Seamless pipe (SMLS)

Seamless Pipe is made when steel in a solid, round cylindrical shape, called a “billet” or a “tube round” is heated and then either pushed or pulled (while being rapidly rotated) over a mandrel with a piercing point positioned in the center of the billet. This activity produces a hollow tube or “shell”.

The tube is then further finished until it becomes the size and wall thickness desired. (Because the pipe is formed in a heated manner the pipe is normalized and should have a consistent steel cellular pattern throughout its circumference).

Seamless pipe is made in sizes from 1/8” to 36” and is widely used in construction, oil refining, chemical and petro-chemical industries. It is available in heavy wall thicknesses and exotic chemistries, and is suitable for coiling, flanging and threading. It is, however, expensive, in short supply and unavailable in long lengths.