How To Select Good Aluminium Tubes

Metal tubes are used for a variety of purposes. In the manufacturing industry, metal tubes find varied applications in boilers, heat transfer ducts, machine frames and the like. Aluminium is the most preferred metal that is chosen for almost all metal tube applications. Aluminium and its alloys have good mechanical strength and thermal conductance.

A typical aluminium alloy contains about 99 percent of aluminium and other metals like manganese, magnesium, silicon and chromium constitute the remaining one percent. This alloying process imparts great strength to the alloy without any significant increase in weight. This is why aluminium alloys are preferred for building aircraft frames and wings.

Aluminium tubes can be manufactured by many mechanical working processes. The most commonly used process is metal extrusion. In the production of metal tubes, two types of extrusion processes are employed, depending on the nature of the metal. Metals like aluminium and alloys like steel are drawn or extruded into tubes using the hot extrusion process.

This process is done by using a press operated ram and a cylinder. The metal is heated to a temperature above its recrystallisation temperature and is placed inside the cylinder. To shape the hollow portion of the tube, a mandrel is used. A die is placed at the end of the mandrel cylinder arrangement. The inner diameter of the die is the outer diameter of the metal tube. Pressure is applied on the ram and the metal is extruded through the die. This method has a drawback. Uniform wall thickness cannot be maintained through the entire length of the tube, and the surface finish is not good.

To avoid this problem, another process called seamless tubing (also called piercing) is used. Two conical rollers are used to shape the outside of the tube. This is done at very high temperatures. Sometimes, drawing processes are also used in the manufacture of metal tubes. When you want to buy an aluminium tube, you should select the right alloy depending on the application. Aluminium tubing is also used in the defence industry. An alloy of scandium and aluminium is used in the production of light weight defence aircraft. The frames of an airplane are made from aluminium tubes which are welded together by the metal inert gas welding process (MIG). Some of the commonly used aluminium alloys are 7075, 5052, 2124, 6063 and so on. 7075 aluminium has zinc as the main alloying element. Aluminium tubing also finds application in the nuclear industry.

The other applications of aluminium tubes are bicycle frames, heat exchangers, fluid and gas pipelines, and also in Heat, Ventillation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC). In coal industries, aluminium tubes are used to support the conveyor belt systems. In some ships, the masts are also made of aluminium alloys. You can visit the websites of many tube manufacturing companies and select strong tubes of aluminium. You should always look for corrosion resistant alloying elements like chromium if you need aluminium tubes for chassis manufacturing.