Stainless steel pipe fittings production process 1: Hot rolling and cold drawing processes

The production process of stainless steel pipe fittings is complex and precise, and ensuring that each process meets high-quality standards is key. The following is the hot rolling and cold drawing production process of stainless steel pipe fittings.

• Raw material preparation: Firstly, select high-quality round tube blanks as raw materials. These raw materials are precisely cut by a cutting machine to form a billet with a length of about 1 meter. This step ensures the precise size of the billet and lays the foundation for subsequent processes.
• Heating: Send the cut round billet into the furnace for heating, with a temperature controlled at approximately 1200 degrees Celsius, and the fuel is usually hydrogen or acetylene. The temperature control inside the furnace is crucial and directly affects the smooth progress of subsequent processes.
• Perforation and rolling: The heated round billet is perforated by a pressure perforating machine to form a capillary tube. Subsequently, the capillary tube is further formed into a steel tube through three roll oblique rolling, continuous rolling, or extrusion. This step ensures uniform wall thickness and smooth surface of the steel pipe through precise mechanical control.
• Sizing and cooling: After rolling, the steel pipe is sized by a sizing machine and then enters a cooling tower for water spray cooling. The cooling process is rapid and uniform, avoiding deformation of the steel pipe due to thermal expansion and contraction.
• Straightening and inspection: The cooled steel pipe is straightened to ensure its straightness. Afterwards, internal inspection is carried out using a metal flaw detector or water pressure test to ensure that the steel pipe has no internal defects and reliable quality.
• Cold drawing and heat treatment: For steel pipes that require changes in size and length, they are coated with oil and subjected to multiple cold drawing (cold rolling) processes. Cold drawn steel pipes undergo heat treatment to restore the material's shape, and then undergo straightening. This step ensures the dimensional accuracy and physical properties of the steel pipe.
• Finished product inspection and packaging: Conduct strict quality inspection and testing on finished steel pipes, including appearance inspection, size inspection, pressure testing, etc. After passing the inspection, the steel pipes are marked with identification numbers, specifications, production batch numbers, etc., and lifted into the warehouse by a crane for proper storage.