Uncoiler

It’s to pay steel strip out. And it normally has two arms so that a second coil can be readied while the first is running out. Besides, the uncoiler may be equipped with power rotating of the head and powered coil pressing device for larger steel coil.

Shearing and butt welder

It’s key to producing continuous tube. And it’s to shear the first coil tail and the next coil head. Then it will weld the two together so that the strip can be fed continuously through the tube mill. Alos, the welder is available as a portable or stationary model in various levels of automation, based on production line speed. For heavier-wall tube, it may be preceded by a strip flattener to flatten the end sufficiently for welding.

Strip accumulator

Horizontal and vertical accumulators are the most commonly used. And each one can accept steel strip at two to three times the speed of the mill. That creates a storage bank of strip in the form of a large coil during strip welding. So, the tube mill can keep running.

Solid-state high frequency welder

It’s to heat strip edge to the forging temperature. And nearly 95% of H.F. welders sold are solid-state, using transistors to generate alternating frequency current.

Forming mill

It consists of vertical and horizontal roller stands. And steel strips are squeezed into open tube by rollers. And the welding area is to forge open tube into closed tube. At the same time, it can remove welding bead. 

Sizing mill

Once the tube is formed and cooled, the sizing section brings it to its final diameter. And it can also reshape tubes.

Cutoff System

The press receives a signal from a length encoder mounted at the end of the mill. And the encoder signals clamps to accelerate to tube speed. And when it reaches production line speed, clamps hold the tube for cutting.

Runout table

It’s to transfers tube from the cutoff system to the packaging system. Usually, the tabletop is pneumatically actuated to dump tube. In the past, tube would typically be dumped onto an inclined table and then allowed to fall into an accumulating rack for packaging or transfer to another area. In most large tube making today, however, tube is fed into an automated packaging system.

Stacking and strapping system

It’s to accept tubes from runout table or from an intermediate source, like a conveyor. Then it forms tubes into a bundle for strapping. And tubes can be strapped manually or automatically.