

Table 2. Mechanical properties of SSAB Boron Tube.

Steel Grade Yield Strength Tensile Elongation A

Rp0.2 [MPa] Strength Rm [%]
[MPa]
SSAB Boron Tube 24, 430 450 12
min.
SSAB Boron Tube 24, 470 530 23
typical
SSAB Boron Tube 24, 1100 1500 8
quenched to water,
typical

Table 3. Mechanical properties (minimum values) of Docol Tubes.

Steel Grade Yield Strength Tensile Elongation A

Rp0.2 [MPa] Strength Rm [%]
[MPa]
Docol Tube 590 500 590 12
Docol Tube 780 600 780 10
Docol Tube 980 750 980 5

For chemical compositions, see chapter 5.1.

14 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Description of steel grade SSAB Form Tube 190:
Low-strength, very formable steel tube, for e.g. applications requiring folding
and flange forming of tube end.
Class: Mild steel
Alloying: none, stabilized with Ti or Al
Structure: ferritic
Grain size: 13µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 100
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: SSAB Form 06, DC06 (EN 10130)

Description of steel grade SSAB Form Tube 220:

Conventional high-strength formable steel tube, for applications requiring
combined strength, stiffness and formability such as furniture and household
appliances.
Class: HSLA
Alloying: micro-alloyed with Ti, killed with Al
Structure: ferritic
Grain size: 8µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 120
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: DC02

Description of steel grade SSAB Form Tube 320:

Conventional high-strength steel tube, for applications requiring higher
strength than SSAB Form Tube 220.
Class: HSLA
Alloying: micro-alloyed with Nb, killed with Al
Structure: ferritic
Grain size: 5µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 130
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: HC340 (EN 10268)

Description of steel grade SSAB Form Tube 420:

High-strength steel tube for applications requiring high strength to
compensate large dimensions such as in tools under high stress.
Class: HSLA
Alloying: micro-alloyed with Ti and Nb, killed with Al
Structure: ferritic
Grain size: 3.5µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 150
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: HC420, ZStE420 (EN 10268, SEW 093)
Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 15
 Description of steel grade SSAB Boron Tube 24:
Structural formable steel as delivered, uttermost high strength when
hardened. For applications with abrasive conditions or where other steel
grades are ruined by yielding.
Class: Hardenable
Alloying: Boron ~0.003%
Structure: ferritic as delivered, martensitic as quenched
Grain size: 8µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 135 as delivered, 470 quenched
Similar steel grade to raw material: B24, 22MnB5

Description of steel grade Docol Tube 590:

Advanced high-strength steel tube for applications requiring high strength
and formability at the level of SSAB Form Tube 420.
Class: DP
Alloying: Si, Mn, Nb, Cr
Structure: ferritic-martensitic, martensite content ~10%
Grain size: 4µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 180
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: HCT590 (EN 10346)

Description of steel grade Docol Tube 780:

Advanced extra high strength steel for applications requiring very high
strength but still some formability for applications, such as safety structures,
with resistance to deformation.
Class: DP
Alloying: Si, Mn, Nb, Cr
Structure: ferritic-martensitic, martensite content ~15%
Grain size: 4µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 230
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: HCT780 (EN 10346)

16 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Description of steel grade Docol Tube 980:
Advanced extra high-strength steel for applications, such as energy
absorption structures, requiring superior strength.
Class: DP
Alloying: Si, Mn, Nb, Cr
Structure: ferritic-martensitic, martensite content ~20%
Grain size: 4µm
Hardness, HV 10 : 280
Similar sheet steel grade to raw material: HCT980 (EN 10346)

Figure 7. Cable ladder manufactured using a special tube profile. Courtesy of

Meka Pro Oy.

Figure 8. Shop fitting system with

horizontal long-span beams
manufactured using a special tube
profile. Courtesy of Constructor
Finland Oy.

PRO TIP: Yield strength, tensile strength and

elongation values for each delivery can be found
on the test certificate.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 17
 2.1 Technical delivery conditions

SSAB precision tubes are delivered in accordance with the standards listed
in Table 4. Properties, e.g. minimum mechanical properties, exceeding the
standard are available subject to contract. For the latest manufacturing
programme, recommended dimensions or tubes in stock, please see SSAB’s
website, sales or the nearest stockist.

Table 4. Steel tubes for precision applications. Technical delivery conditions.

Cross section Technical delivery conditions

Round tubes EN 10305-3
Square and rectangular tubes EN 10305-5
Oval, flat oval and other special EN 10305-5
shapes

The surface of precision tubes is lightly oiled to protect it from corrosion
during transport and short-term storage. Tubes can be delivered dry on
request, but in such cases SSAB will not be responsible for any possible rust.

2.1.1 Dimensional tolerances

Tables 5, 6 and 7 show the dimensional tolerances SSAB precision tubes,
which exceed the tolerances of many other tubular products. This is extremely
beneficial when reducing production scrap in tube forming, using robotised
welding, reducing the number of tools needed due to clearance requirement,
minimizing setup and adjustment times or designing products with utmost
tolerances. Also all kinds of inserts, connections and plugs can be included at
higher quality and lower costs.

18 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Table 5. SSAB diameter tolerances, round tubes.

OD SSAB
D < 20 mm + 0.12 mm
20 < D < 32 mm + 0.15 mm
32 < D < 44 mm + 0.20 mm
44 < D < 55 mm + 0.25 mm
55 < D < 70 mm + 0.30 mm
70 < D < 80 mm + 0.35 mm
80 < D < 100 mm + 0.40 mm
100 < D < 108 mm + 0.50 mm
108 < D < 127 mm + 0.60 mm

Table 6. SSAB outside tolerances, square and rectangular tubes.

H SSAB
H ≤ 25 mm ±0.20 mm
25 < H ≤ 35 mm ±0.25 mm
35 < H ≤ 50 mm ±0.30 mm
50 < H ≤ 60 mm ±0.35 mm
60 < H ≤ 70 mm ±0.40 mm
70 < H ≤ 80 mm ±0.50 mm
80 < H ≤ 90 mm ±0.60 mm
90 < H ≤ 100 mm ±0.65 mm
100 < H ≤ 150 mm ±0.70 mm

Table 7. SSAB tolerances versus standard EN 10305 tolerances.

EN 10305 SSAB
Mill length -0 mm / +50 mm -0 mm / +50 mm, Special
(5000-8000 mm) tolerances by request
Standard length
6000 mm
Height of internal bead, not scarfed g < 0.6 mm, when T < 1.5 mm
g < 0.4 x T, when 1.5 mm < T
< 4.0 mm
Straightness <0.20% of < 0.15% of measured length
measured length

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 19
 2.1.2 Better elongation at fracture
SSAB Form Tubes have better elongation at fracture than standard tubes,
see Table 8. This gives an enormous advantage in product design, energy
absorption, flexible and reliable production, etc.

Table 8. Minimum mechanical properties of SSAB Form Tubes and and tubes
according to standard EN 10305.

Steel grade Rp0.2 [MPa] Rm [MPa] A [%]

E190+CR2 190 270 26

E195+CR1 195 330 8
SSAB Form Tube 190 190 270 35
E220+CR2 220 310 23
E235+CR1 235 390 7
E235+N 235 340 25
SSAB Form Tube 220 220 310 28
E320+CR2 320 410 19
SSAB Form Tube 320 320 410 23
E420+CR2 420 490 12
SSAB Form Tube 420 420 490 14

2.2 Inspection documents

Delivery of SSAB precision tubes is always accompanied by a test report “type

2.2” according to standard EN 10204. This test report includes the mechanical
test values of the manufacturing processes used. By agreement, tubes are also
supplied with a “type 3.1” inspection certificate. SSAB’s tube test report and
inspection certificate both include additional features to the standard require-
ments, see below.

Standard test report “type 2.2”

This report is a document which certifies that the products supplied meet the
requirements of the order and gives the test results based on non-specific
inspection and testing. Non-specific inspection refers to inspections carried
out by the manufacturer in accordance with their own procedures to assess
whether products made by the same manufacturing process meet the require-
ments of the order. The products inspected may not necessarily be the prod-
ucts actually supplied. A test report does not necessarily include mechanical
properties or the chemical composition of the products delivered. Tensile test

20 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
results, drift expansion test results and chemical composition may refer to
other products or a manufacturing lot other than that delivered.

SSAB test report “type 2.2”

When SSAB provides a test report, it additionally includes the manufacturing
procedure to the standard test report. NDT testing of each individual tube,
dimension specific flattening and drift expansion testing, steel grade specific
flattening and drift expansion testing, dimension specific tensile testing and
steel grade specific tensile testing. Additionally, chemical composition refers
to products delivered and tensile test results to manufacturing lot delivered.
Residual quantities according to EN 10305 apply.

Standard inspection certificate “type 3.1”

This document certifies that the products supplied are in compliance with the
requirements of the order and gives the test results. The inspection unit and
the test to be carried out are determined by the product specification, official
regulations and corresponding technical rules and/or by the order. The
document is validated by an authorised representative of the manufacturer
independent of the manufacturing department. In a type 3.1 inspection
certificate, the manufacturer is entitled to present specific test results originat-
ing from a previous stage in the production process provided that the process-
ing stages are traceable and that the corresponding original inspection
documents are available. This means e.g. that tubes manufactured from each
raw material coil are tensile tested within each manufacturing lot. It is possible
that the inspection certificate does not include chemical composition of the
tubes delivered. Inspection certificates are dimension and steel grade specific.

SSAB inspection certificate “type 3.1”

When SSAB delivers an inspection certificate, the manufacturing procedure
includes coil specific chemical composition and coil specific dimension
measurements in addition to standard test report 2.2, SSAB test report 2.2
and standard inspection certificate 3.1. Inspection certificates include tensile
test results and chemical composition of the tubes delivered. Residual
quantities according to EN 10305 apply.

2.3 Surface condition, roughness and coating thickness

Depending on application and availability, surface condition of the tube is

normally selected based on surface roughness and corrosion protection, see
Tables 9, 10 and 11. The condition of a cold-rolled surface is smoother than
a hot-rolled pickled surface. A cold-rolled surface is more convenient for

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 21
 chrome plating and other coating methods, where high cost surface treatment
substances are present. A hot-rolled pickled surface may be a good choice for
a painting substrate. Metal coating comes with many alternative characteris-
tics: more about S4 type metal coatings in chapter 6.

Usually the Ra value is used when measuring the surface roughness of a tube.
Cold working as a tube manufacturing method exerts vast surface pressure on
steel strip. When this surface pressure is combined with smooth forming and
calibration rolls, the Ra value will decrease. The amount of roughness change is
generally relative to the cold working rate, which means that tubes with a small
D/T ratio tend to have smaller roughness.

Table 9. Surface conditions of precision steel tubes manufactured by SSAB.

According to Meaning SSAB Example of Example of
EN 10305 manufacturing identification identification
definition for of SSAB Form of Docol Tube
tube’s raw Tube
material
S2 Pickled Hot rolled and SSAB Form Docol Tube
pickled Tube 220 H 780 H
S3 Cold rolled Cold rolled, SSAB Form Docol Tube
annealed and Tube 220 C 780 C
temper rolled
Metal coated, SSAB Form Docol Tube
Z/GI Tube 220 Z 780 GI
Metal coated, ZA SSAB Form Docol Tube
S4 Coated
Tube 220 ZA 780 ZA
Metal coated, SSAB Form Docol Tube
ZF/GA Tube 220 ZF 780 GA

Table 10. Surface roughness

Surface Roughness Ra [µm] Suitable application
H <2.0 Painting, galvanizing
C <0.6 Painting, chrome plating,
galvanizing
Z/ZA/ZF/GI/GA depending on Corrosion protection
precise coating

22 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Table 11. Metal coatings, coating thicknesses and mass. Mass is the minimum
total coating mass on both surfaces in triple spot tests. Recommended series
are bolded.

Thickness [µm], Zinc (Z/GI) Galfan (ZA) Galvannealed

each side of wall [g/m2] [g/m2] (ZF/GA) [g/m2]
7 100 95 100
8 - - 120
10 140 130 140
20 275 255 -
23 - 300 -
25 350 - -
32 450 - -
42 600 - -

Figure 9. Cage trolleys for logistics, warehousing and in-store efficiency.

Courtesy of K. Hartwall Oy Ab.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 23
 2.4 Strength, Rp/Rm-ratio

Characteristics defined by tensile test are yield strength (R p) and tensile

strength (R m). Yield strength is sometimes also called yield point. Tensile
strength is sometimes called ultimate tensile strength or ultimate strength.
With steels delivered as hot rolled or heat treated, there is lower (ReL ) and
upper (ReH ) yield strength, but with cold-formed steel tubes after work hard-
ening, the R p value is applicable. It is established practice that R p0.2 is used
for measurement and test reporting.

The single axis tensile test is the most common and the simplest mechanical
test and, due to its simplicity, is used as a quality control method for tube
manufacturing lots. In the test, a tensile test sample, cut from a steel tube or
whole tube, is stretched with force F [N] and the sample elongation Δ [mm] is
measured by using a gauge length L 0, see Figure 10.

Yield strength is the stress after elastic deformation and before plastic de-
formation, meaning that prior to the yield strength of the material, the tube
will return to its original shape and length when the stress is removed. Tensile
strength is the maximum stress a tube can withstand before breaking.

By calculating yield strength – tensile strength –ratio (R p /R m), the remain-

ing work hardening capacity of the tube can be estimated, see chapter 3.5
for “n” value. With heavily cold-formed tubes, yield strength may be almost
equal to tensile strength, in other words, the R p /R m ratio may be close to 1.
This is considered a drawback in many building regulations such as Eurocode
3, but in practice with many precision tube applications this is not a problem
due to the tube’s high total elongation values and possibilities to compen-
sate early necking by changes in the cross-sectional shape, e.g. during tube
bending, thinning of the tube wall is partly compensated by shape changing.
It should be noticed that while two different tubes may have the same R p /
R m -ratio, one may have higher total elongation. The R p /R m -ratio correlates
with uniform elongation and can be used to estimate it.

24 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 L0

Figure 10. Tensile test setup and test piece geometry.

2.5 Elongation after fracture and uniform elongation

Elongation after fracture, or in other words, elongation at fracture, ultimate

elongation or total elongation, is one of the material parameters determined
by the tensile test. Elongation after fracture is expressed as a percentage of
the original test sample gauge length. Table 12 shows some different elonga-
tion definitions.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 25
 Table 12. Elongation definitions.
Symbol Definition
A5 Percentage elongation after fracture, replaced by A when ISO
6892-1:2009 replaced EN 10002-1:2002.
A Percentage elongation after fracture former A5. Original gauge
length equal to 5.65 S0 , which is called “proportional gauge length”.
Usual gauge length for tube materials.
A80 Percentage elongation after fracture of a gauge length 80 mm.
Usual gauge length for plate, coil and sheet materials.
A50 Percentage elongation after fracture of a gauge length 50 mm.
Often replaces gauge length equal to 2 inches.
Ax Percentage elongation after fracture of non-proportional test
place, subscript ”x” indicating gauge length in millimeters.
Agt Total extension force, for practical purposes values are very close
of Ag
Ag Plastic extension at maximum force, in other words uniform
elongation. Related to work hardening exponent ”n”. Is
corresponding elongation value for tensile strength value.

Due to necking of the tensile test sample, the elongation value after fracture is
strongly dependent on gauge length. This is because the thicker the test piece
is, the wider the necking area will be. The shorter gauge length will generally
elongate more within gauge length, resulting in a greater measured value,
a.k.a. very short gauge length and will contain nothing but the necked sample
area. The very long gauge length will contain necked area plus non-necked
area, see Figures 11 and 12. The same phenomenon occurs e.g. with sheet
materials: A 80 for thin sheet is not directly comparable with A 80 for thick sheet.
Additionally, to add to the confusion, thinner sheet materials have a tendency
to realise lower elongation values than thicker sheet materials.

There are standard gauge lengths defined internationally, e.g. 80 mm, and so
called proportional gauge length, which is dependent on cross-sectional area
of the test piece, L0 =5.65 S0 . In practice, it is not always possible to use the
most desired gauge length. Also, depending on final product application, there
is sometimes an interest in several different ultimate elongations of different
gauge lengths. Furthermore, since elongation after fracture between sheet,
e.g. A 80, and tube materials, e.g. A, cannot be directly compared, a method for
elongation conversions is needed.

26 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 5.65 S0

5.65 S0
80

80
thin test piece thick test piece

Figure 11. Difference between different gauge lengths for thin and thick test
pieces to determine elongations A (proportional) and A 80 (non-proportional).
5.65 S0
5.65 S0
80

80

thin test piece thick test piece

narrow necking area wide necking area

Figure 12. Difference between necked and non-necked test piece areas within
different gauge lengths nearing the end of the tensile test.

Product standard EN 10305-5 says that “If a non-proportional test piece is

used, the percentage elongation value shall be converted to the value for a
gauge length using the conversion tables given in EN ISO 2566-1.” Anyhow,
standard EN ISO 2566-1 says that elongation conversions are not applicable
to cold-reduced steels. Cold-formed tubes are not cold reduced to the letter,
but it has been noticed that the 0.4 value of the exponent in the Oliver formu-
lae used in EN ISO 2566-1 for conversions is not always true for cold-formed
tubes with a high degree of deformation, a.k.a. cold working rate. In practice,

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 27
 the exponent in the Oliver formulae is somewhat higher. This leads to the
conclusion that conversions to shorter gauge lengths, e.g. A 50 => A 30, end up
with too small values and conversions to longer gauge lengths, e.g. A 50 =>
A 80, end up with too high values. See also chapter 3.9 for the definition of true
elongation.

PRO TIP: Elongation A is not equal to elongation A 80.

Figure 13. Felling lever with a tubular shaft of high-strength steel for wood
logging. Courtesy of Fiskars Oyj.

28 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
3. What is not seen on product
standards
Technical delivery conditions define a product and provide strict limits for the
specific properties agreed. This is good information, but experimental data
of the properties realised is preferred. Sometimes this is not quite enough
for a tube upgrader when carrying out product design, production process,
tooling design or final product properties. This is why it is important to see
beyond documents and give some thoughts to what lies behind them, what
conclusions may be drawn from them or what other information a tube manu-
facturer may have to help utilise the full benefits of tubular steels. Fabrication
simulation - whether a computer model, notebook sketch or visualisation in
the mind - often requires both constants and variables, which are discussed in
this chapter. On today’s high-performance computers, the problem with
carrying out simulations is not calculating time, but the correct starting data.

3.1 Tube diameter – thickness ratio, D/T

Because of the cold-roll-forming technology used in tube manufacturing,

the effect of cold working or work hardening effects on steel material and final
tube properties should be considered.

Roll forming of tubes is basically elastic-plastic bending, including several

deforming steps within the forming, calibrating and shaping processes. When
bending a steel strip, the yield strength of the material is exceeded and plastic
deformation takes place on the surfaces: tension on the outer surface and
compression on the inner surface. The smaller the tube diameter is, the smaller
the bending radius of strip is compared to material thickness. Correspondingly,
the thicker the steel strip is, the smaller the bending radius is compared to the
tube diameter or tube radius. This cold working rate can be described by using
a tube diameter – thickness ratio: D/T.

Using a D/T ratio suggests that when considering cold working or work
hardening, it is not the actual tube dimensions that are important, but their
relation to each other. For example, tubes 20x1 and 40x2 both have a D/T
ratio of 20 and have been cold worked by a roughly similar amount.

When using the same steel grade or strip material for manufacturing tubes,
the tube properties differ from each other because their dimensions and
properties also differ from e.g. the mechanical properties defined by the

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 29
 standard. Of course, e.g. yield strength will be according to the standard, but
may differ a lot from the minimum value given by the standard. Likewise,
elongation values meet standard requirements, but actual values may be
significantly higher, see Figures 14…19.

600

500
Strength [Mpa]

400

300

200
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 220 Rm typical
SSAB Form Tube 220 Rp typical
E220 Rm min 310Mpa
E220 Rp min 220MPa

Figure 14. Yield and tensile strength of SSAB Form Tube 220.

60

50

40
A [%]

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 220 typical
SSAB Form Tube 220 min 28%
E220 min 23%

Figure 15. Elongation value A of SSAB Form Tube 220.

30 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 600

500
Strength [Mpa]

400

300

200
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 320 Rm typical
SSAB Form Tube 320 Rp typical
E320 Rm min 410Mpa
E320 Rp min 320MPa

Figure 16. Yield and tensile strength of SSAB Form Tube 320.

30

20
A [%]

10

0
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 320 typical
SSAB Form Tube 320 min 23%
E320 min 19%

Figure 17. Elongation value A of SSAB Form Tube 320.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 31
 600

500

Strength [Mpa]

400

300

200
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 420 Rm typical
SSAB Form Tube 420 Rp typical
E420 Rm min 490Mpa
E420 Rp min 420MPa

Figure 18. Yield and tensile strength of SSAB Form Tube 420.

20
A [%]

10

0
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 420 typical
SSAB Form Tube 420 min 14%
E420 min 12%

Figure 19. Elongation value A of SSAB Form Tube 420.

32 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
3.2 Weld properties

Precision tubes are longitudinally welded using high frequency induction

welding (HF) process. Special characteristics for this welding process are that
no filler and no shield gas is used, and due to high efficiency and a high weld-
ing speed, the heating and cooling rates are high. As a result, the weld is of
high quality and HAZ is narrow.

3.2.1 Weld and heat affected zone (HAZ)

As already described in the tube manufacturing process, on the tube line the
flat strip is fed into the forming rolls and shaped into a nearly complete tube.
As the formed strip passes through the coil, a high frequency current flows
at the edges and the steel’s resistance causes the very edges of the strip to
start to heat quickly and reach melting point. These edges are forged together
as they pass between the weld rolls and molten metal is squeezed out and the
clean metal surface forms a weld.

Due to the special characteristics mentioned above, the HAZ of a precision

tube is fairly narrow compared to common fusion, for example with MIG/MAG,
welds. The HAZ width is typically about 1mm and, since no filler is used, the
HAZ structure consists of a very narrow fusion line, grain growth zone, grain
refined zone, partially transformed zone, zone of spheroidal carbides and the
base material.

Also high efficiency and the high welding (manufacturing line) speed mean
that the heating and cooling rates are very high. It usually takes somewhat
more than a second to heat up to melting point, form a weld and then cool
down to almost room temperature. These extremely fast thermal cycles
favour low levels of hardening elements, especially carbon and manganese, in
order to avoid martensitic and thus high hardness weld structures. Low alloy-
ing elements in SSAB Form Tubes form bainitic structures in the HF-weld and
these structures have far better processing properties (for example drilling,
cutting) than a martensitic structure.

It is also extremely important to have low levels of impurities in the steel,

especially sulphur. These impurities can form a band which, during HF-weld
formation, turns into the outer surface and in processing this band crack
lacks deformability. The sulphur content of SSAB Form Tubes is always below
0.025%.

In order to obtain a robust quality weld, there must be a very thin layer of
molten material in the edges forming the weld. The edges must then be
pressed hard enough together by the welding rolls to squeeze all the molten

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 33
 material out of the fusion line, see Figure 18. Because of the electrical
properties of high frequency welding, the heat affected zone has an hourglass
shape. In the welding process outside and inside, burrs are formed due to this
formation of pressure on the weld. An outside burr is scarfed out and in most
cases there is option for inside burr removal. High-strength steels in partic-
ular need more pressure from welding rolls to ensure a high-quality weld and
thus the inside weld burr of these grades is often slightly higher than with
ordinary steel grades. Besides sufficient welding roll pressure, the meeting
angle the strip edge has a major effect on weld quality, see Figures 21 and 22.

Base material
Heat affected zone (HAZ)
Molten steel squeezed out to the burrs

Figure 20. Formation of an HF-weld, before outside scarfing.

Precision tubes typically have smaller inside burrs than structural hollow
sections because of lower wall thicknesses and customer applications pre-
ferring further processing that benefit low inside burrs, for example, bending
and telescoping. However, enough molten material is always needed to be
squeezed out to ensure a quality weld.

34 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 21. Example of a high-quality Figure 22. Example of a poor HF-weld:
HF-weld: The edges are at the same The edges are not at the same level
level, and the inside burr shows there and the welding energy and squeeze
has been enough welding energy and pressure were insufficient to form a
squeeze pressure to create a quality quality weld.
weld.

3.2.2 Strength and hardness of the weld

Because of the extremely fast heating and cooling rates, the HAZ of a high
frequency weld has, in most steel grades, slightly higher hardness than base
material, see Figures 23 and 24. To ensure good processing properties, e.g.
cutting and drilling, the balance of chemical components is very important -
the more hardening elements in the steel, the higher the HAZ hardness.

240

220

200
Hardness, HV0.2

180

160

140

120

100
2 1.5 1 0.5 Middle 0.5 1 1.5 2
Distance from center [mm]

Example of a weld´s hardness profile of SSAB Form Tube 220

Figure 23. Hardness profile of SSAB Form Tube 220. Hardness level at each
end of the line represents the base material hardness.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 35
 300

280

260

240
Hardness, HV0.2
220

200

180

160

140

120

100
-6 -4 -2 Middle 2 4 6
Distance from center [mm]

Example of a weld’s hardness profile of precision tube Form 500 C

Figure 24. Hardness profile of SSAB Form Tube 420. Hardness level at each
end of the line represents the base material hardness.

Due to a longitudinal, but very narrow, HAZ in precision tubes, the weld usually
does not affect the processing properties in the transverse direction of the
weld. However, in the longitudinal direction, the slightly higher hardness and
strength of the HAZ can cause some limitations, for example, if the whole tube
has to be stretched very much longitudinally. In high-strength steel grades,
including and over Docol Tube 590, there can be very narrow zones in the
HAZ that can have slightly lower hardness and strength than the base material.
However, in most cases these can be taken into account in the design, see
Figure 25.

450

400

350

300
Hardness HV0.2

250

200

150

100

50

0
2 1.5 1.25 1 0.75 0.5 0.25 Middle 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2

Distance from center [mm]

Figure 25. Hardness profile of Docol Tube 590 tube. The tube is inside
scarfed and the hardness level at each end of the line represents the base
material hardness.

36 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The differences in the maximum hardness of the HAZ are based mostly on
differences in alloying elements but also on the strength level of the base
materials.

3.2.3 Weld position and corrosion protection

The weld is usually positioned on the narrow side of a rectangular precision
tube. However, there are usually several possibilities to place the weld on the
other side or places (also in square, flat oval, tubes, etc.), where this is benefi-
cial for the design. Figure 26 shows some examples of possible weld positions.
Most often the weld is placed away from areas that are to be drilled during
processing.

8 +/- 4 mm

18 +/- 4 mm

Figure 26. Possible weld seam positions and tolerances.

The outside burr is always scarfed out and this area differs to some extent
from the other outside surface. The inside burr can usually be scarfed out, but
this requires additional tooling and setup on the tube manufacturing line.

If the precision tube is made of metal-coated, e.g. galvanised, strip, the heat
generated during the welding process, coupled with the tooling operation
to remove the weld fins, destroys the tube coating around the weld area.
Re-protection of weld damage is achieved by applying a metal sprayed de-
posit that matches the tube coating. A spraying system to repair the weld
area is installed onto the tube mill. In the spraying process, a pair of metal
wires is melted by an electric arc. The molten material is atomised by a cone
of compressed air and propelled onto the weld seam. This spray solidifies
when it hits the surface of the tube to form a dense coating, which re-coats
the tube weld area to protect against corrosion. Figure 27 shows a schematic
diagram of the weld protection of SSAB Form Tube Z275. SSAB uses zinc and
aluminium wires to protect the weld. The wire’s weight percent is 85% zinc
and 15% aluminium. The volume fraction is 50% zinc and 50% aluminium. It is
also possible to use zinc-aluminium alloyed wires or only zinc wires. The weld
protection corrosion resistance is as good as the corrosion resistance of the
basic material.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 37
 20 µm

20 µm

20 µm

Figure 27. Schematic diagram of the weld protection of SSAB Form Tube Z275.

Figure 28. Electric wire arc thermal spray system: console and power supply
and spray gun. Reproduced by permission of Oerlicon Metco.

38 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 PRO TIP: No high-strength tube with a small
weld bead.

PRO TIP: It is not recommended placing the HF-weld

in a corner area because it would make this particular
corner different to the other corners of the shape.

3.3 Impact strength

Impact strength gives a measured value for the capacity of the material to
absorb energy, in other words, define toughness, ductility or cold embrittlement
behaviour of the material.

Cold embrittlement evaluation is ordinarily based on the Charpy impact test,

also known as Charpy v-notch test, according to EN 10045-1. There are also
corresponding ASTM and ISO standards. The Charpy-test is a standardised
high strain-rate test which determines the amount of energy absorbed by a
material during fracture. Absorbed energy is a measure of a given material’s
notch toughness and acts as a tool to study temperature-dependent brit-
tle-ductile transition. The standard defines Charpy-specimen dimensions as
10x10x55 mm. The standard also says that “if standard test pieces cannot be
obtained from the material, a reduced section test piece, with a width of 7.5 mm
or 5 mm shall be used…” The reason to constrict the minimum test piece width,
and thus in practice the minimum thickness of the steel studied, is that in the
Charpy test, the test piece fracture occurs under the triaxial state of stress on
the plane, in other words, uniaxial state of strain. When using the Charpy meth-
od to test thin steel material, e.g. thickness of 2 mm, the thin test piece is under
a state plane stress and a multiaxial strain state. Due to the change in the state
of stress and strain when shifting from thick to thin material thicknesses, the
test results are not comparable. In other words: if the material is tested in two
different ways, the results cannot be compared.

Also, when using a thinner test piece, the probability of the initiation of brittle
fracture is smaller, e.g. there are not any inclusions inside the steel in the line
of the V-notch, and the test result might be too optimistic. Some rules allow a
direct extrapolation of thin piece impact energy by multiplying it by a correct-
ing factor. There is also SINTAP-based impact strength correction method for
small test pieces.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 39
 On the other hand, it is known that increasing the carbon content will increase
the transition temperature, and thus tendency to brittle fracture, of the steel.
Also it is known that increasing the manganese content will decrease the tran-
sition temperature and the Mn/C ratio should be at least 3:1 for satisfactory
impact strength. For example, the carbon and manganese contents of tube
steel grade SSAB Form Tube 420 C are typically 0.06% (so-called low carbon
steel) and 1.00% respectively, giving an Mn/C ratio of 17. Also, this steel grade
has a very low phosphorus content and sensible silicon content, which point to
good impact strength values in the metallurgical sense. SSAB Form 420 C steel
grade is alloyed with niobium and has a small grain size (~3.5μm), which means
low transition temperature and good impact strength.

As mentioned above, the triaxial stress state cannot be achieved with thin steel
material in Charpy testing. On the other hand, it could be very difficult to ob-
tain a similar triaxial stress state to that in the Charpy test with thick material,
in real applications, with real components or with parts manufactured out of
thin steels. Thus, the whole concept of impact strength as it is understood with
reference to the Charpy test might be irrelevant.

So, for the reasons mentioned above, the impact strength of precision tubes is
not measured, nor is the minimum value for impact strength guaranteed, but
SSAB Form and Docol steel grades can be expected to have a fair resistance
against brittle behaviour in conventional applications. See Table 14 for the
carbon, manganese, phosphorus and silicon content and Table 17 for the grain
sizes of Form Tubes. Tables 16 and 19 show the corresponding composition and
grain size of Docol Tubes. For specification of chemical composition, please see
Table 27.

Table 14. Carbon, manganese, phosphorus and silicon content of cold- rolled
SSAB Form Tubes. Typical values.

Steel grade C Mn P Si Mn/C

[wt%] [wt%] [wt%] [wt%]
SSAB Form Tube 190 0.005 0.40 0.01 0.01 80
SSAB Form Tube 220 0.06 0.40 0.01 0.01 7
SSAB Form Tube 320 0.07 0.70 0.01 0.01 10
SSAB Form Tube 420 0.06 1.00 0.01 0.20 17

40 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Table 15. Carbon, manganese, phosphorus and silicon content of cold-rolled
SSAB Boron Tube 24. Typical values.
Steel grade C Mn P Si Mn/C
[wt%] [wt%] [wt%] [wt%]
SSAB Boron Tube 24 0.22 1.10 0.02 0.20 5

Table 16. Carbon, manganese, phosphorus and silicon content of cold-rolled

Docol Tubes. Typical values.

Steel grade C Mn P Si Mn/C

[wt%] [wt%] [wt%] [wt%]
Docol Tube 590 0.11 0.90 0.015 0.40 8
Docol Tube 780 0.12 1.50 0.015 0.20 13
Docol Tube 980 0.15 1.50 0.015 0.50 10

Table 17. Grain size of SSAB Form Tubes. Typical values.

Steel grade Grain size [µm]

SSAB Form Tube 190 13
SSAB Form Tube 220 8
SSAB Form Tube 320 5
SSAB Form Tube 420 3.5

Table 18. Grain size of SSAB Boron Tube 24. Typical values.

Steel grade Grain size [µm]

SSAB Boron Tube 24 8

Table 19. Grain size of Docol Tubes. Typical values.

Steel grade Grain size [µm]

Docol Tube 590 4
Docol Tube 780 4
Docol Tube 980 4

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 41
 3.4 Stress-strain curve, plastic material model, physical
properties

Standard datasheet information about a tube’s properties is on general level

and does not provide sufficient information about the tube when simulating
component fabrication. In addition, regarding what was discussed concerning
mechanical properties evaluated by tensile test in chapter 2, there is a need
to study the stress-strain curve, sometimes called a flow curve, and some
properties adapted from that. A true stress-true strain curve is an essential
part in defining material, especially for semi-dynamic simulation purposes.

Some production technologies and part geometry are growing increasingly

complicated because of the pursuit to lower overall costs per part, taking
into consideration tooling costs, material costs and the number of parts
processed. In the case of complex component fabrication, product manufac-
turability is difficult to estimate and empirical design principles are not always
sufficient, see Figure 29.

Manufacture Increase
complex parts quality

Increase reliability Quality Apply new

of production materials

Reduction of time Use material more

required for training efficiently
Time Cost

Reduction of Reduction of
Reduction of pre
lead time tool cost
production trials

Figure 29. Complexity of part fabrication.

A tensile test gives a dependence between the measured force, F [N], and
movement, L [mm], which are converted to stress [R] and elongation [e] as in
equations (1) and (2) with the help of the original cross sectional area of the
test piece S 0 [mm2] and original gauge length L 0 [mm].

42 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 (1)

(2)

If the change in the cross sectional area, that is momentary cross section S,
and the change of movement of the test piece are observed incrementally, true
values for stress and elongation can be shown, as in equations (3) and (4).

(3)

(4)

There is a fundamental difference between nominal and true strain, which

becomes evident when the sum of the total strain of the partial strains is
calculated. The nominal total strain does not equal the sum of nominal
strains, but the true total strain does equal the sum of the true strains, see
equations (5) to (10).

1st partial strain:

(5)

Summed with 2nd partial strain:

(6)

Is different from:

(7)

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 43
 But 1st partial true strain:

(8)

Summed with 2nd partial true strain:

(9)

Is equal to total true strain:

(10)

Ultimate tensile strength corresponds to uniform

elongation:

(11)

True and nominal stress and strain values are related

up to uniform elongation:

(12)

(13)

Tensile strength
Fracture

Yield strength
Engineering Stress

Engineering Strain

Uniform Elongation

Total Elongation

Figure 30. Tensile test curve illustration.

44 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 When presenting this stress-elongation dependence in one figure, we see
something like that in Figure 31 for different materials.

1000

900
Duplex
800

700
Rst
TRIP700
600
Stress [MPa]

DP600
500

400
HX340LAD
300 Ti

200 Ai

100 Zn

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Strain [%]

Figure 31. Stress-elongation relation for different material categories.

300
When zooming into the
beginning of the stress-strain
curve, the difference in Young’s
250
modulus, a.k.a. the modulus of
elasticity, is present, see Figure
32.
200
Stress [MPa]

Figure 32. Young’s modulus of

150 different materials. The curves
are zoomed parts from Figure
31.
100

50

0
0.0 0.2 0.4

Strain [%]

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 45
 Young’s modulus may be a little different for different HSLA steel grades and may
also change due to the degree of deformation, but generally e.g. for FEM simu-
lation purposes it is quite accurate to say E=210GPa. Aluminium has a Young’s
modulus of ~70GPa, which make its stiffness and deflection behaviour completely
different, see Case study 3.8.

Elastic Plastic
σ

UTS

Yield Fracture

ε
L0 L0

Figure 33. Yielding and necking of steel sample.

46 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 True values

Stress σ

Nominal values

Strain ε

Figure 34. Change from stress-strain curve to true stress-true strain curve.

In order to present stress-strain curves parameterised to analyse work

hardening behaviour and deliver input data for computerised analyses,
stress-strain curve can be presented by plastic material models, see
equations (14)…(17).

σ = Kεn (14) (14)

n1
σ = K1 (ε0 + ε) (15) (15)

σ = σ 0 + K2εn2 (16) (16)

σ = σ 1 (1 - Ae -Bε) (17) (17)

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 47
 All SSAB precision steel tubes pretty well follow equation (14), known as the
Hollomon equation, and its parameters also have a physical meaning apart
from other material models: k equals stress at 100% elongation and n equals
work hardening behaviour.

PRO TIP: In most practical cases, it is close enough

to assume that SSAB precision steel tubes follow the
Hollomon model.

3.5 Work hardening, n

One way to describe the increased deformation resistance of steel, a.k.a. in-
creased strength, in the function of straining is work hardening, in other words
strain hardening or cold working. If we want to determine a work hardening
rate for a certain material, let’s examine a stress-strain curve e.g. that pre-
sented in Figure 34. We know that SSAB’s precision steel tubes may follow the
Hollomon equation when providing an equation for stress-strain dependency,
see Case study 3.9. Because of the nature of the Hollomon equation, a tensile
test curve following it will appear as a line when moved to a logarithmic scale,
see Figure 35.
True Stress, logarithmic scale

True Strain, logarithmic scale

Figure 35. Tensile test curve following the Hollomon equation at logarithmic
scale. The work hardening exponent corresponds to the gradient of the stress-
strain curve.

48 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
A high work hardening capacity, in other words, high n-value, low Rp/Rm ratio
or high uniform elongation is generally advantageous in the case of forming
processes because of its influence on resisting local necking of the tube wall
and is especially important in forming operations under stretching, a.k.a.
biaxial straining. Fortunately, pure stretching is quite an unusual state of
deformation when manufacturing tubular components. A high work hardening
rate is related to higher springback, which may be undesirable behaviour when
forming tubes, e.g. with bending.

A close analysis of Docol Tubes which are multi-phase steel grades, shows
that normally a more accurate result is gained by calculating two different
n-values for different parts of the stress-strain curve. It is characteristic for
DP steels to have a double, or even triple, n behaviour, meaning that the work
hardening rate will change with increasing elongation.

PRO TIP: In most practical cases, it is close enough to

assume: Ag = Agt = n = work hardening rate.

3.6 Strain rate

When evaluating steel structures in dynamic cases, which are high speed
movements such as fast forming operations or high-speed structural damage
such as car accidents and damage to machinery, it is sometimes worth con-
sidering how precision tubes behave. It is known that e.g. IF, structural, HSLA
and DP steels have strain rate hardening phenomena, which means that the
yield strength and flow stress, a.k.a. stress-strain curve, increase as the strain
rate increases.

If we take the Hollomon equation (14) and add the strain rate behaviour
component, we get:

σ=kε n ε m (18) (18)

Where e. is the strain rate and m is constant strain rate exponent. See Figure
36 for the principle of how the stress-strain curve will behave as the strain
rate increases.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 49
 The Hollomon equation with an added strain rate component is supposedly
too simplified a description for many real life applications. This is why more
complex equations such as Johnson-Cook (19) are used or the strain rate
parameter may be determined simply by linear regression of measured
stress-strain curves.

Stress
.
ε increasing

Strain

Figure 36. Effect of the strain rate on stress-strain curve.

Johnson-Cook model:
•
ε
 ]] 
•

]
σ = ( A + Bεn ) 1 + Cln ε• 1 - T*m (19)
(19)
•ε0 
]
σ = ( A + Bεn ) 1 + Cln 1 - T*m (19)
ε0
The unit of measurement for the strain rate is 1/s, because it is defined:
• dε dL v
ε = = = (20)
• dε
dt = dL
Ldt = vL (20)
ε = (20)
dt Ldt L
and

]]
]] m
m =
s 1
(21)
(21)
ms = 1s (21)
m s

50 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The normal strain rate during tensile testing is around 10-3/s (quasi-static).
Typical strain rates used in car collision simulations are up to 102 /s...10 3 /s
(dynamic). Inside this range, the strain rate dependence of flow stress is ex-
plained by thermally activated dislocation motion. For even higher strain
rates such as 10 4/s and above, flow stress begins to increase rapidly with
strain rate and this is explained by the viscous drag of dislocations. The be-
haviour of cold-formed steel tubes is quite simple under high strain rates
compared to quasi-static conditions of corresponding thin sheet materials. If
we know the behaviour of thin sheet material, a.k.a. raw material of the tube,
e.g. the strain rate exponent in question, we can measure or evaluate the
corresponding tube properties and add the very same thin sheet strain rate
effect on stress-strain curve of tube, see Figure 37.

700

650
Backward extrapolated yield strength [MPa]

600

550

500

450

400

350

300

250
10-2 100 102 104

Strain rate [s-1]

Tube 220 raw material SSAB Form 220 Tube

Figure 37. Comparison of the quasi-static and dynamic properties of SSAB

Form Tube 220 C raw material and tube.

So, as the high strain rate yield and tensile stresses increase, so, too, do uni-
form elongation and elongation after fracture. All these together will increase
the energy absorption of the material. This can be utilised as an additional
safety margin or taken into account in calculations in order to design lighter
components potentially subjected to high velocity impact.

PRO TIP: The strain rate depends on the effective

length under study.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 51
 3.7 Energy absorption

Energy absorption is an important concept of safety systems and assemblies

with critical consequences of failure in, for example, machinery, vehicles and
yellow goods. A common factor for applications is heavy mass combined with
high velocity, giving a high kinetic energy for a moving object. In the case of
accident or malfunction, energy absorbers are needed to partially eliminate
this kinetic energy in order to protect valuable items, like people, from harmful
impact or at least to decrease the kinetic energy to minimise injuries or losses.
Hazardous energy may develop from the movement of a protectable object
such as a person in a passenger car or an exterior object such as a rock falling
from mine roof. Total energy absorption of a structure can be limited e.g. by
maximum allowed displacement or development of energy absorption rate
as a function of displacement. It is a routine way to design energy absorbing
structures so that in minor collisions energy absorbers behave elastically and
in major collisions energy absorbers are fully wrecked together with their sur-
roundings.

Thin metal tubes, such as SSAB Form Tubes and Docol Tubes, are recognised
as part of an excellent energy absorption structure due to their outstanding
load-carrying capability relative to material weight in both axial and lateral
loading conditions. A crash incident may include different types of tube be-
haviour: e.g. elastic beginning, plastic continuation, buckling, local deforma-
tion and final failure mechanism. Cross sectional shape, tube dimensions and
steel grade properties, together with other structural components and parts,
such as tube end stiffeners, are obvious sources for the total behaviour and
energy absorption capability of a structure.

Energy absorption is a result of the load-displacement behaviour of a struc-

ture. Figure 38 shows the load-displacement curve ofDocol Tube 780 45x1.5
in three-point bending setup. In this setup, tube ends are not fixed and energy
absorption is the area under the load-displacement curve, see equation (22).

[kg]×[m]× [m]
[J] = = [N] × [m] (22) (22)
[s]2

52 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 9

5
Load [kN]

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Displacement [mm]

Docol Tube 780, 45x1.5

Figure 38. Load-displacement curve in three-point bending.

If two tubes with the same outside dimensions and wall thickness, but different
strength level are compared, it is clear that the higher strength steel grade has
a higher maximum load carrying capacity. Whereas buckling or collapsing of a
tube cross section is a desirable feature of an energy absorbing tube, fracturing
is not. When considering all the above-mentioned factors, SSAB Form Tubes
and Docol Tubes, with their wide range of dimensions and strength levels, offer
vast possibilities to design alternative solutions for energy absorbers.

3.8 Case study: deflection of different tube sizes and

material strengths, CE-marking

Typically, precision steel tubes are not used in constructions under design
rules. NOTE: SSAB Form tubes, SSAB Boron Tubes and Docol Tubes do not
fulfil the requirements of Eurocode design rules. Anyhow, precision steel tubes
are commonly used as straight parts or cold-formed designs as load-bearing
members in applications, such as furniture, racks and tools, where weight is
the primary concern. The safety coefficient is to be determined separately in
each case based on the complexity of the structure and the extent of damage
resulting from a possible accident.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 53
 It is often tempting to choose a steel grade of higher strength and smaller
external dimensions or wall thickness for an application. In that case, however,
the increased deformations of the structure should be considered, as well as
the effect of reduced rigidity on the vibrations of the structure.

Structural requirements are:

1) Stiffness = ability to resist displacement
2) Resistance = strength, ability to carry loads
3) Durability = ability to remain fit for use during the design working life

CE marking of a construction is in a way a passport that entitles the steel con-

struction component or structure to access the installation site where the steel
construction will be installed. CE-marking is based on Construction Products
Regulation (CPR). EN 10305-3 or EN 10305-5 precision tubes are not generally
intended for steel construction use. The letter E (for engineering, e.g. E220) is
also used for steel grades. These precision tube norms are not harmonised prod-
uct norms and do not contain CE-marking requirements (Annex ZA). However, in
certain applications it may be possible to use precision tubes in steel construc-
tions, but not in frame applications (load-bearing structure), and even then they
must be approved separately. One of the most typical uses of precision tubes is
roof safety products.
Example: Q1) Calculate based on Figure 39, how many kg a torque arm can
support when using 25x10x2 SSAB Form Tube 220 or 30x10x1.25 SSAB Form
Tube 320. Q2) How many mm will each tube deflect at maximum load?

Let’s divide the force F into components Fx and Fy:

Figure 39. Torque arm loaded with force F and components of F. α = 30° and
L = 1100 mm.

54 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Using trigonometry we can create a right angled force triangle:

F α
Fy

Fx
Figure 40. Force triangle for F in Figure 39.

Now it is easy to express Fx and Fy as a function of F:

Fx = F * sinα (23)
(23)
and
Fy = F * cosα (24)
(24)

Table 20. I, Y and W values and area A for the case study tubes. Please check
I and W values from Internet page www.ssab.com.

I W E A
[mm4] [mm3] [N/mm2] [mm2]
25x10x2 8260.9280 660.8742 210000 123.1416
SSAB Form Tube 220
30x10x1.25 9427.9000 628.5267 210000 93.4147
SSAB Form Tube 320

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 55
 D/T ratio

(25)

Where: D is the correspondent diameter,

H is the height of the cross-section and
B is the width of the cross-section.

(26)

For 25x10x2 SSAB Form Tube 220 we get:

(27)

And the real yield strength σyield = 350 N/mm2 .

For 30x10x1.25 SSAB Form Tube 320 we get: (28)

And the real yield strength σyield = 460 N/mm2 .

Tube’s strength against yielding

First we need to solve the reaction forces at the stiff support of the tube.
Because the support is stiff, reaction forces will occur in the direction of x and
y and the reaction moment. Let’s write the equilibrium equations at the
support:

+ x- direction: Rx - F x = 0R_x=F_x=F
 * sinα (29)

+ y –direction: Ry - F y= 0   R_y=F_y=F * cosα (30)

Moment: Mxy - Fy * L=0   Mxy= F y * L=F * cosα * L (31)

56 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Now we can study tube’s load carrying capacity. The load carrying capacity
depends on how much stress the tube can resist. Usually when the loads are
more complex (bending along multiple axes, torsion and bending, etc.) we
should take into account normal stresses and shear stresses in multiple di-
rections. Now the bending takes place only along the x-axis so it is enough to
check the normal stress along the x-axis.

We want the tube’s deformations to stay elastic so the maximum stress limit is
the yield strength. The value of normal stress depends on the reaction force
parallel to the member and the reaction moment. Maximum stress occurs at
the point where the force and moment are at their highest. In this case, the
parallel force to the member is constant and the maximum moment reacts at
the stiff support. We are now ready to write the equation for normal stress:

σyield = -Rx + Mxy = -(F*sinα) + (L*F*cosα) (32)

(32)
A W A W

Where A is the area of tube’s cross section,

W is the tube’s elastic section modulus and
σyield is the tube’s yield strength.

In the equation force F*sinα is negative because it is compressive in this case.

Let’s solve the force F from the equation in Newton’s:

Tube’s strength against buckling

(33)

If we want to represent force F in kilograms we need to divide

the previous equation with the gravitational acceleration g.

(34)

Maximum force F before the tube starts to yield for

25x10x2 SSAB Form Tube 220 is:
(35)

And F in kilograms:
(36)

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 57
 Maximum force F before the tube starts to yield for 30x10x1.25
SSAB Form Tube 320:

(37)

And F in kilograms:

(38)

Because the component in x direction of the force F is compressive, we should

also take in account the buckling of the member. In this case, we will study the
member in the ideal situation so we will assume that the tube is ideally straight
and the force Fx affects the centre of tube’s cross section. The force when the
tube will buckle can be calculated using the following equation, where I is the
moment of inertia:

(39)

L n represents the buckling length of the member which can be found, for ex-
ample, in textbooks for typical boundary conditions. In this situation, when
one end of the member stiff supported and the other end is free, the buckling
length L n is 2*L. Let’s substitute L n with 2*L and write a condition for the max-
imum load:

(40)
Solving F from the equation we get:

(41)

You should note that buckling is a stability problem and

depends only on the stiffness of the tube (Y, I and L).
Increasing the tube’s yield strength won’t help.

A1) Let’s solve the force F for the case study tubes.
For 25x10x2 SSAB Form Tube 220 we get:

(42)

And for 30x10x1.25 SSAB Form Tube 320 we get:

(43)

58 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
You can see that in this case buckling wouldn’t occur because with forces like
these the tube would have yielded already.

Tube’s maximum deflection

To find the member’s maximum deflection, we need to solve its deflection
curve. There are basically two ways to do this. We can generate a mathemati-
cal representation from the member using boundary conditions or we can get
the deflection curve from “beam tables”, which are a collection of formulas
for some simple boundary conditions and load situations. These “beam ta-
bles” can be found in textbooks, for example. Beam tables will usually include
the formula for the deflection curve and for the maximum deflection. In this
case, where we have a concentrated force acting at the free end of the tube
and the other end is stiff supported, the easiest way is to use the beam tables.
Maximum deflection δ occurs at the free end of the member:

(44)

Let’s substitute P with Fy = F*cosα and we get:

in millimeters in the negative y-direction (45)

The deflection depends only on the rigidity of the tube so if you want to
decrease deflections, you should choose a tube with a larger cross-section.

A2) For 25x10x2 SSAB Form Tube 220 the maximum deflection would be:

(46)

(47)

PRO TIP: Precision steel tubes have an excellent ratio

between own-weight and stiffness and resistance,
since the closed cross-sectional shape, wall thickness
and steel grade can be almost freely defined for each
application.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 59
 PRO TIP: High-strength tube & thinner wall thickness
= money savings

PRO TIP: If you have a problem with excessive

deflection in a structure, do not change to a higher
strength but bigger dimensions!

PRO TIP: Check values for I and W on SSAB’s

website.

Figure 41. Snow guards manufactured from SSAB Form precision steel tubes.

60 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
3.9 Case study: evaluating true stress – true strain curve

True stress – a true strain curve may come in handy, e.g. in Finite Element
Modelling, where it is used as starting data. Much simulating software con-
tains a product or material library; the user defines the material used and
the software searches and applies the mechanical properties automatically.
Sometimes this is enough, but sometimes it is worth evaluating the effect
of natural deviations in the material properties or the modeller may want to
simulate the behaviour of a precision steel tube which does not exist and has
therefore never been tensile tested.

Let’s construct a true stress – strain curve for a 50x1.5 SSAB Form Tube 220.
The D/T ratio for the tube is 33.3. SSAB’s technical customer service can
provide a tensile test curve for SSAB Form Tube 220 with D/T = 33.3, which is
shown in Figure 42. Note that we are now aiming a rough estimation for mate-
rial selection purposes and want to use a typical tensile test curve. Depending
on fabrication technology and final application, this may not be the wisest
choice. Actually, it would be a good idea to know a little bit more about the
real variables of factors such as yield strength and work hardening exponent
in order to be on the safe side.

Engineering strain A120 [%]

Figure 42. Tensile test curve for SSAB Form Tube 220 with D/T = 33.3.

Engineering stress is the stress which is calculated on the original cross

sectional area of the test piece. It means that the necking of the cross
section during extension is neglected. Engineering strain is the ratio between
the elongation and the original length of the test piece. A120 in Figure 42
shows that the length of the parallel portion of the test piece at the start of
the test is 120 mm.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 61
 In the tensile test, deformation of the test piece takes place incrementally
because the tensile force increases gradually. Generally, we can use the true
strain to take into account the influence of the strain path or calculate sum-
mation of strains.

The true strain consists of several incremental strains ∂e:

(48)

By integrating these incremental strains, we can find the relationship between

the true strain ε and the nominal strain (engineering strain) e:

(49)

where ε is the true strain,

e is the nominal strain (engineering strain),
L 0 is the original gauge length and
L u is the final gauge length after rupture/fracture.

During extension, the cross sectional area of the test piece gets smaller. When
talking about true stress we take into account the impact of the shrunken cross
section on the stress. The relationship between the true stress and the nominal
stress (engineering stress) can be expressed as follows:

(50)

Where σ is the true stress and

R is the nominal stress (engineering stress)

Now, by applying the values of the tensile test curve, see Figure 42, to the
equations shown above and by taking logarithm to base 10 from the values
obtained we get the following true stress - strain curve:

62 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 1000
logaritmic true stress [MPa]

100
0,001 0,01 0,1 1

logaritmic true strain [A120]

Figure 43. True stress - strain curve in logarithmic scale. Adapted from
Figure 41.

In logarithmic scale, the Hollomon equation (14) gives a straight line where
the value n is the line’s slope. If we now consider that the curve in Figure 43
consists of two lines, we neglect the beginning of the curve due to inaccuracy
in the testing arrangement, and we solve the slope of the last line (the line
that starts at point true strain = 0.03). This gives the value n in Hollomon’s
equation. We need to solve also the parameter K in Hollomon’s equation.
Let’s extrapolate the values of the last line to get the value of true stress when
the true strain is 1. The parameter K is the value of true stress at that point.

Finally, we will use the Hollomon equation to draw a curve in a normal coor-
dinate system with the solved values of n and K. Also we need to correct the
value of Young’s modulus because the tensile test doesn’t normally give the
right value for it. Young’s modulus for steel is 210GPa. These procedures give
a true stress - strain curve as shown in Figure 44.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 63
 550
500
450
400
True stress [MPa]

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
True strain [A120]

Figure 44. True stress - true strain curve with corrected Young’s modulus.

PRO TIP: SSAB Form Tubes from 190 up to 420

follow the Hollomon equation. This is true also for
higher-strength steel grades, but double or triple
“n” behaviour may occur.

64 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
4. Tube bending

Bending is the second most common processing method for precision tubes
after cutting. A total of 40-50% of precision tubes delivered are bent. Bend-
ing is more common than, for example, painting or welding. In order to ensure
good quality and reasonable manufacturing costs, it helps to be familiar with
some of the typical properties of precision steel tubes and basic bending
principles when designing a product for bending. For basic bending terminol-
ogy, see Figure 45.

Tangent point
Outside diameter

Ou
ter
rad Inside diameter
ius

C
en
te
rli
Inn ne
er ra
rad di
ius us

90O

Tangent point
Bending angle

Centerline

Figure 45. Bending terminology.

Tube bending may be carried out using many different methods and tooling
setups. Special tube bending machines are long-term investments and their
service life can be up to decades, particularly when numerous different tools
are available and can be updated based on new products in production. Hy-
draulic bending machines are traditional, but fully electric bending machines
are also available now.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 65
 Figure 46. Kaari coat racks with bent rectangular SSAB Form Tube 220 C
40x10x2. Courtesy of Martela Oyj.

4.1 Neutral axis and springback

During the bending process, there is an area around the neutral axis where the
stress does not exceed the yield strength of the material and, therefore, this
area is elastic. Also, when deformation takes place during the bending pro-
cess, a lot of residual stresses are introduced and after the bending tooling
is removed and stresses released, the tube part exceeding the yield strength
tends to return to its former shape according to the modulus of elasticity, see
Figure 47. This is called springback.

66 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 Plastically formed zones

Springback forces

Elastically formed zone

Neutral axis

Figure 47. Plastically and elastically formed areas in bending.

Because of springback, components may be out of tolerances at the other

end of a bent tube and it is almost impossible to bend a tube by only a few de-
grees. When there are several bends next to each other, form defect caused
by springback is multiplied, see Case study 4.1.1 Springback can also be seen
as an increased bending radius, see Figure 48.

Figure 48. Increasing bending radius originating from springback.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 67
 Material parameters having the strongest influence on springback are:
- Young’s modulus
- Yield strength
- Tensile strength
- Work hardening rate

Within the precision steel tube product group, Young’s modulus is pretty
much constant and cannot be varied based on experiences of the bending
process. Also yield and tensile strength are typically selected on a basis other
than springback behaviour. The work hardening rate may be described by
the Rp/Rm ratio, uniform elongation or work hardening exponent, which are
steel grade and tube manufacturer dependent parameters. Thus, the most
practical way to tackle springback is to compensate it by fabrication process
adjustments and taking care of tooling maintenance.

In some cases, springback may be limited by increasing stretching during

deformation, which is generally difficult to carry out when bending a tube, or
using structural features, a.k.a. stiffeners, in order to constrict the release of
residual or elastic stresses with part geometry, which may give the part an
undesired appearance.

Since springback is related to the elastic behaviour of the tube, variation in

yield strength between e.g. different production batches also causes variation
in the amount of springback. A rule of thumb is that a variation of ±10MPa in
yield strength causes a variation of approximately ±0.1° in the bending radius.
In addition, an HF-weld which is harder and stronger than the base material
causes a maximum of approximately ±0.1° variation in bending radius.

Normally, when forming steel, it is important to try and achieve evenly-dis-

tributed plasticity. In the case of tubular bending, it is impossible to distribute
plasticity evenly e.g. between the outer and inner radius. The higher the tube
strength, the greater the springback. There are two reasons for this: with
higher-strength steels, the variation in yield strength tends to be higher, as
is the elastic recovery when releasing tube from tooling, see Figure 49. If two
tubes with the same dimensions but different yield stresses (steel grades or
delivery batches) are bent to the same radius, i.e. to the same elongation, the
elongations reached must be different before tooling release.

68 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 Stress

Strain
Figure 49. Elastic return of two different tube materials after tool releasing by
way of stress-strain curve.

When the variation, inter alia, in the positioning accuracy, tooling clearances
of a standard bending machine and clearance between mandrel and tube are
taken into account, the machine and process induced variation in the bending
radius can be estimated to be approximately ±0.5°.

4.1.1 Case study: Springback and component tolerance

Examination of four consecutive bends in a 1000 mm long HF-welded tube,
see Figure 50, shows that, in theory, the position of the end of the tube may
vary by as much as ±24 mm:

If the following is assumed:

- Yield strength deviation of the tube is ±35MPa
- Tube is HF-welded
- Bending tooling and clearances are as usual

Then bending angle deviation due to:

- Yield strength is ±0.35°

- HF-weld is ±0.10°. This is for low-alloyed Form and Docol precision steel
tubes. Alloyed steels may have different behaviour because of weld
hardening.
- Bending tooling and clearances is ±0.50°

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 69
 And the total deviation will be:

(51)

And for 1000mm length ±1.35º variation means:

(52)

45°

45°

45°
45°

Figure 50. Four 45° bends in the same component.

PRO TIP: Do not mix different bundles in production,

because keeping tubes from the same batch together
will keep yield strength deviation under control. This
is also valid when fixed cut tubes are used. The same
applies to bundles from different tube suppliers.

4.2 Bending methods and applicable radii

A tube must not break when bent, in addition to which requirements are set for
buckling and wrinkling, depending on the application of the component. The
thinner the tube wall and the smaller the intended bending radius, the easier
the wall becomes wrinkled and the more the bending tools must support the
tube wall.

The minimum centreline bending radius, which is achieved using well-serviced

tools and the normal rotary draw bending method, see Chapter 4.2.4, can be
shown as an empirical formula:

70 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 (53)

Where: CLR is centreline radius

D is tube diameter and
A is elongation percentage

The formula illustrates that a bending radius of 1xD requires an approximately

50% elongation of the material. Respectively, an elongation of 23% enables
the bending of a 25mm tube using a radius of 54mm.

The equation is for guidance only and the radius achieved greatly depends on
the bending technique used and on the operator’s skills. In draw bending, the
bend radius derived from the equation (53) has been achieved with elonga-
tion values lower by more than five percentage points.

Table 21. Minimum mechanical properties for SSAB Form Tubes and tubes
according to standard EN 10305.

Steel grade Rp0.2 Rm A

[MPa] [MPa] [%]
E190+CR2 190 270 26
SSAB Form Tube 190 190 270 35
E220+CR2 220 310 23
SSAB Form Tube 220 220 310 28
E320+CR2 320 410 19
SSAB Form Tube 320 320 410 23
E420+CR2 420 490 12
SSAB Form Tube 420 420 490 14

As explained in chapter 3.1, all tubes of a similar steel grade are not similar but
have different mechanical properties depending on their dimensions. When
combining elongation values and the D/T relationship from Figure 51 with the
formula (53), a minimum bending radius can be shown as a function of D/T,
see Figure 52.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 71
 60

50

40
A [%]

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 220, including 95% of measured values
SSAB Form Tube 220 min 28%
E220 min 23%

Figure 51. Elongation values A for steel grade SSAB Form Tube 220. Average
bending radii have been calculated using 95% of the relevant products’ A
values.

2,5

1,5
Bending radius [xD]

0,5

0
0 20 40 60
D/T
SSAB Form Tube 220, minimum bending radius
E220, minimum bending radius

Figure 52. Minimum bending radius of SSAB Form Tube 220 vs. tube D/T
ratio.

72 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Table 24 shows the indicative minimum bending radii and the most common
bending defects with these radii when using an E220 CR2 tube with a D/T ≈ 30
complying with standard EN 10305-3.

Table 22. Comparison between SSAB Form tubes and the elongations spec-
ified in EN 10305; delivery condition: +CR2. Average bending radii have been
calculated using 95% of the relevant products’ A values.

Steel A min. CLR A CLR A CLR

grade [%] min. [95%] [95%] [95%] [95%]
D/T = 15 D/T = 15 D/T = 50 D/T = 50

E220 EN 23 2.2xD - - -
10305
E320 EN 19 2.6xD - - -
10305
SSAB 28 1.8xD 30 1.7xD 38 1.3xD
Form Tube
220
SSAB 23 2.2xD 25 2.0xD 33 1.5xD
Form Tube
320

If a very small bending radius with respect to the material is used, the HF-weld
of the tube should be positioned on the neutral axis of the bend. Positioning
the HF-weld on the inner surface can decrease wrinkling tendency.

The bending radius of a component can be reduced by compressing the tube

wall inside the tube like a pocket, see Figure 53. This compression is easiest to
fabricate with pressing. Then, if applying Formula (53) into this pocket bend-
ing, a new smallest cross section diameter can be used, e.g. when the com-
pressed pocket is wall to wall, the tube diameter is halved. Pocket bending can
thus potentially halve the minimum bending radius.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 73
 Figure 53. Decreasing bending radius by decreasing “D” of the tube.

Bending square and rectangular tubes differs a bit from bending circular
tubes. Work-hardened corners tend to increase minimum bending radius and
the tube is more exposed to cross section changes: outer and inner
surfaces have a tendency to concave, sides have a tendency to convex. Pocket
bending is a common way to bend angular tubes, but they can also be bent
without. Using draw bending, high quality tooling, ball mandrel and increased
bending radius, it is possible to reach a bending radius down to 3 x tube height
(3xD) with only a small cross sectional deformation, see Figure 54.

Figure 54. Bending square and rectangular sections.

PRO TIP: Check your tube’s elongation at fracture

(A%), then select bending radius!

74 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
4.2.1 Roll bending
Figure 55 shows the principle of roll bending. Roll bending, which does not
require many tools and is therefore an inexpensive investment, is based on
the use of three rolls, which form a supporting point triangle between which
there is no support for the tube. Compared to other bending methods, longer
straight sections must be left at both ends of the tube in roll bending. This
means that bending cannot be carried out too close to the end of the tube or
tube end must be cut.

In roll bending, three-point bending and compression bending, the neutral

axis moves away from the centreline towards the outer surface. For this
reason, outer surface tension is smaller than inner surface compression and
tubes are susceptible to buckling when using these methods and therefore,
when combined with a small bending radius, there is a risk of the tube
collapsing. Therefore, the achievable minimum bending radius is larger than
with many other methods.

Tube

Rolls

Figure 55. Roll bending, the easiest way to produce over 180° tube spirals e.g.
for heat exchanger applications.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 75
 Figure 56. Roll bender. Courtesy of Herber Engineering AB.

4.2.2 Push bending – three-point bending

One of the most simplified bending methods and thus having the lowest
investment costs, is push bending, which is also known as:

- Press bending
- Ram bending
- American bending
- Three-point bending

Figure 57 shows the principle of three-point bending. As with roll bending,

there is no support for the tube between the supporting points. In addition, a
tube with small uniform elongation tends to become detached from the sur-
face of the ram/bending die, which causes buckling of the tube, see Figure 58.
The probability of detaching greatly increases when elongation on the tube’s
outer surface exceeds uniform elongation. This usually occurs when CLR =
5xD. Detaching may be prevented by counter force tooling pressing the tube
towards the bending die.

76 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The possibility to set up push bending tooling on a regular eccentric or
hydraulic press is a major advantage. This may be considered especially when:

- A large bending radius is applicable

- Bending defects, like wrinkling, are allowed, e.g. the bent part will not
be visible in design
- High volume items are manufactured at high production rates
- Minimum tooling investment is required, such as with small series
and prototyping

When manufacturing a single part, such as in the prototyping phase, moist-

ened and compressed sand or another tube inside may be used as a dispos-
able mandrel if low costs are pursued before investing in e.g. draw bending
tooling.

Ram

Tub
e

t
por
Sup

Figure 57. Push bending.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 77
 Ram

Tub
e

t
por
Sup

Figure 58. Losing contact between the tube surface and tooling because
uniform elongation of the material is exceeded.

One major application for three-point bending is to evaluate the energy ab-
sorption of the tube, e.g. in the case of safety components. Several factors,
such as tube dimensions, aka cross-sectional properties and steel strength,
affect energy absorption capability, which coincide with the total area under
the load-displacement curve, see Figure 59. A closed tube cross section will
give a much higher bending resistance compared to open profiles.

78 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 14

13

12

11

10

9
Bending load [kN]

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150

Displacement [mm]

Docol Tube 980 C Docol Tube 780 C Docol Tube 780 C

30x20x2 55x30x1.5 34x1
1.36 kg/m 1.77 kg/m 0.814 kg/m

Figure 59. Load-displacement curve adapted from a 3-point bending test

showing energy absorption behaviour.

4.2.3 Compression bending

In compression bending, see Figure 60, the tube is pressed, i.e. bent, around a
stationary bending die. Compared to the previous methods, the tube is better
supported by the tooling albeit without precision. In any case, the tube is not
supported from the inside by the mandrel, causing thin walled tubes to wrinkle,
collapse or to assume an excessive oval-shape.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 79
 Tube

Stationary Bending
Die

Support
Clamping
Die

Figure 60. Compression bending

Compression bending could be a good compromise between push and draw

bending with regard to bending quality (wrinkling, ovality, necking, wall thin-
ning) and the achievable bending radius. Anyhow, compression bending is not
very common and sales of new machines are low.

80 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 61. Boiler tubes. Depending on the bending radius required and wall
thinning allowed, several different bending methods may be used: from com-
pression bending to clamping booster bending.

4.2.4 Draw bending

Figure 62 illustrates the principle of rotary draw bending, shorter draw bend-
ing or mandrel bending. In rotary draw bending, the tube is drawn over a ro-
tating bending die, Figure 62. In this method, the neutral axis is closer to the
inner than to the outer surface of the bend, which allows wrinkling control. A
mandrel which supports the tube from the inside can also be used in rotary
draw bending.

Draw bending allows smaller bending radii at higher D/T ratios than other
methods. As a rule, bending is carried out using a mandrel, see section 4.3
for mandrel usage. High tube wall support with tooling, such as the wiper die
shown in Figure 63, is also advantageous when requiring a minor oval shape
for products. The weaknesses of this method compared to push bending in-
clude higher machine and tooling costs, a greater reduction in wall thickness
on the outer side of the tube bend and the unbent section left at the tube and
by the clamp jaws. Clamping length is usually 2…3xD. When the bending ma-
chine’s plane selection for the linear transfer and rotation of the tube is used
instead of manual positioning, an unbent section might be left at the back
end of the tube only, depending on the bending radius. Three dimensional

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 81
 parts can be easily bent using draw bending, either by manually rotating the
tube between bends or by using an automated system, see Figure 64. When
aiming for minimal bending radius or placing an HF-weld of the tube in a
certain position for part similarity, an automated weld seam detector may be
used.

Bending Die

Wiper Die

Clamping Die

Tube
Pressure Die

Figure 62. Draw bending.

Figure 63. Wiper die usually made of softer material than the tube, e.g.
aluminium-bronze.

82 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 64. 3D bending with automated rotation. Courtesy of Herber
Engineering AB.

Figure 65 shows the booster bending method and it can be easily noticed that
it is a special modification of draw bending: obviously most of the tooling is
similar to it. In this method, a booster force pushes the tube to the bending
area. The booster force compensates for the tensile elongation and wall thin-
ning on the outer surface of the tube by adding a compressive elongation,
which then allows smaller bending radii to be used than with traditional rotary
draw bending. Tube wrinkling tendency would be increased without precision
tooling such as the wiper die setup.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 83
 Bending Die

Wiper Die

Clamping Die

Tube Boost
Pressure Die
Force

Figure 65. Booster bending.

Another tooling setup exploiting the booster force idea is clamping booster
bending or centreline booster bending, see Figure 66. In clamping booster
bending, the booster force is exerted on the tube by clamping tooling. The
method is typical for pressure vessel and heat exchanger applications be-
cause of their generally thicker tube walls, which may make it unnecessary to
use the wiper die and mandrel.
Bending Die

Wiper Die Booster

Clamping Die

Tube Boost
Pressure Die
Force

Figure 66. Clamping booster bending, here with a wiper die.

The booster force does not have to be constant, but it can be adjusted during
bending action, e.g. at the start of bending some extra force may be exerted
on the tube to optimise wall thickness.

84 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
4.2.5 Free radius bending
Free radius bending is also a kind of rotary draw bending variant with the ex-
ception that the clamping die does not rotate in a fixed position in relation
to the bending die but has been replaced with an independently controlled
bending die roll. This independent control makes it possible to change or ad-
just bending radius during and within one bend. The bend may be a so-called
changing radius bend. This method gives new freedom to design parts with
even less welding than other bending methods.

Bending Die

Tube

Bending Die

Rollers

Figure 67. Free radius bending.

Figure 68. Free radius bending machine. Courtesy of Herber Engineering AB.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 85
 4.3 Mandrels

If, due to the large D/T ratio, even rotary draw bending does not sufficiently
support the tube wall against wrinkling, a mandrel can be used inside the tube
during bending. The simplest type of mandrel is a plug mandrel that, together
with other tools, supports the wall up to the tangent point of the bend, see
Figure 69. The wall can be supported past the tangent point using a rounded
spoon mandrel. When bending a tube with very thin walls or small bending
radius, the tube needs to be supported over a longer bent area. This can be
done using a ball mandrel, Figure 69.

A common method for mandrel adjustment is to place the mandrel so far

forward, i.e., over the tangent point that the tube is close to the breaking
point and then move the mandrel slightly backwards. This is how to find an
optimal mandrel position in which the tube does not break and the mandrel
gives maximum support to the tube wall. A typical mandrel position is 0.4 mm
forward, see Figure 70.

Figure 67. Mandrels. From the left: a plug mandrel, a spoon mandrel and a
ball mandrel.

86 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 70. Mandrel positioning. Left: the mandrel is in a tangent point location.
Right: the mandrel is in a forward location reducing wrinkling tendency and
causing some extra deformation of the outer tube wall.

Figure 71 shows a nomogram for selection of the correct mandrel type. The
left hand side of the nomogram indicates whether a mandrel is needed or
not and the type of the mandrel to be used. The right hand side indicates the
number of balls if a multi-ball mandrel is needed.

Type of mandrel D/t Number of

balls
140

130
D/t 120
No mandrel 2
40
110

30 R/D 100 R/D

4 90 3
Pin or spoon
20 3 mandrel 80
2 3
2
15 1 Single-ball 70
mandrel
60
1
10
50
5 Multi-ball
4x(R/D)
mandrel 40

30

Figure 71. Nomogram of the use of a mandrel.

Another approach to mandrel usage is to use Table 23, where also the
bending angle is considered.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 87
 Table 23. Guide to select the correct mandrel for draw bending and booster
bending. Please note that this table does not take the applicable minimum
bending radius into consideration.
CLR/Tube 1XD 1.5XD 2XD 2.5XD 3XD 5XD
diameter

Bending Angle 90° 180° 90° 180° 90° 180° 90° 180° 90° 180° 90° 180°

D/T

10 P P P P P P P P N P N N

20 MB1 MB1 MB1 MB1 MB1 MB1 P P P P P P

30 MB2 MB3 MB2 MB3 MB2 MB3 MB1 MB2 MB1 MB2 P P

40 MB3 MB3 MB3 MB3 MB3 MB3 MB3 MB3 MB2 MB3 P MB1

50 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB3 MB1 MB2

60 MB4 MB5 MB4 MB5 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB3

70 MB4 MB5 MB4 MB5 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB3

80 MB4 MB5 MB4 MB5 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB3 MB4 MB4 MB4

N= No mandrel
P= Plug mandrel
B= Bal mandrel
MB= Multi-Ball mandrel, number indicates the recommended number of balls
A wiper die is recommended when the proportion outside the D/T-ratio is
within the grey field

In demanding bending processes, the clearance between the tube and the man-
drel must not exceed 0.15 mm. For this reason, mandrels with various diameters
should be available for the bending of tubes from different production batches,
taking into account their manufacturing tolerance. If tubes are supplied without
scarfing of the inner seam of an HF-weld, the clearance increases due to bead.
In this case, a machined groove in the mandrel can be used.

It is always a good idea to consider the placement of the weld seam during
bending. If a bending radius close to the minimum is used, the weld should be
placed near the neutral axis of the bend in order to decrease elongation on
the weld. If the bend has a tendency to wrinkle, placing the weld on inner radius
location might help.

Like wiper dies, mandrels are usually made of a notably different material
than the tube, such as aluminium-bronze or hard chromium steel, not just in
order to avoid part scratching but primarily also to avoid adhesive corrosion
between the tube material and tooling.

If a mandrel and wiper die must be used in bending, also a lubricant must
usually be used. Lubricants have developed since the early days of grease, oil

88 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
and soap to petroleum-based special lubricants, synthetic non-petroleum
and further to environmentally-friendly water-based and gel lubricants. Be-
side environmental friendliness, modern lubricants are easy to clean off even
with water. The latest gel lubricants will even dry on the tube surface without
the need for washing.

PRO TIP: A hot-rolled pickled (H) surface will wear

out mandrels and wiper dies faster than a cold-rolled
(C) surface.

PRO TIP: Inhomogeneity of the weld seam may

prevent wrinkling. Try to locate the weld seam in the
inner bend if wrinkling is a problem.

4.4 Case study: bending angle in plane

When comparing middle line lengths and outer surface lengths and then
calculating the inevitable elongation occurring at 90° and 180° bends, we can
see that elongation of the outer surface does not depend on the bending angle,
see Figure 72. Thus, as regards tube fracture, a large bending radius is no more
difficult than a small bending radius. The secret is that in draw bending, the tube
elongates at the tangent point of the bend, then moves ahead and the next
part of the tube will transfer to the tangent point and elongate, etc.

¼ circle ½ circle
length of line = 2π(r+D/2) /4 = 180,55mm length of line = 2π(r+D/2) /2 = 361,1mm
¼ circle ½ circle
length of line = 2πr /4 = 157mm length of line = 2πr /2 = 314mm
Elongation = (180,55mm-157mm)/157mm = 15% Elongation = (361mm-314mm)/314mm = 15%

Figure 72. Effect of bending angle on elongation and minimum bending radius.

PRO TIP: Bending angle is not your problem,

Bending radius is!

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 89
 4.5 Case study: bending troubleshooting

Figure 73. Hump at end of bend.

Hump at end of bend

1 Adjust the mandrel slightly back from the tangent until the hump is barely
visible. This is also a good system to find the best location for the mandrel.
2 Program the software so that the mandrel is adjusted backwards 3-5°
before bending is completed.
3 Increase force on pressure die assist.

Figure 74. Wrinkling throughout bend.

90 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Wrinkling throughout bend
1 Test with wiper die.
2 Advance wiper die closer to tangent.
3 Decrease rake of wiper die.
4 Consider changing tube material to cold-rolled from hot-rolled.

Figure 75. Deep scratches throughout the bend and in wiper die area.

Deep scratches throughout the bend and in wiper die area

1 Increase rake.
2 Check for undersized mandrel.
3 Increase pressure die force only after checking wiper fit and mandrel
location.
4 Reduce force on pressure die advance.
5 Use more and/or a better lube, e.g. consider IRMCO.

Figure 76. Tool marks on centreline of bend in clamp and pressure die area.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 91
 Tool marks on centreline of bend in clamp and pressure die area
1 Reduce pressure and clamp die forces.
2 Oversized tube or undersized tube groove from bad tooling source.
3 Adjust height of pressure die.

Figure 77. Excessive collapse with or without wrinkling throughout entire

bend.

Excessive collapse with or without wrinkling throughout entire bend

1 Advance mandrel toward tangency until slight hump occurs
(most mandrels must project somewhat past tangent)
2 Need more balls on mandrel
3 Select a tube with smaller dimensional tolerances

Figure 78. Mandrel ball humps.

Mandrel ball humps

1 Too much drag on tube; back off pressure die force – increase wiper
die rake

92 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
2 May require closer pitch mandrel assembly.
3 Tubing material too soft.
4 Increase force on pressure die assist.

Figure 79. Wrinkles throughout bend area with wiper and mandrel in known
position.

Wrinkles throughout bend area with wiper and mandrel in known

position
1 Check for undersized mandrel.
2 Increase pressure die force only after checking wiper fit and
mandrel location.
3 Reduce force on pressure die advance.

Figure 80. Bad mark at start of bend.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 93
 Bad mark at start of bend
1 Removable clamping portion of bend die not matched properly to
round part of bend die.
2 Clamping portion of bend die not parallel to the key way.

Figure 81. Heavy wrinkles through bend area only and linear scratches in grip
area indicating clamp slippage.

Heavy wrinkles through bend area only and linear scratches in grip area
indicating clamp slippage
1 Reduce pressure die force.
2 Check location and lube of mandrel and wiper die.
3 Increase pressure on clamp die.
4 Use serrated or carbide spray in tube groove of clamp die

Figure 82. Tube bending defect: mandrel seizing up with tube wall due to in-
sufficient lubrication and wrong mandrel positioning and therefore breakage.

94 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 83. Tube bending defect: excessive tooling pressure and therefore
scratching and breakage.

Figure 84. Tube bending defect: insufficient lubrication and therefore

breakage.

Figure 85. Tube bending defect: excessive flattening due to high D/T-ratio
and bending without mandrel.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 95
 Figure 86. Tube bending defect: wrinkling due to extreme compression on
inner radius.

Table 24. Practical minimum bending radii of thin-walled SSAB Form Tube
220 precision steel tube achievable by different bending methods with normal
production tooling.

Bending method Practical minimum Failure with smaller

bending radius than minimum
bending radius
Push bending 8-15xD Wrinkling
Roll bending 6-10xD Wrinkling
Compression bending 4xD Wrinkling
Draw bending, no 3.5-7xD Wrinkling
mandrel
Draw bending, with 2.0xD Fracture
mandrel
Booster bending 1.5-2xD Wrinkling or fracture
Free radius bending 4-6xD Wrinkling

PRO TIP: Don’t try to bend a tube with CLR=3xD with

roll bending.

96 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
4.7 Case Study: Cost savings with higher elongation

Higher elongation will provide a margin against failure in forming processes

as well as higher deformation capacity such as tighter bending radii. In some
cases, complex forming tooling may be replaced by a simpler and less expen-
sive one. Ready tube components also have better tolerances and enhanced
energy absorption. Enhanced elongation also makes allowance for changes in
lubrication, tooling wear and adjustment precision.

It is well known that elongation value A is not very good parameter to be used
in formability calculations in specific forming applications. Anyhow, A value
has good correlation to general formability and well describes the change in
formability when comparing different tube grades. SSAB Form Tube 220 has
an elongation of 5 percentage units higher even compared with EN 10305
E220+CR2.

Table 25. Bending radii for tubes with 3 different guaranteed elongation at
fracture values.

Steel Grade Yield Tensile A Recommended

Strength Strength [%] minimum
[MPa] [MPa] bending radius
E195+CR1 - 330 8 6.3xD
EN 10305
E220+CR2 220 310 23 2.2xD
EN 10305
SSAB Form Tube 220 220 310 28 1.8xD

A small bending radius is needed for

- Design reasons such as appearance, differentiation and artistic motive
- Engineering reasons such as simple construction and functionality
- Spacing reasons such as compatibility with other components
- Cost reasons such as reducing joining and increasing productivity

Figure 87 shows the distribution of elongation for E220+CR2 tube. The bell-
shaped curve starts at 23% and the average elongation value is 38%. 5 per-
centage units of population is within the range of 23-28%. A 5% scrap rate is
generally accepted in difficult high quality tube bending applications.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 97
 Figure 88 shows the distribution of elongation for SSAB Form Tube 220. Now
250 at 28%. If the bent tube component is designed based
the bell curve starts
on 23% minimum elongation, there is a 5% margin for variables and it may be
200
possible to manufacture bent components with a 0% scrap rate.

Frequency 150
250

200
100
Frequency

150
50

0
100
24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66
A
50

0
24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66
A

Figure 87. Bend component is designed for E220+CR2 tube with elongation
of 23%. Due to bending process variation, there is a 5% scrap rate.

250

200
Frequency

150
250

200
100
Frequency

150
50 0%

0
100
24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66
A
50 0%

Figure 88. Bend component is designed for SSAB Form Tube 220 with
0
elongation of 23%. Due
24 to30
bending
36 process
42 variation,
48 54 there
60 is66
a 0% scrap rate.
A

PRO TIP: Material savings + reduced down time with

SSAB Form Tubes, e.g. 5% with SSAB Form Tube 220.

98 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
4.8 Case study: Large and small bending radii and
moment of resistance

When starting the manufacture of a new tubular component with a bending

machine, it is sometimes necessary to evaluate whether the bending machine
has enough force capacity. How will the steel grade, tube dimensions or
bending radius affect the force needed?

Bending a tube into a new shape is a complex phenomenon to simulate

mathematically without the aid of a computer. Tube bending includes elastic
and plastic deformations and the deformations are large, which leads to
several nonlinearities. Still we can use a simplified approach to evaluate how
the bending radius affects the bending torque needed. We will keep the
deformations small (small bending angle) and assume that the deformations
are fully elastic.

s
M

Figure 89. Tube bending.

s
M
r α
r

Figure 90. Tube bending, small bending radius.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 99
 s

M
R α
R

Figure 91. Tube bending, large bending radius.

(54)

Now we need to write the length s as a function of α and the bending radius.
Let’s use trigonometry to find the connection.

s
α
r
r
α 90 - α
α
90 - α
Figure 92. Arc length.

Now from figure 10 we get for small bending radius r:

(55)

100 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
For a large bending radius we need only to substitute r with R:

(56)

Let’s substitute s with α*r in the previous equation and solve the torque M:
Small bending radius (M = Mr):

(57)

Large bending radius (M = MR):

(58)

For example let’s assume that R = 2*r and divide MR with Mr :

(59)

So we can see that if we double the bending radius the needed torque drops
to half.

4.9 Case Study: Requirements for the “freischwinger”

type chair

Freischwinger (cantilever) chair design has several important requirements for

tube and design including:

- High load bearing capacity, e.g. 100 kg

- Small or large bending radius of tube depending on design
- Good surface quality for chromating
- Inside tube diameter tolerance for mandrel bending
- Elasticity of chair, it must be comfortable springy, not too stiff
- Low total weight for movable purposes
- High resistance against fatigue, particularly in pierced (hole) areas

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 101
 In reality, chairs, like other furniture, are subject to many other requirements.
They are tested according to related standards against several different
factors, including stability and the fatigue of welded joints.

Figure 93. Typical design of freischwinger chair.

Example: Load bearing capacity of a freischwinger chair

Let’s consider that the mass of a person sitting on the chair is distributed as a
concentrated force on distance L from the corner of the chair (depending on
in which point the person sits).

Figure 94. The freischwinger chair. L = 400 mm and H = 450 mm

102 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The force W represents the gravitational force of the seated person. Because
the chair is symmetric, we can conclude that the force P = m*g/2, where m is the
mass of the person (100 kg) and g is the gravitational acceleration (9.81 m/s2).
Since the structure of the chair is lightweight, we can neglect the mass of the
chair in the calculations. Because the bending radius at the corners is small, we
can generate following simplified representation for the calculations:

Figure 95. Simplified representation of the freischwinger chair.

Now we can draw a force equilibrium figure which is helpful in generating the
equilibrium equations.

Rx
y

x Ry

Mxy

Figure 96. Force equilibrium.

The reaction forces and moment can be solved as follows (see Figures 92
and 93):

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 103
 (60)

(61)

The critical point for yielding is at the corner of chair, where the bending
moment is at its highest and the compressive force parallel to the vertical
member becomes zero. So the maximum stress σmax occurs at the same
point. Let’s calculate the maximum stress using the equation in Case study 3.8:

(63)

Let’s try 30x2 SSAB Form Tube 320 circular precision tube as the chair’s
structural element, which has the following cross-sectional properties:

Table 26. Cross sectional properties of 30x2 SSAB Form Tube 320

D/T I [mm4] W [mm3] A [mm2] E [N/mm2]

15 17329.03 1155.268 175.9292 210 000

For D/T ratio 15 the real yield stress σyield = 480 N/mm2 . Let’s apply the values
and we get:

(64)

The real yield stress is 2.8 times higher than the maximum stress, so SSAB
Form Tube 320 30x2 works fine.

Chair elasticity
Let’s study the total deflection of the chair at the point where the force P
reacts. Figure 97 illustrates the deflection of the chair:

104 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 δA
P
δB

Figure 97. Chair deflection.

Now because the acting forces are known, we can solve the displacements δA
and δB using the beam tables. Remember that P = m*g/2:

(65)

(66)

Total deflection diagonally at the point where the force P reacts

can be calculated using Pythagoras law:

(67)

Freischwinger chair with a large bending radius

For comparison, let’s look at the load-bearing capacity and deflection of a
freischwinger chair with a large bending radius. Because the bending radius
is large compared to the member’s dimensions, we can make an accurate
approximation that the elastic section modulus (W) and second moment of
area (I) remains the same even though the member is curved.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 105
 P I

r
h

Figure 98. Chair with a large bending radius. l = L-r, h = H-r and r = 300 mm.

The critical point is at the end of the curve. Let’s transfer the force P to the
start of the curve and evaluate the forces at the end of the curve.

+
P
+
P*I

r
r

Figure 99. Chair’s critical point.

106 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The forces N and M are: (68)

(69)
The maximum stress occurs at the outer edge of the member. The
maximum stress is:

(70)

(71)

Let’s insert the values and we get:

(72)

The resulting stress is a bit lower than with the small bending radius.
Now we can calculate the deflection at the point where the force P reacts.
The easiest method is to use the “beam tables”.
Let’s cut the structure into three parts:

βA δA
δax
I
δBy βB
h +
r +δ
x O

Figure 100. Deflection of the three parts.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 107
 Using Figure 100, we can now determine the deflections of these three parts:

(73)

(74)

(75)

(76)

(77)

(78)

Total deflection in x-direction:

(79)

Total deflection in y-direction:

(80)

Total deflection diagonally:

(81)

We can see that the change in stresses and deflections is negligible if the
chair’s bending radius is increased when keeping the chair’s dimensions un-
changed. The large curvature distributes the stress more smoothly though.

If your structure includes curved members, using the theory of a curved

member gives a more accurate result. But as you can see, the calculations
then become much more complicated. On the other hand, the smaller the
bending radius gets, the more and more accurate the simplified method
becomes.

108 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
4.10 Case study: FE-simulation of draw bending with
mandrel

FE-simulation has become more frequently used because of its possibilities

to optimise the process and last but not at least able to reduce tooling cost.
Regarding tube bending, the tool is more or less standardised, but for the
entire process there are several options for the tooling setup and number
of parameters that can be adjusted, e.g. with or without mandrel (insert),
positioning of mandrel, booster, amount of feeding, etc. Below is a case from
a typical FE-simulation of draw-bending, comparing the results between
whether a mandrel is used or not.

Input data needed for simulation

Every type of FE-simulation requires inputs of material data explaining the
properties, usually called a “material input card”. The format for these cards
differs depending on the FE-software used, but is usually written in a text-
format as a Ascii format. The material data can then be visualised graphically with
the FE software used or by the pre-processor. The pre-processor is software
for preparing FE models with geometries, loads applied and material data.
Figure 101 below shows a typical material model for FE simulation.

Figure 101. The material input representing Docol Tube 590, thickness 1 mm.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 109
 In Figure 101, the left curve shows the tensile test true stress - true strain
data, extrapolated to 100% of strain. The reason behind extrapolating the
tensile-curve is that the levels of strains become much larger in a tube bent
compared within a tensile specimen in a tensile-test.

The diagram in middle shows the Yield surface, based on the yield stresses
and r-values obtained from tensile tests performed in three directions, i.e. 0°,
45° and 90°. Finally to the right, an FLD diagram (Forming Limit Diagram) is
shown. This type of diagram explains the maximum strain and strain path until
material failure. Moreover, the FLD curve depends on the material-thickness.
However, the main part of FE programs correct the FLD based on material
thickness used compared to the reference curve. E.g. Autoform software for
FE simulation has already prepared material data cards for several Docol
Tube grades on the market, provided by different steel suppliers and easily
selected by the user.

Input of tube geometry

Tube bending FE simulation is very simple (compared with process
simulations for other types of sheet metal forming) as the geometry is more
or less parameterised. The main geometrical measures are as follows: tube
diameter D, material thickness T and bending radius CLR, see Figure 102.
Additional parameter, I, set is the length of tube apart from the bend, see
Figure 103.

Figure 102. The tube of geometry, D=45mm, t=1.5mm and CLR=90mm, i.e.
2xD.

110 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 103. Parameter described in Figure above, additionally parameter
I=141.37 mm, the length of the tube outside the bend.

Examples, tooling setup for draw-bending, with and without mandrel

The following two examples use different tooling setups. In the first example
(a), a mandrel is used and in (b) free bending is performed without a mandrel.
According to the slenderness, i.e. D/ T=30, a wrinkling tendency is of course
expected. However, the result will be compared, trying to obtain a perfect
bend, using an insert. The issue is what type of mandrel to use, a spoon
mandrel only or ball mandrel. According to chapter 4.3 Mandrels, and the
Mandrel Chart Table, it is assumed that 2 balls are needed and that it is
preferable to add a wiper to the tooling setup to prevent wrinkling. In both
cases for simulation, the material thickness is T=1.5 mm, and the tube
diameter is D=45 mm.

The tooling, except for the mandrel, used in both examples, is shown in
Figure 104. The model of the mandrel is shown in Figure 105.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 111
 Figure 104. The die, wiper, pressure die and claws are shown.

Figure 105. The mandrel in accordance with the recommendation in the Mandrel
chart, whereby a tube to be bent at a slenderness of D/T=30, requires a mandrel
plus 2 balls to prevent wrinkling.

Results using mandrel or not

The results obtained of the final geometry of the bend are shown in the fig-
ures below. If using a mandrel, see Figures 106a and 107a, you can see that
the inner surface of the bend is smooth and there are no tendencies towards
buckling or wrinkling. If an insert is not applied, see Figures 106b and 107b, the
cross-section of the bend is collapsed.

Regarding the risk of splitting, the so-called FLD (Forming Limit Diagram) is
used, which shows the level of strains (cloud of dots) at different positions of
the bend, see Figures 108a and 108b. These are compared with a material
and thickness unique limit curve, representing the limit until failure (the solid
curve). In this case, you can see that the calculated strains from bending sim-
ulation are all located below the limit curve, meaning low risk of splitting.

Apart from the result shown below, additional information can be read out
from FE tube bending simulations, e.g. the amount of thinning of outer fibre
and how much thicker the material will be at the inner radius of the bend.

112 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 106a. The result obtained Figure 106b. The bend will
using a mandrel. collapse without mandrel.

Figure 107a. Result of cross-section of stability indicating that the tube is

still perfectly circular thanks to the mandrel used.

Figure 107b. The result of not using a mandrel, i.e. the cross-section has
collapsed.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 113
 Figure 108a. Level of strains Figure 108b. Strains without
using mandrel. using mandrel.

PRO TIP: Nothing special when bending galvanised

(Z/GI) tubes: no need for special tooling and
corrosion protection will remain. Carry on.

114 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
5. ARC welding
The design of welded joints aims at welds that are of optimal strength, look
right and serve the intended application. Especially in robot welding, welding
economy most obviously depends on factors such as the accessibility of the
object, handling of the work piece, tool selection and quality assurance.

Proper consideration of dimensional accuracy at the work stages predicting

the positioning, such as bending, flattening, milling or cutting to specified
lengths, contributes to the weldability of a product. Shearing, punching,
milling or thermal cutting can be used for preparation of the tube edges.
The requirements on the edges are not very strict for ordinary arc welding.

The welding of precision tubes is usually done with fillet welds to join one pre-
cision tube to another or to thin sheet, such as a flange. Butt welds are mainly
used for line pipe connections and tube accessories.

Because of the range of wall thicknesses of precision tubes, MAG (Metal

Active Gas) short arc welding is the predominant method of welding. MIG
(Metal Inert Gas) welding is not usually used in the welding of precision tubes,
but the term MIG welding is often accidentally used in connection with MAG
welding. High heat input is typical for arc welding in comparison with other
welding methods, such as resistance spot welding or laser welding. The heat
input can be calculated according to equation 82.

(82)

Where
Q is Heat input [kJ/mm]
k is Arc afficiency, for gas metal arc welding k=0.8
U is Voltage [V]
I is Current [I]
v is Travel speed [mm/min]

TIG welding is used for high quality appearance. Gas, plasma and laser welding
are complementary methods.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 115
 Figure 109. Welding. Courtesy of Kemppi Oy.

5.1 Weldability of SSAB Form Tubes

The risk of material-related weld defects is very low foror SSAB Form and
Docol Tubes. The main reason for this is the chemical composition of steel
grades. When evaluating tube weldability, it is justified to first consider the
carbon equivalent value (CEV). The International Institute of Welding provides
a simple and the most common way to calculate the carbon equivalent value
of steels:

116 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 (83)

In practice, CEV means:

- For values above 0.40% there is a risk of hydrogen cracking in the weld’s
heat affected zone (HAZ)
- The lower the CEV, the better the weldability

Every steel grade used in the manufacture of SSAB’s precision tubes has
excellent weldability when using all conventional welding methods. The tubes
owe their good weldability to low alloying and low carbon equivalent, even
when compared with the requirements of EN 10305, see Table 27. The actual
composition of SSAB Form Tubes shown in Table 27 includes 95% of the
measured values. SSAB’s precision tube steels are supplied as aluminium killed
and with low nitrogen contents. Due to the low content of alloying elements and
a very low amount of non-metallic inclusions, there is a low risk of welding
defects, such as hot cracking or hydrogen cracking depending on the material.

Table 27. A comparison of the carbon equivalents (CEV) of SSAB Form Tubes
and EN 10305 requirements. The carbon equivalent has been calculated using
carbon and manganese elements only. See steel grade specific details for Si
content: www.ssab.com.

In % by mass C Si Mn P S CEV
max. max. max. max. max. max.
SSAB Form Tube 190 0.05 0.05 0.70 0.020 0.020 0.17
E190 EN 10305 0.10 0.35 0.70 0.025 0.025 0.22
SSAB Form Tube 220 0.10 0.05 0.70 0.020 0.020 0.22
E220 EN 10305 0.14 0.35 0.70 0.025 0.025 0.26
SSAB Form Tube 320 0.10 0.35 1.40 0.020 0.020 0.33
E320 EN 10305 0.20 0.35 1.40 0.025 0.025 0.43
SSAB Form Tube 420 0.12 0.50 1.70 0.020 0.020 0.40
E420 EN 10305 0.16 0.50 1.70 0.025 0.025 0.44

It should be noted that the standard gives only carbon and manganese
contents used in formula (83). Other elements, e.g. those which are used for
finishing a cast, are not included in the calculation.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 117
 In order to avoid corrosion damage, the tubes are normally coated with a thin
oil film. However, this oil film is so thin that it does not give any porosity prob-
lems in conjunction with arc welding. However, if the tubes are stored in an
environment where dirt may accumulate on their surface, some precautions
have to be taken. In order to avoid welding defects in this case, some form of
cleaning of the tube may then be necessary prior welding.

Welding of thin wall thicknesses places strict demands on the welding param-
eters used. To avoid burning through the wall and to minimise distortions, it
is important to use a low heat input. Another benefit of low heat input is also
a higher tensile strength of the welded joint. Preheating must not be used for
SSAB precision steel tubes, not even at the highest strength levels. Filler met-
als for fusion welding have a strength level of 500MPa and above, so match-
ing a base material strength to filler material strength is not an issue with steel
grades up to SSAB Form Tube 420.

5.2 MIG/MAG welding

In MIG/MAG welding, an arc is created with the power supply through the
welding gun between the welding wire being fed and the work piece. The arc
fuses the material being welded and the welding wire, thus creating the weld.
The wire feeder continuously feeds the welding wire through the welding gun
throughout the welding process. The welding gun also provides shielding gas
to the weld.

• MIG welding uses an inert shielding gas, which is not involved in the
welding process
• MAG welding employs an active shielding gas that is involved in the
welding process

Usually the shielding gas contains active carbon dioxide or oxygen, and there-
fore MAG welding is by far more common than MIG welding. A mixed shielding
gas of argon and carbon dioxide is normally used in combination with either
solid wire or cored wire. It is also possible to use pure CO2 as shielding gas, but in
this case the amount of spatter increases.

5.2.1. Equipment
MIG and MAG welding equipment typically comprises a power source, wire
feed unit, grounding cable, welding gun, optional liquid cooling unit and a
shielding gas bottle or connection to the gas supply.

118 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The purpose of the wire feed unit is to feed the welding wire needed in welding
from the wire reel to the welding gun. The wire feed unit also allows the power
source to be started and stopped, and when using an electronic power source,
controls the voltage provided by the power source. Therefore, the power
source and the wire feed unit are connected by a control cable.

Additionally, the wire feed unit controls the flow of shielding gas. The shielding
gas needed in welding is obtained either from a gas bottle or from a mains gas
supply. The devices may also have a replaceable control panel and separately
activated additional features.

Since the welding gun heats up during welding, it must be cooled with gas or
liquid. In gas-cooled welding guns, the shielding gas running to the gun through
the welding cable simultaneously acts as the gun cooler. In liquid-cooled guns,
a separate liquid cooling unit is required to recycle the cooling liquid within the
welding cable to the gun.

The structure of a MIG/MAG welding machine is restricted by the welding

wire reel inside the machine. The reel is often a heavy and space-consuming
component.

5.2.2 Welding technique

In MIG/MAG welding, the welder’s tool is a welding gun. This is used to introduce
the filler material wire, shielding gas and the required welding current to the
work piece. The most important aspects related to MIG/MAG welding are the:
• welding position
• welding gun angle
• wire protrusion length
• welding speed
• shape of the molten weld pool

The arc is ignited using a trigger in the gun, which is then moved at a steady
welding speed along the weld groove, and:
• the formation of the molten weld must be observed
• the position and distance of the welding gun relative to the work piece
must be maintained constant

It is particularly important for the welder to concentrate on managing the

molten weld at all times. A moment of wandering thoughts increases the risk
of welding error. In such cases, it is advisable to discontinue welding for a
moment and then resume.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 119
 5.2.3 Advanced processes

Synergic MIG/MAG welding

Synergic adjustment, or 1-knob adjustment, means that the wire feed speed is
connected to the voltage and possibly other parameters. This makes it easier
to find the welding values, as only one knob is needed for power adjustment.

The ease of adjustment is based on pre-set synergy curves, which are stored
in the control panel of the welding machine. A guideline material thickness
can also be connected to the synergy curves, which makes it even easier to
adjust the welding parameters.

Pulse welding
In pulse welding, the power source pulses the welding current so as to move
the filler to the groove one drop at a time. The peak current of the pulse is
great enough to spurt the material into the groove, while the lower basic cur-
rent keeps the molten weld and the end of the welding wire molten. The pulse
feature requires the use of several inter-dependent welding parameters.

Pulse welding is primarily used in welding aluminium and stainless steels.

Additionally, nickel and copper alloys are often welded with the pulse feature.
The greatest benefit of pulse welding is the lack of spatters in the weld and its
good appearance. With aluminium and stainless steels, pulse welding reduces
porousness. With nickel alloys and other difficult-to-weld materials, the pulse
method makes welding easier. This makes pulse welding an attractive method
for welding galvanised materials.

Double-pulse welding
In double-pulse welding, you can pulse also the wire feed speed in addition to
the regular pulsing features. This means that the wire feed speed varies during
welding and the user can adjust amplitude and frequency variation. This en-
ables adjustment of the desired penetration and creates clean welds. It also
helps to control the weld pool in various welding positions.

The frequency of a double pulse refers to the number of times a double pulse
is repeated in one second, and the amplitude refers to the magnitude of the
change. This affects weld appearance and heat input.

5.2.4 Special features

Welding devices equipped with remote control speed up welding, particularly
in an installation environment. Using a remote control improves work quality
and productivity as the welder does not have to move to the machine every
time when changing welding parameters.

120 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Welding arc properties can be affected for example by the following special
features.

Optimal arc length

Keeping optimal arc length and consistent weld quality in all welding positions
may be difficult. One solution to this problem is WiseFusion, which is an optional
function for Kemppi FastMig Pulse and KempArc Pulse welding machines.

WiseFusion creates and maintains an optimal short circuit characteristic in

pulsed MIG/MAG and spray-arc welding applications. For both manual and
automated welding, WiseFusion eliminates the need for regular parameters
adjustments:

• automatic arc length regulation

• excellent weld pool control for positional welding
• narrow and energy dense arc
• improved weld quality and appearance

High-quality root welding

For effective closure of root joint areas and also the accommodation of gaps
created by poor joint fit-up, one possibility is WiseRoot+, which is a highly
efficient and unique tailored cold arc process for manual and automated root
pass welding.

WiseRoot+ is three times faster in root closure than TIG welding, is easy to
learn and use, and saves time on rework costs. Traditionally, welding engineers
have been reluctant to employ the standard MIG/MAG process for quality
root welding, due to known quality issues.

The process involves a very precise real-time measurement of voltage (volt-

age sensing cable), which serves as the input for the current control. Once the
power source has recognised a short circuit, a controlled increase in current
triggers the transfer of a droplet of filler metal from the wire.

When the current measurement is exactly right, the current is dropped before
the filler-metal droplet falls and the short circuit ends. A short circuit ending
at a point of low current results in a smooth transfer of filler metal, with no
spatter. After the short circuit is broken, a pulse is created in the current that
heats the welding pool, but does not cause transfer of filler metal.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 121
 Advantages of root welding solution:
• three times faster than TIG welding
• easy to learn and use
• saves rework costs
• allows wide root gap tolerance
• no need for backing ring or ceramics
• produces high quality root welds
• can decrease joint volume in thick materials reducing required filler
materials volume

Thin tube walls and brazing

Design features and lightweight applications such as automotive manufacturing
and high-quality light fabrication may require a cold-arc process for manual and
automated thin-wall welding or brazing. An example of a specially-tailored pro-
cess for these purposes is WiseThin, which:
• reduces spatter with all materials including zinc-coated plates
• provides 10–25% lower heat input than normal MIG/MAG welding,
reducing post-weld material distortion
• excellent weld pool control with varying joint geometry and fit-up
• reduced post-weld rework
• increased welding speed in many applications

Some welding applications - such as joining quenched boron steels, dual

phase steels or heavy metallic coated steels - may require lesser heat input
than traditional MAG welding. Due to the lesser heat input in arc brazing, the
base materials do not melt and so the metal coating is not damaged or thin
structures distorted excessively. When arc brazing galvanised precision steel
tubes, zinc will also vaporise because of the melting point of brazing wire,
which is higher than the vaporisation point of zinc. Since zinc evaporation
is considerably less than in MAG, the joint will also have better corrosion
properties.

Arc brazing is a variation of the MAG process: the arc heats the material being
welded and melts the brazing wire, the molten wire moistens gap surfaces and
the molten wire solidifies to create a weld. Arc brazing wire is copper based,
e.g. CuSi3, CuSn6 or CuAl8. A drawback of this method is wire costs, which
may be five times higher than normal MAG wire.

122 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 110. Arc brazing, butt joint. Figure 111. Arc brazing, flange joint.

Figure 112. Due to low heat input in

arc brazing, zinc remains on the
galvanised surface.

5.3 TIG method

In TIG welding (Tungsten inert gas), the welding arc is formed between a
non-consumable tungsten electrode and the work piece. The shielding gas
is an inert gas that does not affect the welding process per se. Usually, the
shielding gas is argon and it protects not only the molten weld, but also the
electrode in the torch from oxygenation.

A filler material may not be necessary in TIG welding. The pieces can be fused
also by melting the groove together. If a filler is used, it is fed into the molten
weld manually and not through the weld torch as in MIG/MAG welding. There-
fore, a TIG welding torch has a completely different structure than a MIG/MAG
torch.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 123
 5.3.1 Equipment

TIG equipment consists of a:

• power source
• grounding cable
• welding torch
• shielding gas bottle or gas network connection
• machine that may also contain a liquid cooling unit

No wire feed unit is required as the filler material is manually fed, although
auto-feeding systems also are available.

5.3.2 Welding technique

In TIG welding, the torch is moved with one arm while the other feeds the filler
material to the molten weld. A TIG welder must, therefore, accurately control
both arms and one cannot be used to support the torch as in MIG/MAG welding.

These special requirements make TIG welding more difficult, particularly in the
beginning. However, the arms will soon adjust to the paths of motion required
in welding and TIG welding becomes routine. Nevertheless, complex TIG welding
is usually done by a welder specialising in TIG welding.

TIG welding is done with a pushing torch motion. The filler can be fed into the
weld either drop by drop or continuously, keeping the filler wire constantly in
the molten weld.

5.3.3 Advanced processes

AC/DC
TIG welding methods are classified according to the welding current into DC
TIG and AC TIG for direct current and alternating current, respectively. TIG
welding power sources are suitable for both current types (AC/DC) or for only
DC welding.

DC welding is typically used in welding a variety of metals. Alternating current

must, however, be used in aluminium welding to break the aluminium oxide on
the part surface.

If a mixed current of both direct and alternating current is used in TIG welding,
the method is called MIX TIG welding. This is a particularly useful method
when welding aluminium materials of different thicknesses together.

124 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
If a mixed current of both direct and alternating current is used in TIG welding,
the method is called MIX TIG welding. This is a particularly useful method when
welding aluminium materials of different thicknesses together.

Pulsed TIG
In Pulse TIG welding, the power source pulses the welding current, which
reduces the heat effect affecting the material being welded. This is useful
particularly when welding thin materials in which the TIG heat input is great.
Pulse welding also improves the manageability of the molten weld pool and
the penetration.

5.3.4 Efficient TIG welding

The selection of the shielding gas can affect the fusing and penetration of
the basic material. The most commonly used shielding gas in TIG welding is
argon. Its benefits are its low price and good shielding effect, combined with
the ignitability of the arc. Its weakness is its poor thermal conductivity and
the subsequent potential problems in the smooth fusing of the weld. Fusing
can be improved by adding 5-25% hydrogen to the shielding gas. This will also
reduce the area of the arc and increase penetration. Hydrogen can be used
with austenitic stainless steel.

Using helium as the shielding gas allows for good merging of the filler with the
basic material and produces good penetration. However, its weakness is in the
poor ignitability of the arc. This can be improved by using a mixture of helium
and argon.

5.4 Welding gun selection

The welding gun is selected according to the requirements of the application,

but also depends on welder’s preferences. It is important to ensure the
required standard of quality and convenience.

5.4.1 MIG/MAG welding guns

The welding gun is selected according to:

• welding current
• welding performance
• joint type
• groove geometry
• welding position.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 125
 PMT Multineck
The PMT air cooled multi-neck gun system is designed especially for welding
root passes on pipes and plates.

Changeable neck liners

Water- and liquid-cooled MIG/MAG welding guns with different power
handling are available. Also so-called changeable neck liners are available.
Select the best neck length, bending angle and gas nozzle for the welding
task head, allowing good reach and control. Install the neck assembly firmly
to gun handle.

Figure 113. Hand tightening of changeable neck liner.

5.4.2 TIG welding torches

Welding current, shielding gas and HF-ignition combine in the torch to make
welding possible. Welding torches are available in different sizes and designs,
both gas- and liquid-cooled. The torches are equipped with a function switch
to control the current, for example.

Torch shape:
• torches with a 120° neck angle are the most used model in manual welding
and are highly suitable for fillet welds and butt joint welding in all positions
• torches with a 90° neck angle are suitable for pipes and butt joint welding.
• when the torch handle is parallel to the pipe, the pipe surface provides
light support for the welder’s hand during welding. An angle torch is not
suitable for fillet welds or performance becomes difficult.

126 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The wearing parts of a torch are:
• Gas nozzles/gas lenses
• Electrode shields
• Neck 120°

Figure 114. TIG torch wearing parts.

Figure 115 and Tables 28 and 29 provide a short overview of TIG torch angle
and electrode information.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 127
 1. welding direction
1
2. filler wire
2
60 - 80° 3. weld
10 - 20°
3 4. penetration
4

note: welding without filler

wire TIG torch angle is
75-80°.

Arc length depends on

used current and joint
3 - 5 mm
type.
1- 5 mm

Figure 115. TIG torch angle.

Table 28. TIG electro info.

Code Alloy Colour code Use

WP 100% W Green (AC)

WC 20 98% W + 2% Ce Gray AC / DC
WT 10 99% W + 1% Th Yellow DC (AC)
WT 20 98% W + 2% Th Red DC
WT 30 97% W + 3% Th Lilac DC
WT 40 96% W + 4% Th Orange DC
WZ 8 99% W + 1% Zx White (AC)
WL10 99% W + 1 La Black AC / DC
WL 15 98.5% W + 1.5% La Gold AC / DC

128 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Table 29. TIG gas nozzles.

Electrode diameter Gas nozzle n:o Gas flow Current Rane

l/min. A
Ø 1.6 4-5 5-7 20-130
Ø 2.4 5-6 6-8 100-250
Ø 3.2 6-7 7-9 150-350
Ø 4.0 7-8 8-10 200-500
Gas nozzle n:o is a multiply of 1/16”, e.g.: n:o 5 is 5x1.5875 mm = 7.9 mm

5.5 General welding defects in MIG/MAG welding

Unstable arc and spattering

• wire feeding disturbances
• poor earth connection to the work piece
• worn-out contact tip
• (problem in power source)

Porosity
• spatters in the gas nozzle and contact tip
• gas flow rate too low or high
• damaged gas nozzle
• gas leakages in the gun or its connections
• faulty gas flow regulator
• water leakages in a water-cooled gun

Disruptions in the wire feeding

• feed rolls are slipping.
• blocked or worn-out wire conduit.
• wire conduit too long or too short.
• wire reel brake too tight or loose

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 129
 Figure 116. Lack of fusion.

Lack of fusion

Possible causes Avoidance

• too narrow joint preparation • use a sufficiently wide joint
• incorrect electrode angle preparation
• too high current or too low welding • ensure the electrode angle gives
speed will cause weld pool flooding adequate side wall fusion
ahead of the arc resulting in insuffi- • select welding parameters (high
cient penetration welding current, short arc length
and not too high welding speed)
to promote sufficient penetration
without causing flooding
• clean joint faces
• move the position of the earth
clamp, use as short an arc as
possible, reduce the welding current,
angle the electrode opposite to the
direction of arc blow, use AC power
source

130 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 117. Porosity.

Porosity

Possible causes Avoidance

• poor gas shielding • seal any air leaks, reduce excessively
• wet electrode high gas flow rates, avoid weld pool
turbulence, avoid draughts
• impurities of the joint faces e.g. rust
• dry the electrode
• too thick primer layer
• clean the joint faces
faulty polarity
• check to ensure the primer thickness
is below manufacturer’s maximum
• change the polarity

Figure 118. Slag inclusions.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 131
 Slag inclusions

Possible causes Avoidance

• voids caused by inadequate overlap • use the correct size and angle of
of two adjacent weld beads electrode, use welding techniques to
• insufficient slag removal produce smooth weld beads
• too low heat input • remove all slag between runs
• slag flooding ahead of the arc • increase the heat input
• too narrow joint • aim the arc toward weld pool
• increase the joint angle

Figure 119. Undercut.

Undercut

Possible causes Avoidance

• a wide spreading arc with low current • weld with a shorter arc / reduce the
or high welding speed voltage
• incorrect angle of the electrode • use proper electrode angles
• excessive weaving of the electrode • perform the weaving motion
• too high current properly by pausing at each side
of the weld bead
• reduce the current

Figure 120. Excessive asymmetry of fillet weld

132 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Excessive asymmetry of fillet weld

Possible causes Avoidance

• incorrect electrode angle • use proper electrode angles
• too large weld pool • reduce the deposition rate
• magnetic arc blow • move the position of the earth
clamp, use as short an arc as
possible, reduce the welding current,
angle the electrode opposite to the
direction of arc blow, use AC power
source

Figure 121. Excess weld metal.

Excess weld metal

Possible causes Avoidance

• too much filler metal in relation to • increase the welding speed or
welding speed • reduce the amount of filler metal
• electrode diameter too large • use proper electrode diameter or
increase the joint angle

Figure 122. Excessive penetration.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 133
 Excessive penetration

Possible causes Avoidance

• too high heat input to the joint • reduce the heat input
• too large joint gap • use appropriate joint fit-up
• too small root face • enlarge the root face

Figure 123. Cracks, e.g. hot crack.

Cracks, e.g. hot crack

Possible causes Avoidance

• too low width to depth–ratio of the • ensure that the width to depth ratio
weld of
• high stresses due to high thermal • the weld is over 1 (with non-alloy
expansion steels) and over 1,5 (with stainless
• incorrect filler metal/base metal steels)
combination • minimise the degree of restraint by
• base metal surface covered by oil, using correct edge preparation and
grease, moisture, rust etc. accurate joint fit-up
• too high welding speed • use crack-resistant filler
• properly clean base metal prior to
welding
• reduce the welding speed

Figure 124. Lack of penetration.

134 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Lack of penetration

Possible causes Avoidance

• poor joint design or preparation • increase root opening or decrease
• excessively long arc length root face
• electrode diameter too large • weld with a shorter arc / reduce the
voltage
• welding speed too fast
• use electrode with a smaller size
• decrease the welding speed

Figure 125. Linear misalignments.

Linear misalignments

Possible causes Avoidance

• poor component fit-up before • perform joint fit-up work accurately
welding • fix parts to be welded rigidly, use
• deformations during welding correct welding sequence
• breaking of tacks during welding • perform tack welding properly

Figure 126. Crater crack and crater pipe

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 135
 Crater crack and crater pipe

Possible causes Avoidance

• this imperfection results from shrin- • stop welding by transporting the arc
kage on weld pool solidification a little backwards or in the groove
• switching off the welding current will side
result in rapid solidification of a large • progressively reduce the welding
weld pool current to reduce the weld pool size
• faulty stopping technique • grind the stop before continuing the
welding

Figure 127. Spatter.

Spatter

Possible causes Avoidance

• faulty welding parameters • adjust the welding parameters
• too long arc / high voltage • weld with a shorter arc / reduce the
• wet, uncleaned or damaged voltage
electrodes • use dry and undamaged electrodes
• impurities of the fusion faces and • grind the fusion faces and use
the filler materials, e.g. rust • the clean filler materials
• magnetic arc blow • change the position of the earth
• faulty polarity clamp / weld towards earth clamp /
bend the stick/torch in the direction
of the blow
• change polarity

136 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
5.6 Case study: Modern MIG/MAG equipment

Welding machines are evolving rapidly: besides the advanced processes de-
scribed earlier, advances also in user interfaces, design, energy saving and
productivity are growing in leaps. An example of these developments is the
Kempact RA:

Table 30. Modern MIG/MAG equipment.

• Plexiglas cover and lens plate

• Regular (R models) or Adaptive (A
models) control panel interface.
• 2-roll or 4-roll wire drive systems.
• Inverted gun connection
• Brights™ wire cabinet lighting
• WireLine™ service symbol
• Integrated storage trays for wire
drive and gun parts.
• GasMate™ chassis
• Strong pressed steel and moulded
plastic construction
• Welding polarity terminals
• Particle filter option
Kempact Adaptive (A) models
• power setting by plate
• thickness control
• filler materials selection
• memory channels

HotSpot™ feature allows metal

shrinking and component heating.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 137
138
Plate Gap Wire Depo- Wire Wel- Volta- Travel
thick- b diam. sition feed ding ge speed
ness mm ø mm rate speed cur- V cm/
s kg/h m/min rent min
mm A
1 0 0.6 1.0 7.0 60 16.0 83
1.5 0.5 0.8 1.2 6.0 90 17.5 80
SSAB Form 220 tube.

2 1 0.8 1.5 6.8 110 18.2 83

3 2 0.8 1.8 8.0 125 19.2 55
3 2 1.0 2.1 6.0 150 18.5 63
Throat
thick-
ness A
2 0.6 1.2 8.4 70 16.5 40
2 0.8 1.6 6.8 110 18.2 53
Table 31. Welding parameters for MAG welding.

3 0.8 1.9 8.3 130 19.5 32

3 1.0 2.4 7.0 170 19.0 40
5.7 Case study: MAG welding parameters

1.5 0.6 1.0 7.0 60 16.0 83

2 0.8 1.6 6.8 110 18.2 88
3 0.8 1.9 8.2 130 19.5 63
Table 31 below presents some welding parameters for the MAG welding
of non-alloyed structural steels. These parameters can be used e.g. with

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
5.8 Case study: welding galvanised surface

Metal-coated tubes, Z/GI, ZA and ZF/GA are well suited for welding. Gas metal
arc welding is a good choice to weld zinc coated tubes. However, due to the
special nature of metal coatings, some aspects need to be addressed. First of
all, the thinner the metal coating, the easier the tubes are to weld. Typically, a
zinc coating up to 100…140g/m2 is well suited for short-circuit transfer mode.
If the total coating mass is higher, the risk of welding errors and spatter also
increases.

Spatter and errors can be reduced considerably by selecting a suitable

welding method, welding wire and shielding gas and by lowering the wire f
eed, welding current and/or travel speed. If the quality of the weld needs to
correspond to a weld in an uncoated tube, it might be advisable to remove
the zinc layer in the weld area. Using a shielding gas with a high proportion of
CO2 increases the heat supply, which decreases the porosity.

The reason for welding problems with galvanised surface is that zinc quickly
gasifies during welding. The gasification temperature of zinc is 907°C, which is
much lower than the melting temperature of steel, which is about 1500°C. This
affects the arc and it may sometimes be difficult to weld in the normal way.

ZF/GA-coated tubes are especially well suited for spot welding and can be
welded with a low current. Additionally, welding electrodes require mainte-
nance at longer intervals.

If the aim is to maintain as much zinc as possible around the weld area, the
heat input can be limited by selecting another type of weld joint or method.
Applicable methods include pulsed welding, arc brazing, laser welding and
CMT (cold metal transfer).

When metal coatings containing zinc are welded, zinc oxide particles (zinc ox-
ide fumes) are released into the air. Extensive exposure to these fumes causes
zinc fever. It is therefore often recommendable to use a fume extraction
welding gun, improve the local exhaust system or use an air-fed welding mask.
The concentration of zinc fumes can be determined by taking work hygiene
measurements.

Fresh air helmets:

• welding and grinding rated to EN175B
• fresh air helmet is a head unit providing protection against arc welding,
gouging, grinding operations and associated air-borne fume and dust
contamination

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 139
 • provide safe, clean and cool breathing air
• air flow reduces weld lens misting
• standard lens or auto darkening welding filter option
• the shield design also incorporates a perimeter deflection rim, offering
additional protection in overhead welding applications and the dual-skin
hatch design reduces heat transfer to the welders face
• fresh air helmets can be combined with either a battery powered filter
pack or locally supplied breathing air sources

Figure 128. Fresh air helmet is use. Courtesy of Kemppi Oy.

Welded joints in metal-coated tubes can be protected against corrosion by

painting or thermal spraying. Before applying the protective coating, any
welding residue should be removed by abrasive blasting, brushing or some
other method.

140 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 129. MAG-welded joint of zinc-coated tube after salt spray test
without (left) and with zinc spray protection (right).

Figure 130. ARC-brazed joint of zinc-coated tube before (left) and after
(right) salt spray test with zinc spray protection.

PRO TIP: If zinc removal on steel surface is needed, a

hydrochloric acid (HCl) water solution will work: soak
and flush.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 141
 5.9 Case study: MAG welds of high strength tubes

High heat input is typical for MAG welding and then soft zones in HAZ of the
high strength steels will follow. A soft zone can be seen as a decrease in hard-
ness and strength. A soft zone may be compensated by increasing the length
of the weld, but excessive softening may be avoided by adjusting welding
parameters to lower heat input, in which case preheating is unnecessary, too.

The hardness and strength of MAG welds increases with increasing steel
strength and can be altered by using a low or high strength fillers, see Figures
131…134.

500

400
Hardness, HV3

300

200

100

0
5 4 3 2 1 Middle 1 2 3 4 5

Distance from center [mm]

Figure 131. Hardness profile of Docol Tube 590. Low strength filler
Rm=560MPa.

500

400
Hardness, HV3

300

200

100

0
5 4 3 2 1 Middle 1 2 3 4 5

Distance from center [mm]

Figure 132. Hardness profile of Docol Tube 590. High strength filler
Rm=890MPa.

142 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 500

400
Hardness, HV3
300

200

100

0
5 4 3 2 1 Middle 1 2 3 4 5

Distance from center [mm]

Figure 133. Hardness profile of Docol Tube 780. Low strength filler
Rm=560MPa.

500

400
Hardness, HV3

300

200

100

0
5 4 3 2 1 Middle 1 2 3 4 5

Distance from center [mm]

Figure 134. Hardness profile of Docol Tube 780. High strength filler
Rm=890MPa.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 143
 6. Coatings and treatments
Coating precision tubes is one way to improve corrosion resistance and to
improve surface appearance. Precision tubes can be coated with metals or by
painting. Different metal coatings can be applied in various ways. This chapter
gives an overview of different coating properties and coating methods.

There are many different coatings including pure zinc coatings, alloyed zinc
coatings (aluminium, magnesium), chrome plating and painting. Different
zinc-rich coatings are continuous hot-dip galvanised zinc coatings, such as
Zinc, Galfan, Galvanneal, Aluzinc and Zinc-Aluminium-Magnesium, batch
hot-dip galvanised and electroplated. Chrome plating could improve corro-
sion resistance and result in a gloss surface. Paint coatings consist of primers,
undercoats and top coats and are applied by powder coating or wet painting.

6.1 Continuous hot-dip galvanising

Zinc coatings provide excellent galvanic protection against corrosion. The

zinc in the coating protects the underlying steel even if the coating is cracked.
Table 31 shows a comparison between different zinc and zinc-alloyed coatings,
their properties and appearance. SSAB currently produces continuous hot-dip
galvanised tubes (Z/GI), Galvannealed tubes (ZF/GA) and Galfan tubes (ZA).
Coating thickness is also a factor in various tube properties such as weldability
and corrosion resistance. As a general rule, the thicker the coating, the better
the corrosion resistance. Correspondingly, tube weldability deteriorates as
coating thickness increases. See Chapter 5 for more information about welding.

144 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Table 31. Properties of different metal coatings.

Zinc (Form Tube Z, Galvannealed (Form Galfan (Form ZA,

Docol Tube GI) Tube ZF, Docol Tube Docol ZA)
GA)
• Zinc coating • Zinc-iron coating • Zinc-aluminium
~100% Zn ~90% Zn, ~10% Fe coating 95% Zn, 5% Al
• Semi-gloss finish • Matt finish • Gloss finish
• White corrosion • Reddish corrosion • White corrosion
product product product
• High galvanic • Less galvanically active • Extremely high galvanic
protection (10%) protection, especially
• Good corrosion • Extremely low in extreme atmospheric
resistance in different cut-edge corrosion conditions
atmospheric • Optimal surface for • Good formability
conditions painting • EN 10346
• Good formability • Excellent corrosion
• EN 10346 resistance when
painted
• Good weldability
• EN 10346

Other metal coatings mentioned earlier such as batch hot-dip galvanised,

Aluzinc, Zinc-Aluminium-Magnesium exist on the market, but SSAB does not
currently produce them. Table 32 gives a brief overview of these coatings.

Table 32. Properties of different metal coatings not currently produced by SSAB.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 145
 Batch hot-dip Aluzinc Zinc-Aluminium-
galvanised Magnesium
• Zinc coating • Zinc-iron coating • Zinc-aluminium-
~100-72% Zn, ~0-28% ~55% Al ,~45% Zn magnesium coating
Fe • Semi-gloss finish (amounts depends on
• Semi-matt finish • White corrosion product different producers,
• White and reddish • Good corrosion different amount have
corrosion product resistance a different properties)
• High galvanic • EN 10346 • Good corrosion
protection resistance in high
• Good corrosion salinity atmosphere
resistance in different • Is not yet standard
atmospheric conditions coating
• EN ISO 1461

Zinc coatings can be made using different manufacturing methods, which

produce different surfaces depending on appearance and corrosion properties.
For example, batch hot-dip galvanising provides the thickest zinc coating and
largest zinc spangles compared to continuous hot-dip galvanising or electro-
plating.

SSAB Form Tubes Z, ZA and ZF are manufactured from continuous hot-

dip galvanised coils. The zinc coating and passivation are applied on the
galvanising line.

Zinc
Continuous hot-dip galvanised zinc coating has good, homogenous sur-
face quality compared to batch hot-dip galvanised coating. Changing the
continuous hot-dip galvanising parameters enables different zinc coating
thicknesses. Today, SSAB can produce zinc coating thicknesses in the range
of 100-600g/m2 (minimum total coating mass, both surfaces) which means
7-42µm (theoretical guidance values for coating thickness per surface in the
single spot test).

Galfan
Galfan is applied on the same continuous galvanising line as zinc coating
and differs from zinc coating in bath concentration. Galfan is an aluminium-
alloyed zinc coating containing around 95% zinc and 5% aluminium. Alloying
the aluminium to zinc gives better corrosion resistance, especially in offshore
conditions. Galfan is a thinner coating than continuous hot-dip galvanised zinc.

146 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Today, SSAB can produce Galfan coating thickness in the range of 95-300g/m2
(minimum total coating mass, both surfaces) which means 7-23µm (theoretical
guidance values for coating thickness per surface in the single spot test).

Galvannealed
Galvannealed coating is produced in almost the same way as zinc coating, the
difference being the galvanneal furnace after the zinc bath. In the galvanneal
furnace, the zinc coating is annealed to the zinc-iron alloy containing around
10% iron. Because Galvannealed coating is intended for painting, only thin
coatings are produced. Its thin coating and Fe content make Galvannealed
particularly suitable for spot-welding. Today, SSAB can produce Galvan-
nealed coating thickness in the range of 100-140g/m 2 (minimum total coating
mass, both surfaces) which means 7-8µm (theoretical guidance values for
coating thickness per surface in the single spot test).

Aluzinc and zinc-aluminium-magnesium are also produced on the continuous

galvanising line.

Figure 135. Precision tubes are both for acrobatics and traffic signs. Pole
dance Finnish champion Henriikka Roo. Photo: Keskipohjanmaa/Clas-Olav
Slotte.

6.2 Batch hot-dip galvanising

In the batch hot-dip galvanising process, the steel to be coated is cleaned,

pickled and immersed in a zinc bath. Before the coating is applied, the steel
surface is cleaned by abrasive blasting or grinding to remove all marking,

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 147
 coating or welding slag. The cleaning step also includes the removal of oil and
grease, usually with an alkaline degreasing solvent, and the removal of rust
and mill scale by pickling in hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid.

The zinc coat thickness is determined by the intended application, which also
determines the appearance of the product. The thickness and appearance of
zinc coatings depend on the following circumstances:
- The silicon and phosphorus content of the steel
- The zinc bath temperature, immersion and cooling times, and alloying
elements
- Surface finish of the steel

According to standard EN ISO 14713-2, the steels can be divided into four
different categories based on their silicon content. These categories and
properties are shown in Table 33 below.

Table 33. The impacts of silicon content on batch hot-dip galvanising and
the requirements regarding silicon and phosphor content. Based on standard
EN ISO 14713-2.
Typical levels of Typical coating
reactive elements properties
Category A (cold rolled steel): Bright, shiny and fine texture. The
Si≤0.03 and P< 0.02 and outer layer is zinc.
Si+2.5P<0.06 weight-%
Category B: 0.14 - 0.25 weight-% Zinc coating is thicker than
Si category A. Surface colour diffe-
rence may appear because the
Fe/Zn alloy may extend through
the coating surface and surface
can be mattish.
Category C: 0.04<Si≤0.14 Too high coating thickness is
weight- % possible. Surface is dark and
coarser texture.
Category D: Si> 0.25 weight-% Coating thickness increases with
increased silicon content. The
surface is darker and has coarser
texture. Fe/Zn alloys dominate the
coating structure and extend to
coating surface.

Precision tubes are not usually batch hot-dip galvanised. The maximum
values regarding silicon and phosphor content under precision tubes standard
EN 10305 are not compliant with batch hot-dip galvanising properties.

148 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
SSAB Form Tubes H and 190-320 C comply with typical alloying requirements
of Category A and are suitable for batch hot-dip galvanising. Where a better
surface quality and good corrosion resistance are required, SSAB Form Tubes
Z600 are a better choice. SSAB Form Tubes Z600 have as good a corrosion
resistance as batch hot-dip galvanised (75µm) tubes, see chapter 6.7.

Hot-dip galvanising is normally carried out within the temperature range

of 450-460ºC. The usual zinc bath temperature is 440-470ºC. At this
temperature range, the thickness and appearance of the zinc coating
essentially depend on the composition of the steel and the immersion time.

Figure 136 shows the dependence of zinc layer thickness on the silicon content
of the steel at a temperature of 460ºC, with two alternative immersion times.

400

350
9 min
Zinc layer thickness µm

300

250

200

150 3 min
0,04
100

50

0
0 0,05 0,10 0,15 0,20 0,25 0,30 0,35

Si-content of steel %

Category A Category B Category C Category D

Figure 136. The dependence of zinc layer thickness on the silicon content of
steel. Temperature 460ºC. Immersion times 3 and 9 min.

Different steel grades with the same silicon content behave in approximately
the same way and also obtain almost the same coating thickness. Zinc layer
thicknesses over 100µm are not achieved in high-temperature zinc baths.
The zinc coatings turn out matt, dark or light grey in colour.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 149
 Increasing surface roughness increased the zinc coating thickness. Depend-
ing on the steel grade and steel profile, shot blasting, for example, could result
in a 15-100% thicker coating. Heavily rusted and heavily pickled steel receives
thicker zinc coatings. Different machining affects coating thickness. Gas and
laser cutting, for example, normally have an effect on thinner zinc coatings.

In standard EN ISO 1461 for hot dip galvanizing, the local minimum zinc layer
thickness with material thicknesses 1.5≤t≤3 mm is determined as follows:

- Local coating thickness (minimum) 45µm

- Mean coating thickness (minimum) 55µm

The local minimum zinc layer thickness with material thickness t<1.5mm is
determined as follows:
- Local coating thickness (minimum) 35µm
- Mean coating thickness (minimum) 45µm

Other aspects taken into consideration in batch galvanising are the effect
steel thickness has on zinc coating thickness. The thinner the steel, the thin-
ner the zinc coating. One of the reasons for this is the shorter handling time
in the zinc bath. A small amount of aluminium alloying (0.001-0.01%) is used
in the zinc bath for a brightened surface. If the aluminium alloying is too high,
black spots form on the surface where there is no zinc coating. In addition
to proper choice of material, the structural details of a product must be de-
signed for hot-dip galvanising. Parts which are hot-dip galvanised are dipped
into acid and then molten zinc. When a part is dipped into molten zinc, the
residual pickling solution vaporises and causes a risk of explosion. This is why
tubular structures and containers need drains. Design values for drains are
given in Table 34 below.

Table 34. The design values for drains in hot-dip galvanising.

Tube dimension [mm] Drain dimension [mm]

under 15 10
15-30 10-15
30-50 2x15
50-100 2x20
100-200 2x50

More batch hot-dip galvanising designs can be found in standards EN ISO

14713-2 and EN ISO 1461.

150 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
6.3 Electro galvanising

Electro galvanising or zinc electroplating is based on an electrochemical pair

where the zinc layer is deposited onto the tube surface by electroplating.
Before the zinc electroplating process, the tube is degreased and cleaned
by pickling. The specimens are dipped into a zinc salt solution (cyanide zinc
baths, alkaline non-cyanide bath or acid bath), which is the electrolyte. The
cathode (the object to be plated) is dipped into a solution to which a di-
rect-current is supplied. The anode (the metal used for plating) is bare zinc
in the shape of a plate or ball. When the current is switched on, the zinc dis-
solves from the anode to the cathode. Temperature is one parameter in the
electroplating process and is required to be 12…55°C. Electroplated coating
is used especially when it is not possible to use hot-dip galvanising because it
requires a high temperature. Electroplated zinc is very fine-crystalline and it
adheres to the steel only mechanically. For a more vivid appearance, the sur-
face may be furnished with an ornamental pattern made by grinding before
coating. Zinc layer thickness usually ranges from 5µm to 8µm, but thickness-
es of 3µm to 25µm are possible under standard SFS-EN ISO 2081.

The design of products to be zinc electroplated should contain the structural

details required for successful zinc coating. Sharp corners and narrow slots
that trap the coating solution should be avoided and adequate drains must
be provided.

Chromating the zinc coating improves the corrosion resistance of the product
(against white rust) and it is also possible to change the colour of the coat-
ing in conjunction with chromating treatment. Depending on the treatment,
coatings of different colours and different corrosion resistance are obtained.
Possible colours include black and olive green. The colour range is further
extended by the possibility of colour bleached chromate coatings. In the case
of products to be painted, paint adhesion can be improved by phosphating.

The surface quality of precision tubes affects the electroplating surface qual-
ity. A pickled-electroplated surface has a mattish surface compared to the
surface of a cold-rolled electroplated surface. SSAB recommends using steel
grades from SSAB Tube 190 C to Docol Tube 980 C tubes for electroplating.

6.4 Chrome plating

Chrome plating is produced in an electro-galvanic coating process, appropriate

drains and the degrading of tube ends, where needed, must be taken into con-
sideration in the production steps preceding coating. In the coating process,

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 151
 the work piece is first cleaned of rust protection oil and other impurities. First, a
bright nickel layer is deposited on the tube surface and then a thin chromium
layer. The thickness of the bright nickel layer is normally 10-35µm and the
thickness of the chromium layer 0.3-2µm.

Copper plus nickel plus chrome coatings are also used and their corrosion
resistance is better than that of bright nickel plus chromium coatings.
Copper-based coatings are mainly used in products for outdoor applications
where it would be too expensive to provide a corresponding degree of
corrosion resistance just by making the nickel-chromium coating thicker.

The bright chromium layer reinforces the gloss of nickel, prevents oxidation
and discolouring of the nickel layer and gives high resistance to wear. Chrome
coatings can be divided into the following types:
- conventional chrome plating (macrocracks)
- black chrome plating (non-cracked)
- micro-cracked chrome plating
- micro-porous chrome plating

Although black chrome plating has performed excellently in corrosion tests, it

does not actually give higher corrosion resistance. Mechanical shock, such as
a stone hitting the coated surface, easily causes the chrome coating to crack
whereupon the chrome no longer protects the nickel coating against corro-
sion. Micro-cracked and micro-porous chrome platings have mainly been
developed for ornamental automotive components that are required to have
high corrosion resistance.

The quality control of metallic coatings mainly focuses on appearance,

coating thickness and adhesion. Corrosion resistance can be determined by
accelerated corrosion tests and the adhesion of the coating to the substrate
by filing tests or a thermal shock test specified to standard EN ISO 2819. De-
fects affecting the appearance include bubbles, pores, coarse spots, cracks,
stains or miscolouring. The surface finish may be specified in the order as
bright, matt or satin.

When planning a coating of nickel plus chromium, it is important to know the

aggression of the surroundings it will be exposed to. Standards divide coatings
into five classes according to service conditions. Standard EN ISO 1456 for
electroplated coatings of nickel plus chromium rates a minimum thickness of
10µm of the nickel layer on the better side as service condition 1. In service
condition 2, the minimum thickness is 15µm. The corresponding minimum
thickness for copper plus nickel plus chromium is 10µm of copper and 5µm of

152 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
the nickel layer on the better side as service condition 1. In service condition
2, the minimum thickness is 15µm of the copper layer and 10µm of the nickel
layer.

Chrome plating on precision tubes are mainly provided in service condition

1, partly also in service condition 2. The appearance of the chrome-plated
surface quality of precision tubes involves direct savings in coating costs.
Surface defects resulting from the material and preceding work stages are
clearly visible on chrome plated objects. Defects in form (blister left by a
mandrel, shear caused by clamp jaws, uneven elongation on the outer bow,
flattening, orange peel, etc.) easily show up on a chrome plated tube.

On square or rectangular tubes, the weld is more visible than on circular

tubes. This is mainly because light is reflected differently on a flat and curved
surface. Square and rectangular tubes can be ordered with the weld so posi-
tioned that it will not show on the outward turned surfaces of finished product.

In electro-galvanising, the operator seeks to control the spread of the me-

tallic coating on complex objects so as to give every recess and protrusion of
the surface an even coating. With the tube correctly positioned, the pinching
effect of the electric field on the outer bend can be utilised. This gives a thick-
er coating on the outer bend than on the rest of the tube.

Coating costs are higher for complex objects containing, e.g. sharp corners,
narrow slots where the coating liquid may collect or recesses that increase
the consumption of coating material and time.

The cost of coating correlates to the surface roughness of precision tubes in

the same way. A good finish is achieved using tubes with a surface roughness,
Ra, typically below 0.6µm in the longitudinal direction of the tube. The sur-
face roughness of SSAB Form Tube 220 C to 420 C is under 0.6µm

If the steel grade has a tendency to develop orange peel in connection with
stretch forming, it may be necessary to grind the surface for exacting appli-
cations. In tests with tubes of cold-rolled steel as a test material, excellent
surface quality has been achieved with normal chrome plating consisting of
15-20µm nickel and ca. 0.3µ chromium.

According to the above-mentioned tests, grinding is not needed in the case of

bent precision tubes made of SSAB’s steels Form 190 C, Form 220 C, Form 320
C, Form 420 C and Docol 590 C because the surface quality of a bent tube is
equal to that of an unbent tube.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 153
 Figure 137. High gloss chrome plated Sola chairs including SSAB Form Tube
18x2. Courtesy of Martela Oyj.

6.5 Washing

The metal surfaces can have different impurities such as light oil, protective
grease, salt, carbon dust, dust, machining liquids, metallic chips, rust or rust
film. Most of those are easily removed by washing with water. Grease which
has had a long time to dry is problematic. Washing parameters (washing
agent, time, temperature, movement) should be correct for the impurities to
be removed. To ensure the right washing, the material to be washed (steel,
zinc-coated steel, aluminium, etc.), the quantity of impurities, the type of
impurities, the type of washing used and how clean a surface is needed must
be known. Solvent degreasing, alkali wash, acid cleaning or emulsion cleaning
are usually used to remove grease and oil. The washing agents consist of an
active ingredient (for example, sodium hydroxide in alkali washing), inert in-
gredients and tensids.

154 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Alkali washing is the most common form of washing steel surfaces. Heavily
alkali washes etch zinc and it is recommended to keep the pH between 5 and
11, 12 at the maximum. Higher pH will damage zinc coatings. If an alkali wash
is used for zinc or aluminium, special ingredients are used to reduce zinc and
aluminium etching. Alkali washing is done by dipping or spraying. Zinc-coated
surfaces can be washed with acid cleaners, which do not etch the zinc coating.
Common alkali, emulsion or solvent degreasing does not remove white rust
nor the chromates produced through passivation of the sheet steel material.

6.6 Painting

Plain, uncoated precision tubes made of cold-rolled steel, hot-rolled and

pickled steel are equally suitable for painting. Metal coatings provide an
excellent surface for painting. Of the above, Galvannealed is the best alterna-
tive for painting, as its surface is even and slightly structured. Painting is easy
and paint adheres well to the surface. Thanks to its galvanic properties, zinc
protects the steel even if a small area of the paint film is damaged.

The stock precision tubes made by SSAB are usually lightly oiled. Tubes deliv-
ered coated with protective oil and subsequently washed during the painting
process are extremely well suited for powder coating or wet painting. How-
ever, if paint is applied on a passivated coating, the paint will blister in humid
conditions. Chemical pre-treatments suitable for zinc coatings include zinc
phosphating or the various recently developed chrome-free multi-metal
treatments. Orange peel possibly resulting from the forming of the tube has
no major effect on the painted finish. Standard EN-ISO 12944 parts 1-8 are
used for testing and planning the coated parts.

6.6.1 Surface pre-treatment

The pre-treatment steps before painting are degreasing, acid pickling, con-
version coating and rinsing. Chapter 6.5 contains more information about
washing. Acid pickling, where needed, is used to remove oxides. Phosphating/
conversion coatings are used for improved paint adhesion and to remove
impurities after washing. Rinsing is the last process before painting. Rinsing
must be done thoroughly to ensure a good final result in painting.

Zinc and iron phosphating are used as phosphate coatings. Iron phospating is
the most common, but is not recommended for zinc-coated steels, because
it is only an acid wash to zinc. Zinc phospating is an excellent pre-treatment
for zinc-coated steel where excellent corrosion resistance and paint adhesion
are required.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 155
 6.6.2 Powder coating
In powder coating, a pre-treatment object is coated with powder. The
pre-treatment steps before powder coating are degreasing, acid pickling,
conversion coating and rinsing. Powder coatings are almost 100% solid
matter. Powder coating is usually done using air injection. Powder coating
can be done on an automatic or manual line. Once powder coated, the object
is hardened in an oven. Oven time depends on the powder coating, object
shapes and thickness.

With proper surface treatment also a hot-dip galvanised surface can be

powder coated. Baking oven treatment for a galvanised surface, curing oven
temperature and curing time allow Docol Tubes to bake harden. Bake harden-
ing increases the strength of the steel.

Figure 138. Outdoor sport & fitness, painted tubes. Courtesy of HAGS Aneby AB.

6.6.3 Wet painting

Solvent- and water-borne paints are usually spread as a spray or dip-painting.
Spray coating is used in the automotive industry. In spray coating, the wet paint is
fed into a nozzle which smoothly forms a coating on the substrate. In dip painting,
the object to be painted is dipped into a paint basin. Dip painting is especially
good for painting complex objects.

156 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
6.7 Corrosion resistance of SSAB’s coatings

Zinc coatings provide excellent galvanic protection against corrosion.

The zinc in the coating protects the underlying steel even if the coating is
cracked. As a general rule, the thicker the coating, the better the corrosion
resistance. Table 35 shows the estimated durability of different zinc coatings
in atmospheres corresponding to the corrosivity categories of standard EN
ISO 9223. The estimates are based on environmental tests carried out in
various outdoor testing grounds.

Table 35. The corrosion resistance of different coating types according to

different corrosivity categories. The corrosivity categories are those speci-
fied in standard EN ISO 9223. The durability estimates are based on outdoor
testing in various outdoor testing grounds.

Coating Coating mass, Coating Coating

type total for both minimum durability minimum useful
surfaces [g/m2] in atmosphereas life in atmospheres
corresponding to corresponding to
corrosivity corrosivity
category C2 category C3
Z/GI 100 10 6
275 27 17
450 45 28
600 60 38
ZA/ZA 255 70 50
ZF/GA 100 15 7

Figure 139 provides an example of how increasing the thickness of a coating

influences its corrosion resistance in different atmospheric conditions. As
shown in Figure 139, SSAB Form Tube Z600 has an estimated durability of
more than 80 years in atmospheric conditions typical for Finland and Sweden.
Correspondingly, SSAB Form Tube Z600 has an estimated durability of 60
years in a low-salinity coastal atmosphere, which is one of the most demand-
ing atmospheres in the C2 corrosivity category. Thanks to its good corrosion
resistance, Form Z600 tube can be used in place of hot-dip-galvanised tube
in some applications, reducing overall costs. The Finnish Transport Agency
has already approved the use of the galvanised Z600 tube in traffic sign
posts.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 157
 Figure 139. The estimated durability of a zinc coating in atmospheres corre-
sponding to different corrosivity categories, other durability factors excluded.

Compared to SSAB Form Z Tubes, tubes coated with ZA (Galfan) have better
corrosion resistance in coastal and marine environments. Figure 140 shows the
corrosion resistance of zinc and Galfan coatings in atmospheres corresponding
to different corrosivity categories.
Z275
ZA255 ZA300 Z450 Z600
100

90

80
Coating durability (years)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Coating thickness (µm)

Industrial (Zinc, China) Marine (Zinc, Sweden)

Industrial (Galfan, China) Marine (Galfan, Sweden)

Figure 140. The estimated durability of zinc and Galfan coatings in

atmospheres corresponding to different corrosivity categories, other
durability factors excluded.

158 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
A comparison of SSAB Form Z tubes to batch hot-dip galvanised tubes shows
that a 75µm batch hot-dip galvanised coating typically has the same corrosion
resistance as SSAB Form Tube Z600 in marine and urban environments. Figure
141 shows the corrosion resistance of zinc and batch hot-dip galvanised coatings
in atmospheres corresponding to different corrosivity categories.

Z275 Z450 Z600 55 µm 75 µm 85 µm

90

80
Coating durability (years)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Coating thickness (µm)

Rural (Continuous galvanized, Finland) Rural (Batch galvanized, Finland)

Marine (Continuous galvanized, Sweden) Marine (Batch galvanized, Sweden)

Figure 141. The estimated durability of zinc coatings in atmospheres

corresponding to different corrosivity categories, other durability factors
excluded.

In Figures 139-141, Sweden marine corresponds to corrosion class C2 minimum

and France marine corresponds to the corrosion class C3 minimum. Those
corrosion classes are based on standard EN ISO 9223.

PRO TIP:
Z100 for light corrosion protection
Z275 for moderate corrosion protection
Z600 for heavy corrosion protection

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 159
 6.8 Case Study: Lifetime of ZA255 in corrosion class C3

Coating lifetime depends on environmental corrosivity factors such as tem-

perature, relative humidity, SO2 deposition and Cl deposition. Standard EN
ISO 9223 determines zinc corrosion rates in different categories, see Table 36.
There is quite a wide difference between the lower and top end corrosion rates
in category C3: from 0.7µm/a to 2.1µm/a. This is due to variation between zinc
coatings and environmental circumstances. It is also worthwhile considering
how transport and storage of products in different categories, especially in
higher corrosivity category, impacts on total lifetime.

Table 36. Corrosion rate of zinc in different corrosivity categories for the first
year of exposure according to EN ISO 9223.

Corrosivity Typical atmospheric Corrosion rate of zinc

category environment
g/m2a µm/a
C2 Rural areas, small towns, 0.7-5.0 0.1-0.7
warehouses
C3 Urban, industrial and 5-15 0.7-2.1
coastal areas with low
chlorides, food processing
plants, laundries
C4 Industrial and polluted 15-30 2.1-4.2
urban areas, coastal areas
without spray of salt water
C5 Very high pollution, 30-60 4.2-8.4
significant effect of
chlorides

Usually, accelerated corrosion tests such as QCT or SST do not give the right
result for evaluation of long term behaviour. On the other hand, it is known that
after the beginning of exposure, 1 year or so, the corrosion rate decreases.
However, here it is assumed that the corrosion rate is linear with time because
zinc and zinc alloys vary significantly in their performance as suggested in
standard EN ISO 9224:2012.

According to the standard approach, ZA255 coating would withstand cor-

rosion of between 17 and 51 years in category C3. According to real outdoor
exposure test results, see Figure x, the lifetime would be from 25 (high end of
C3 category) to 75 years (low end of C3 category). It can be concluded that
the lifetime of ZA255 in corrosion class C3 is approximately 50 years.

160 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
6.9 Case Study: corrosion-resistant frames

When producing frames especially prone to varying weather conditions, there

are some aspects to consider such as appearance, lifetime costs and envi-
ronmental impact. A key element in this kind of structure is material selection
and possibilities to optimise final outcome originating from material. Below
is a description of how Z600 coating would behave in frames from various
points of view.

Presumption
Frame made of SSAB Form Tube 320, dimensions 60.3x2 and total frame
weight 10 tonnes. Figure 142 shows the basic elements to be taken into
account when handling the overall situation. Because of the assumption of
long-term corrosion resistance and desired strength level of tube, batch
hot-dip galvanising is a practical alternative for Z600 coating.

Corrosion

Amount of Zinc Welding

SSAB Form Tube

320 Z600
Environment Appearence
VS.
SSAB Form Tube 320 H
hot dip galvanized

Transportation Costs

Figure 142. Some factors to consider when designing frames.

Corrosion
The desired lifetime for zinc coating will determine the choice of coating
thickness. In batch hot-dip galvanising, coating thickness could be e.g. 75-
85µm. This is a suitable choice if very long, more than 80 years in corrosion
class C2, corrosion resistance is required.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 161
 SSAB Form Tube with Z600 coating has a lower corrosion rate than batch hot-
dip galvanised coating and thus corresponds to coating thickness 75µm, see
Figure 141. One factor providing this lower corrosion rate is passivation, which
is normally applied to the surface. With batch hot-dip galvanising, the cutting
edge is covered with zinc. The cutting edge of Z600 is protected by the galvanic
distance effect, where the exposed steel is cathodically protected. This distance
effect depends on atmosphere and in a normal atmospheric environment is
appr. 1mm. Shear cutting of zinc coated steel can shift some zinc to shear
portion of cut face, giving some extra protection on it, see Figure 143.

42μm

3 mm

42μm

Figure 143. Schematic cross section picture from cutting edge.

The corrosion product of Z600 coating is white rust and with batch hot-dip
galvanising is a mixture of white and red rust originating from the Zn/Fe
phase. See Figures 144 and 145 for examples of different corrosion resistance
and corrosion products.

Figure 144. 24h in QCT 60°C. Left picture is Z600 and right one is hot dip
galvanized.

162 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 145. 500h in SST (salt spray test). Left picture is Z600 and right one is
hot dip galvanized.

Amount of zinc
If a 10 tonne frame manufactured of 60.3x2 tube has a Z600 coating, it means
a 42µm zinc thickness on each side, 650 g zinc mass on a six-metre-long tube
and 400 kg total zinc mass. The same 10 tonne frame manufactured with batch
hot-dip galvanising has a 75µm zinc thickness on each side, 1200 g zinc mass on
a six-metre-long tube and 720 kg total zinc mass.

Environment
Z600 coating is lead free whereas some batch hot-dip galvanising baths
include lead and tin as alloying elements, even if they are mostly pure zinc.
Less zinc, i.e. thinner coating thickness, means less non-renewable natural
resources.

Transportation
Z600-coated tube is ready for use and is normally transported from the tube
mill or warehouse to the frame manufacturer. If batch hot-dip galvanising is
used, it normally means extra transport to the galvanising plant.

Costs
A galvanised 10 tonne frame contains 400 kg or 1200 kg of zinc mass depending
on whether the coating method is Z600 or batch hot-dip galvanised. The price
difference between these two options is €1600 at April 2015 prices when only
the zinc price is considered.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 163
 Appearance
When comparing surface appearance, the Z600 surface is shinier and more
homogenous compared with a batch hot-dip galvanised surface, which has a
more mattish/topographic look. The occurrence of darker and lighter areas,
such as a cellular pattern or some surface unevenness, is allowed. Figure 146
shows examples of Z600 and batch hot-dip galvanised surfaces.

Figure 146. In the left Z600 surface and in the right hot dip galvanized
surface.

Welding
When using Z600 tubes it is recommended to remove the zinc prior to welding.
Afterwards, the welded area may be protected e.g. with zinc spraying to gain
good enough corrosion protection.

Together with batch hot-dip galvanising, welding is done before galvanising

and then zinc also protects the weld. Zinc bath size limits the size of welded
constructions, so it is probable that final assembly will be done after galvanising
with bolt and flanges or a corresponding method. Welded constructions should
be designed and manufactured for galvanising, which means e.g. holes for
draining excess zinc. These holes are not always practical in terms of aesthetics
or structural rigidity. Besides arc welding, other technologies are available for
joining pre-galvanised tubes, including arc brazing. Mechanical joining is suit-
able and may lead to further cost savings, depending on case.

Summary
Choice of the right material depends on, and is a compromise between, corro-
sion protection, environmental considerations and costs. For very long-term
corrosion protection and a frame with a lot of welding, batch hot-dip galvanising
is preferable. Z600 coating will give good corrosion protection, environmental
benefits and an interesting total price level.

164 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
7. Other Fabricating Techniques

7.1 Laser cutting

Laser cutting is a thermal cutting process in which material is cut by a focused

laser beam. High-intense energy heats the material to cause melting and
vaporisation. Molten material is removed by a cutting gas such as oxygen or
nitrogen by using high-pressure gas flow. Oxygen gas is normally used for the
cutting of non-alloyed and low-alloyed carbon steels. Oxygen reacts with
steel to cause an exothermic-reaction providing more energy for the cutting
process. Oxygen results in the cutting edge being coated by an oxide layer,
which must be removed before painting, for example. Formation of the oxide
layer can be prevented by using nitrogen gas. However, nitrogen cutting is
much slower because the material is heated up only by the laser beam.

In laser cutting, beam parameters such as power, energy intensity, focus po-
sition and focal length should be adjusted according to the material. Process
parameters such as cutting speed, nozzle diameter, focusing, and nozzle
distance parameters depend on the material thickness, profile, shapes to be
cut and tolerance, as well as edge quality requirements. Material tolerances,
optical features, surface quality and flatness have a significant impact on
successful laser cutting

Laser cutting quality is generally defined in standard EN-ISO 9013, which

applies to laser cuts of thicknesses from 0.5 mm to 40 mm. The geometrical
product specifications are applicable if reference to this International Standard
is made in drawings or pertinent documents, e.g. delivery conditions. Attention
must be given also other customer requirements and special features of tube
laser cutting compared to traditional plate laser cutting.

Laser cutting may replace many traditional cutting methods to bring cost
savings. The biggest benefits are achieved when cutting complex shapes or
different shape types in a tube with demanding dimensional accuracy re-
quirements. Cutting quality and accuracy are excellent compared to other
methods using thermal heat, such as plasma cutting.

7.1.1 Tube laser cutting

Tube laser cutting is an application which is used mainly for cutting tubes, as
well as beams and profiles using a specially equipped tube laser. A tube la-
ser machine typically consists of a material loading bag or platform, turning
spindles to hold the material, a laser cutting cell and unloading area. Because

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 165
 of many linear, transverse and rotation axes, it is more complicated compared
to sheet metal laser cutting. In a fully-automated process, an end component
can be completed in one working phase using one tool thus eliminating i.a.
sawing, deburring, punching, drilling, mechanical cutting and machining com-
pared to the traditional manufacturing process.

Material shape and dimensional accuracy have a great impact on tube laser
cutting. The more accurate the tube, the easier it is to cut and the better
surface quality is achieved. Circular precision tubes are the easiest to cut due
to lack of discontinuation. However, square, rectangular and flat oval Form
precision tubes are also easy to cut because of their excellent dimensional
accuracy and good surface quality.

Figure 147. Centred tube by cutting head sensor. A separate measuring probe
can also be used for centring.

Tube laser cutting is generally a 3-D process, but normally precision tubes are
cut with a 2-D cutting head perpendicular to the surface. The tube or cutting
head can move separately or simultaneously during the laser cutting process.
However, bigger tube lasers often have a 3-D cutting head, which can be used
to bevel angles of up to 45°.

Cutting on curved surfaces

Figure 148 shows the typical characteristics of tube laser cutting which must
be taken into account during design and manufacturing. Perpendicular to
surface cutting attains a conical hole in a circular tube and corner radius area
of a rectangular tube. However, a 2-D cutting head is able to produce a cylin-
drical hole if the tube and cutting head are moved simultaneously.

166 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 A cylindrical hole in the corner area of a rectangular can only be made using a
3-D cutting head.
6 5 4 6 3 5 2 4 61 3 5 2 4 61 3 5 2 4 1 3

A-A
A B B-B A-A
A A-A
A
D D D D D D D

B B
B B

A A
B B

A B
A
C C C C A C C C

A-A B-B
B-B
B-B
90°
90°

B B B B B B B

KOHTI SUORA LEI KKUU REI ÄSSÄ

KOHTI SUORA LEI KKUU REI ÄSSÄ
SYLI NTERI
Putken pyöristyksen päälle tehty ympyräreikä on pyöreä vain putken sisäpinnan kohdalta. REI KÄ PYÖREÄSSÄ PUTKESSA
SYLI NTERI REI KÄ NELI ÖPUT
A Kohtisuorassa leikkauksessa leikkaussäde on kohtisuorassa pinnan tangenttia vasten.
Figure 148. Perpendicular to surface cut (left) for both round and square
A Kohtisuorassa leikkauksessa A
leikkaussäde A
on kohtisuorassa pinnan tangenttia vasten. A A A

Designed by Checked by Approved by Date Date

Designed by Checked by Approved by Date Date
Designed by Checked by Approved by Date Date
Designed by Checked by Approved by Dat

tubes. Cylindrical holes (right), which will need bevelling features when cut in
tuomojo tuomojo
8.9.2010 tuomojo
8.9.2010 tuomojo
8.9.2010

6
the radius area on square shaped tubes.
5 4 6 3
Kohtisuora reikä, pyöreä putki
5 2 4
Edition Sheet
1/ 1
61 3
Kohtisuora leikkuu reiässä
5 2 4
Edition Sheet
1/ 1
61 3
Sylinterireikä, pyöreä putki
5 2 4
Edition

1
Sheet
1/ 1
3
Sylinterir

Angle cutting
Tube laser cutting can replace the traditional sawing phase by end forming,
straight cutting or angle cutting. Angle edges are normally made by cutting,
such as a perpendicular to surface cut, and in any case this way is faster. It
is also possible to cut as sharp an edge up to an angle of 45° using a 3-D
equipped cutting head.

Bevelling
Bevelling is typically used for some counter holes or any weld preparations. A
bevelled surface is ready for a screw head or welding joint in any construction
or engineering application. The maximum cutting angle is 45°. A semi-bevel
includes the root face and bevel as a result a prepared edge for welding.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 167
 Design tips
Tube laser cutting provides many changes to improve productivity or product
functionality. A couple of tips for designing laser cutting components are
given below.

Drawings should mention the following specifications:

– If the holes are, e.g. galvanising, dewatering, casting or ventilation, without
exact tolerance requirements
– If angle cutting such as a sharp edge is needed in the following working
stages
– If laser marking or small holes are for the positioning of later drilling
– If a hole is cylindrical or conical. Max. diameter of cylindrical holes is about
60% of the tube diameter.
– Measurements
– Tolerance requirements

Applications
Laser cutting is a highly suitable cutting method to machine any precision
tubes. Applications generally include many different holes and end forms to
create precision connections with other parts. Typical applications can be
found in furniture, sports equipment, automotive parts, lighting structures
or any parts including holes, slots and end forming where high quality is re-
quired. Laser cutting also results in short lead times and prompt delivery also
with higher volumes.

Figure 149. Holes on precision tubes.

168 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Tube fittings
Tube fitting joints can be made “edge-to-edge” or through cutting. High
cutting accuracy makes final assembly easier and quick.

Figure 150. High precision tube joining “edge-to-edge” with curved surfaces.

Figure 151. High precision tube joining in the form of through cutting.

Tube laser cutting can provide an innovative approach to the development

of products for easy final assembly or functionality. Notch cut laser cutting
to ease the bending phase, see Fig 152, and also reduce the need for welding.
Frame type structures may reduce the number of items. Laser cutting is a ver-
satile machining method that can provide free shape cutting for e.g. any lock-
ing solutions. Taking the advantages of laser cutting into account in product
design means shorter product lead times.

Figure 152. Locking geometry for industrial use.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 169
 Figure 153. Adjustment geometry in furniture.

7.1.2 Case study: Cost savings in assembly by using laser-cut parts

Figure 154 shows how a product originally made from two parts can be man-
ufactured as one part through the innovative use of laser cutting. Notch cuts
have been made in the material to one side of a tube, together with accurate
holes and ends. After cutting, the part is bent and ready for assembly without
the need for many traditional working phases such as sawing, drilling and
welding. This innovative processing by laser shortens lead time, which results
in cost savings throughout the production process.

Figure 154. Frame type structure.

170 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 3000

2500

2000 Laser cutting

Sawing
Costs, €

1500
Drilling
Positioning
1000
Assembly
500

0
Laser Traditional way

Figure 155. Laser cutting costs [€] compared with the traditional way.
Referring to Fig. 154.

Figure 156 shows the quick assembly of three parts fitted with location brack-
ets. In this application, the potential of laser cutting technology was taken
into account in the design phase of the parts. The parts are perfectly co-
herent with each other and suitable for direct assembly, which shortens lead
times in parts processing. The dimensional accuracy of laser cutting guaran-
tees higher quality and reduces the possibility of defects, since the parts fit
together as required, thus eliminating an extra positioning phase.

Figure 156. Location brackets for accurate positioning.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 171
 3500

3000

2500 Laser cutting

2000 Sawing
Costs, €

Drilling
1500
Positioning
1000
Assembly
500

0
Laser Traditional way

Figure 157. Laser cutting costs [€] compared with the traditional way.
Referring to Fig. 156.

7.2 Punching and hole expansion

Punching, aka perforating or piercing, is a quick method for providing preci-

sion tubes with different shaped holes of a diameter greater than the material
thickness. An even greater variety of shapes and higher quality holes can be
achieved by drilling, machining and laser working. However, despite machin-
ery evolution, punching is still very widely used for reasons of cost.

The tools used for punching are specially designed NC machines, eccentric
presses or separate punching units. The latter are fast working, manually
operated hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, either with spring-return or two-
way movement action. Punching units may also form part of an automatic
multi-function tube working machinery or production cell.

The functional principle on NC punching machines involves the positioning

of the tube to be punched or the positioning of both the tube (linear transfer)
and the punching units (this may replace, for example, the rotation of the
tube). Depending on the tooling, one punching unit can make several cuts
and with machines comprising several punching units, output rates can be
further increased.

The punching tool consists of a punch (skewer) and possibly a blanking die
(cushion) located in the mandrel and/or in the die supporting the tube, see
Figure 159. The punch is usually made of hardened and ground tool steel and
the blanking die made of tool steel or hard metal. It is possible to punch only
one tube wall or both opposite tube walls in one stroke.

172 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 158. Punching tooling. Courtesy of Bors Automation and Tool AB.

Figure 159. Principle of punching.

Figure 160 shows the typical geometry of a punched hole edge: first the steel
edge is bent (incomplete edge), then the punch will penetrate the material
and a shiny cut face is developed (burnished zone) and finally the rest of the
cross section is fractured (broken zone). The burnished zone is normally 20-
40% of wall thickness.

Incomplete edge

Burnished zone

Broken zone

Burr

Figure 160. The geometry of a punched hole edge.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 173
 Fine punching is a method where the upper punch perforates a hole and the
lower punch provides a counterforce to prevent the steel from fracturing. The
wall to be cut is also pressed between the pressure plates, see Figure 161. In
this way, tight tolerances for a hole can be achieved because the cut edge is
almost perpendicular. Also the fractured zone may be omitted, burr high is
minimal and need for post-processing may be eliminated.

Figure 161. Principle of fine punching.

One wall can be punched with or without a die cushion. When the use of a die
cushion is omitted, the hole is punched with a more pronounced indented edge.
Deformations can be reduced by using a die cushion mounted on a mandrel
inserted into the tube. This is also done when the designer has defined a hole to
be located very close to the tube end or a set of holes close to each other.

There are two ways of handling the punching of two walls in one stroke:
- One punch pierces two walls in succession. Punching of the second wall
takes place against a die cushion in order to avoid indentions. If the first wall
is punched against a die cushion, the mandrel must be provided with a hole to
allow the passage of the punch and chip through the second wall.
- Two punches perforate the walls simultaneously without a die cushion. The
skewers are mounted on the same headstock. The advantage of this method
is that the burrs of both holes remain invisible inside the tube.

Tubes are commonly punched also as flattened, for example, by way of pre-
paring them for screw and rivet connections, see Figure 168.

The intended use and further fabrication dictate the quality requirements on
punched holes, such as:
- The tolerance of hole location
- The tolerance on hole dimensions; diameter
- Burrs and hole geometry
- Chip removal; can be promoted by improving the punch shape by grinding
- Deformations of the tube; indentation, flattening and tube flexure

174 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
The extent of indention around the hole periphery depends on tube dimen-
sions and hole size. On circular tubes, the indentation is oval. The degrees of
deflection and flattening depend mainly on the tools securing the tube. The
tendency to deflection and flattening increases proportionately as the num-
ber and size of holes increase.

The dimensional accuracy of the punched hole and the surface quality in the
cut can be improved by a so-called shaving function. Shaving involves the
cutting of an initial hole followed by another punching to remove a narrow
zone along the periphery of the hole. The thin chips produced in the process
are difficult to remove from the punching machine and may cause jams.

The effect of clearance on burr formation is relatively small but should be

considered especially if the part is visible, painted, handled or processed. As
plastic deformation is greater in ductile materials, such as SSAB Form Tube
220, than in brittle materials, the former are also likely to develop heavier
burrs. Cracks in cut edges reduce the formability of the edge, which is essen-
tial if hole will be expanded later. Cracks also decrease the fatigue resistance
of the cut edge and may act as initiation place for fatigue breakdown.

The relationship between the burnished and fractured area in the hole edge
depends on the tooling clearance, steel grade and steel thickness:
- The smaller the clearance, the larger the burnished zone
- The lower steel the strength, the larger the burnished zone
- The thicker the wall, the larger the burnished zone

A worn out punch will result in increased burr height and force required.

According to current knowledge, the optimal clearance with regard to tool

wear and the quality of cut is about 6-12% of wall thickness. With cold rolled
steels, a 10% clearance gives the same burr height as 2-3% clearance. As
clearance decreases the burnished area increases, but the cutting force and
wear will also increase. High-strength steels, such as Docol Tube 590, will al-
low somewhat greater clearance, about 9-16%. High-strength steels are less
sensitive to burr height relative to clearance.

Lubrication, coatings and proper maintenance contribute to the condition

and service life of tools. The wearing of cutting edges is considered to be the
most important factor that causes burrs. Punch wear results in a higher per-
centage of incomplete hole edges and burnished area and increases the burr
height. The wear of the die cushion is reflected as increased burrs at the hole.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 175
 Compared with sheet steel materials, punching of the tube involves factors
that contribute to variations in burr height:
- The interface between the two walls of the tube punched
- The effect of punching the first wall and of the chip on punch movement
- The curved surface of circular tubes
- The flattening effect of supports and dogs on the burrs

In normal production, a burr height less than 10-15% of wall thickness is eas-
ily achieved, for example, with precision tube steel grades. The location of
the weld during punching has no significant effect on burr height or on other
quality parameters. In high-volume production, the weld should preferably
not be located in the area to be punched because of its wearing effect on the
tools due to its higher strength and hardness.

Too large a clearance, see Figure 162, results in:

- Fractures not meeting and a notch is formed
- Large fractured area
- Uneven shear surface
- Large edge bending

Figure 162. Punch clearance too large.

With too small clearance, see Figure 163:

- Large burnished area
- High cutting force and faster tool wear
- Increased possibility of sticking and punch breakage

176 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
Figure 163. Punch clearance too small.

With proper clearance, see Figure 164:

- Adequate fractured and burnished areas
- Low cutting force and wear
- Even cut edge

Figure 164. Optimised punch clearance.

In the case of metal coated tubes, it is important to take the burrs into con-
sideration when planning the punching operation. This is because deburring
is difficult without damaging the coating and there is an increased risk of los-
ing corrosion protection. Zinc will stick to the punch and the amount of zinc
sticking correlates to the zinc thickness on the surface, although the main-
tenance interval is quite long, see Figure 165. Galvannealed coating is less
susceptible to sticking.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 177
 New punch Used punch

Figure 165. New and used punch edge after piercing galvanised material
13,000 times. Some zinc galling on the punch side is visible.

When punching higher-strength tubes, e.g. Docol Tube 980, the share of the
burnished zone decreases and the share of the fractured zone increases, as
seen in Figure 166. On the other hand, with lower-strength tubes, e.g. SSAB
Form Tube 190, the burnished zone will increase excessively. This clearly in-
dicates the need for clearance adjustment in order to achieve high quality
holes.

SSAB Form Tube 190 Z SSAB Form Tube 220 Z Docol Tube 980 GI

Figure 166. The effect of a change in shearing for steels of different strength
levels. Punching parameters are the same for all materials for benchmarking
purposes.

Hole expansion is a process where a hole is stretched to increase its diameter.

This is similar to flanging in sheet metal processes. An expanded hole may
be used e.g. as a threading for a bolt. The edge condition has a major impact
on the hole expansion ratio, see Figure 167. Damage, due to e.g. improper
punching clearance, on the hole edge dramatically affects the hole expansion
property. There is also a correlation between the work hardening exponent
and hole expansion ratio and thus the better the uniform elongation the
better the tube hole expansion rate.

178 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
 120

100

Hole expansion ratio, %

80

60

40

20

0
Different materials

Drilled Punched

Figure 167. HEL % with different materials, a comparison between punched

and drilled holes.

PRO TIP:
Punching clearance SSAB Form Tube 220 C:
~5% for a tight clearance
~10% for best edge quality and tool lifetime

7.3 Flattening

A tube can be flattened either completely or so as to leave a gap of a given

width between the tube walls. This gap can also be filled with steel strip to
improve structural stiffness. Flattening leaves the tube circumference almost
unchanged, while the cross section is given the desired shape.

It is usually the tube end that is flattened, but middle sections can also be
flattened. This is done e.g. in connection with punching to provide counter-
sunk for the screw heads. Another application is a groove pressed in the
middle of the tube to function as one half of slide bearing housing.

Tube can be flattened to innumerable shapes because the power applied to

produce the deformation is controlled both in the tranverse and longitudinal
direction of tube. The desired shape is achieved by the proper design of
plunger and dolly. The purpose of flattening is to produce aesthetic outlines
and facilitate the design of screw, rivet, for example, by bending, cutting or
embossing.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 179
 Figure 168. Flattened tube end. In connection with flattening, the end has
been cut and/or punched.

Connections made by flattening are suitable for fastening structural members

at the tube end. Such connections may be chosen when the part to be con-
nected to the tube cannot be welded. Rivets or screws can often be replaced
by less expensive and neater flattened connections. In cars, for example, the
mounting of joints at the ends of windscreen wiper arms is provided by means
of embossed spots and grooves stamped along the length of the tube.

Flattening is also used as a test of the formability of the material and weld.
Important parameters for the test and, therefore, also for fabrication by flat-
tening are:
- Degree of flattening
- Weld location
- Speed of flattening
- Work piece lubrication

The machines used for flattening are eccentric and hydraulic presses. Adjust-
able rates for working by hydraulic presses are: length of flattened section,
press force and speed of compression. In eccentric presses, the flattened
length can be adjusted. The press force and speed of compression change in
proportion to the distance of plunger from the lower dead position. Eccentric
presses usually lack speed adjustment.

The condition of the tools as well as lubrication used in flattening reflect on

surface quality. If the tool designer has left the plunger or dolly edges too
sharp, they will cause cuts on the tube material.

When the tube is fully flattened with sufficient compressive force, a per-
manent deformation that eliminates springback is caused at the fold of the
material. That is, by extensive force the material is “killed”. Protrusions of
weld metal at fold ends in a fully flattened tube end are partly caused by the
tendency of the material to squeeze out (less than 1% of material thickness) in
the longitudinal direction of the tube and by excess weld metal left inside the

180 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
tube. Such protrusions may hamper welding, for example. They can be repro-
duced by brushing the cut surface before flattening. If, in partial flattening,
the gap between tube walls (the shape of the gap) is given a critical dimen-
sional value with close tolerances, it may be necessary to use a mandrel that
is inserted into the tube. The length reduction of a flattened tube depends on
the geometry of the flattening required.

Two critical stages in the flattening of a tube:

- At the beginning of the flattening, the strain is highest at the contact point
between tube and plunger. At the contact point, the external tube surface
is exposed to compression stress and the internal surface to tensile stress.
If the tube contains an incomplete weld, the weld must be positioned way
from contact point in order to prevent cracking. With a complete weld, the
problem does not exist.
- In the final stage of flattening, the stress on the tube bends is at its highest.
The situation corresponds to the bending of sheet to a small radius. There-
fore, successful flattening depends on the bending properties of the tube
material.

In flattening, the forming properties of the tube both in the direction of its
longitudinal axis and in the vertical direction are utilised. Working is limited by
the bendability of the material because it is normally required that the bend
be free from reductions in area that impair the surface quality and strength.
The requirements on the bendability of steel increase in parallel with wall
thickness.

The bendability of tubes made of modern micro-alloyed steel is illustrated in

Figure 169. For bendability of tube wall or in other words cold formed sheet
material, please see table 37.

Table 37. Indicative minimum bending radii of circular tube wall for some of
the steel grades. Note: Tube D/T-ratio affect achievable flattening rate
Steel grades in flattening Minimum outside
bending radius [xT]
SSAB Form Tube 190 1
SSAB Form Tube 220 1
SSAB Form Tube 320 1.5
SSAB Form Tube 420 2
SSAB Boron Tube 24 as delivered 2
Docol Tube 590 3
Docol Tube 780 4

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 181
 Figure 169. Example of the geometry of a straight, fully flattened tube. Note
a gap next to a crimp in spite of extreme pressing force. The material of the
tube is SSAB Form Tube 220 C.

There is also a flattening test concerning tube quality inspection according

to standard EN 10233:1993. The test results can be used for manufacturing
process planning for components.

PRO TIP: No fully flattening for an advanced high

strength tube!

7.4 Spinning

Longitudinally welded circular precision tubes can be formed by spinning both

in the hot and cold condition. For reasons of economy, cold working is more
common. The tube is usually worked on its outer surface but inside spinning
against a die is possible as well. One of the applications of this method is the
fabrication of bicycle wheel hubs. The following is typical of spinning:

- The tube wall thickness changes to the specific measure even when the
length of the tube changes
- The tube is pressed against a mandrel or die to the desired shape; the
tube rotates or press rolls spin on and around the tube periphery
- The tube undergoes strain hardening
- Good dimensional accuracy
- Surface roughness Ra is between 0.5 and 2µm depending on the tools
- Any material with elongation can be used
- The input tube is required to be of precise geometry

Achievable reduction of wall thickness can be concluded from the reduction

of are at failure. Depending on the steel grade, a thickness reduction of up to

182 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
70% can be achieved in spinning. For greater thickness reductions, the tube
must be annealed between working stages. The minimum reduction of thick-
ness is ca. 15%.

The inner diameter of tubes worked by spinning may vary from about five
millimetres to over one metre. Tubes with an inner diameter under 9.5 mm are
locked in place during spinning and the tools revolve on and around the tube.

Spinning can be carried out either as counter spinning or forward spinning.

Counter spinning is the faster method but it is not suitable for tubes with weld
bead on the inside. The weld causes a strong flexure in a counter spun prod-
uct. In addition, variations in the tube wall thickness complicate length con-
trol of counter spun tubes.

The manufacturing parameters in spinning are: the rate of rotation, feed in

the axial direction and feed in radial direction. A thin film of lubricant should
be left between the tube and mandrel. Lubrication is also used between rolls
and tube, if the highest possible surface quality is required.

The use of longitudinally welded precision tubes for applications involving

spinning is limited by weld bead protruding on the inside. Therefore, the tubes
for such applications should always be ordered with inside weld planed flush.

7.5 Mechanical joining

Screw and rivet connections have the following advantages:

- Screw connections are easy to undo and the end user can carry out the
assembly
- Different materials can be connected
- Painted or otherwise coated members can be joined without damage being
done to the coating
- In addition to its retaining function, a rivet can at the same time serve as a
knuckle, sleeve, plug, etc.
- The selection of screws and auxiliary parts is wide; for example, the variety
of head forms and head covers

Compared with screw connections, rivet connections have the disadvantage

of lower stability and fatigue strength. Usually, rivet connections are not water
tight or air tight and they cannot be opened without destroying the rivet.

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 183
 Ordinary rivets can be used on flattened ends of precision tubes. In the design
of blind rivet connections for tubes, attention should be paid to the wall thick-
ness of the parts to be connected, the rivet tolerance, the type of load and
the expected rates of forces applied, the free hole diameter and the appear-
ance of the connection.

Rivet connections bear shearing stress better than tensile stress. The best
retaining effect under vibrating loads is achieved when the free hole diameter
is as close to the recommended minimum value as possible. Connections of
soft, compressible materials require large-headed rivets.

There are no separate instructions for the calculation of screw or rivet con-
nections to precision tubes. The general practice in the design of screw or
rivet connections to precision tubes involves the application of the general
rules for structural design, experimental structural design or aware overdi-
mensioning.

The general rules for structural design take the following into consideration:
- Piercability
- Shear failure
- Declination and edge compression
- Tension failure and pull-through tension failure
- Pull-out tension failure

Precision tubes have been tested for the stability of rivet connections against
piercing forces. The tests verified that a rivet located in the weld does not
weaken the connection.

7.6 Quenching

To create a wear-resistant or ultimate high-strength steel tube, a structural

kind of steel tube with ferrite-pearlite or ferrite with a globular carbide micro-
structure, is converted to fully martensitic by quenching. These hardenable
boron steel tubes can be used for applications like cutting tools, lightweight
structures or parts having a high energy absorption capacity.

The most common raw material for tube production is SSAB Boron Tube 24
with a carbon content of 0.24% and boron content of 0.003%. This cold-
rolled steel grade has a good surface quality compared to hot-rolled mate-
rials. In as delivered condition, tubes are well suited for cutting, cold forming

184 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
and welding. Welding can be done using all conventional methods. In as deliv-
ered condition, tubes may be thermal cut, but a narrow hardened area next to
cut will develop.

Table 38. Typical mechanical values of hardened boron steel tube SSAB
Boron Tube 24.

Condition Rp Rm A Hardness
As delivered 470 530 23
Oil quenched 900 1300 8
Water quenched 1100 1500 8 HV 470…530

Hardening consists of heating the tube to a temperature of 880-950°C and

quenching in water or oil. Cooling is done close to room temperature with a
minimum cooling rate of 27°C /s is required. Tempering after quenching is
not usually needed because steel behaves in a ductile manner even after
quenching due to its low carbon content. Tempering will increase tube tough-
ness though.

Quenched tubes can be welded, but HAZ will become tempered, so hardness
and strength will decrease in the area.

PRO TIP: Do you want a springlike tube? Quench a

boron steel tube!

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 185
 8. Transport and storage of tubes

In the storage of precision tubes, the possible risk of corrosion must be taken
into consideration. The tubes are normally supplied with light rust protection
oil. The oil protects the tube during transport and normal storage. Prolonged
storage must be in heated indoor spaces where moisture or the risk of mois-
ture condensation are not present.

Galvanised tubes are easily affected by white rust if moisture gets between
the tubes packed in bundles. Therefore, the storage of bundled galvanised
tubes requires proper, dry, warehouse spaces.

Precision tubes are products characterised by especially fine surface quality.

The surface is very sensitive to scratches and dents. Caution is required with
transport and storage; for example, in moving bundles of tubes by forklift.

In storage, heavy loads should not be placed on top of bundles of precision

tubes. In order to avoid permanent deformation, care should be taken to
provide the tube bundles with sufficient quantities of wood props between the
layers.

Tubes are normally delivered in bundles tied with steel straps. If tube with
extra high surface quality is required (e.g. tubes to be chromated), the tube
bundles may be ordered as protected. In which case, the contact points under
and above the bundle are protected by sheet and padding tape is provided
under the straps.

186 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
9. Precision steel tube properties in
a nutshell

Young’s modulus E = 210GPa

1MPa = 1N/mm2 ≈ 0.145 ksi
Poisson’s ratio: 0.3

Steel density: 7850 kg/m 3

Steel melting point: 1500°C

Zinc coating thickness: mass of 100g/m2 = Z100 = 7µm layer per side
Zinc melting point: 420°C
Zinc boiling point: 907°C

Temperature where steel properties are not affected: 200°C

Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating 187
188 Precision Steel Tube Handbook – compilation of training material for bending, welding and coating
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