Stainless steel pipes are widely used in the national economy, ranging from nuclear power plants and ships to pipes for residential buildings, and are an important product in the steel industry. Common materials include 201/304/316 and so on. Stainless steel pipes are divided into stainless steel welded pipes and stainless steel seamless pipes according to their production methods. What is the difference between the two?
Differences in craftsmanship:
Stainless steel welded pipe: It is made of steel plate or steel strip after being crimped and formed by the unit and mold. Different welding methods can be divided into straight seam stainless steel welded pipes and spiral stainless steel welded pipes. Stainless steel welded pipe has high production efficiency and many varieties and specifications. In addition, the welded pipe avoids multiple heating processes during the processing process, and the production process is more environmentally friendly.
Stainless steel seamless tube: After heating the round tube blank, it is made by the production process of cold rolling, cold drawing or hot extrusion. The thicker the wall thickness of the product is, the more economical and practical it is, and the thinner the wall thickness is, the higher its processing cost will be.
The difference in appearance:
Stainless steel welded pipe: Due to the cold forming process of the plate, the steel pipe has high precision, uniform wall thickness, high brightness inside and outside the pipe (the surface brightness of the steel pipe is determined by the surface grade of the steel plate), can be arbitrarily determined, and has a variety of sizes and specifications. The advantages are particularly prominent.
Stainless steel seamless pipe: The steel pipe has low precision and uneven wall thickness. Due to the limitation of the processing method, the inner and outer surface of the pipe has low brightness and high fixed-length cost. Usually the wall is thicker.
The difference in performance:
In terms of usage habits, seamless pipes are mostly used in projects that require corrosion resistance, pressure resistance and high temperature resistance because of their good uniformity of metal structure. Traditional enterprises such as boilers, power stations, and pressure vessels favor seamless steel pipes. . Since the 1930s, with the rapid development of continuous rolling production of high-quality strip steel and the advancement of welding and inspection technology, the quality of welds has been continuously improved, and the varieties and specifications of welded steel pipes have been increasing. The application scenarios of stainless steel welded pipes range from decorative pipes, product pipes and Low-pressure fluid pipes, etc. have been expanded to different industries such as nuclear power equipment, high-pressure pipelines, special material fluids, medical treatment, and healthy drinking water.
Difference in price:
The production process of seamless pipe is more complicated, and its price is more expensive than stainless steel welded pipe.
Differences in application:
Stainless steel welded pipe: with its good surface effect, it is commonly used in decorative pipes, prop pipes, and product pipes, mainly for conveying water, oil, gas, air, and general low-pressure fluids such as heating hot water or steam.
Stainless steel seamless pipe: with its good corrosion resistance, pressure bearing and high temperature resistance, it is often used in engineering and large equipment to transport fluid pipelines, and can also be used for high temperature and high pressure transport fluid headers on power plants and nuclear power plant boilers. pipes, etc.