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STAINLESS STEEL TUBE
Industrial Tube Manufacturing produces a class-leading stainless steel tube, Hygienic Tube, primarily used for process lines in dairy factories, breweries, distilleries and other sanitary applications.
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Stainless Steel 304L and 316L
Manufactured to the AS 1528.1 Standard for austenitic Stainless Steel tube for food processing and other hygienic applications.
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Other standards:
• ASTM A249 - Austenitic Steel Boiler, Superheater, Heat-Exchanger, and Condenser
• ASTM A269 - Welded Austenitic Stainless Steel Tubing for General Service
• ASTM A554 - Welded Stainless Steel Mechanical Tubing
OUR STAINLESS STEEL TUBE MANUFACTURING PROCESS
HygienicTube is longitudinally welded through an automatic TIG welding process with no addition of filler material. Tube with diameters of 31.8mm and above are internally cold worked with the internal weld bead rolled flat to form a smooth internal surface. Tube with diameters of 25.4mm and below are in an as welded condition and internal weld height is controlled to a minimum height as per AS 1528.1.
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Tube is formed in small stages at slower speeds to minimise work hardening, allowing the formed tube to be more easily bent or manipulated. The first stage of polishing is performed on-line. Mill lengths are all end deburred on the run out table and final QC checks are performed at this time. Polishing is completed off-line before line marking with our identification, the standard, heat and work order numbers. The tube is then sleeved and packed, ready for dispatch to our distribution centres.
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QUALITY ASSURANCE
Industrial Tube QA management processes include full traceability, strength testing, dimension and tolerance inspections, weld colour management and buff polishing. ​​Weld integrity tests are: Reverse bend test, Flare/Cone Test and Flange Test.
EDDY-CURRENT TESTED
Eddy current testing is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method that uses electromagnetic induction to detect flaws, cracks and other imperfections. All tube is in-line (tangent coil weld inspection) eddy-current tested for integrity, to ASTM A1016M.
IDENTIFICATION
Industrial Tube’s line marking identification is ITMNZ HYGIENIC - TUBE. All Tube is individually line marked with the heat number for identification and batch traceability. CWBP = Cold worked buff polished, AWBP = As welded buff polished. AS 1528.1 base material test certificates are provided with each order as per EN10204 Type 3.1.
MATERIAL
Hygienic tube is manufactured from cold-rolled, annealed and skin-passed coil strip (2B) in grades 304L or 316L to ASTM A240/A240M-16a. We source from leading international mills to our exacting specification, with a tight thickness tolerance window.
SURFACE FINISH
The standard finish of HygienicTube is buff polished to a minimum 320G finish. Other surface finishes are available on request. The internal finish of our tube (excluding the weld zone) is typically 0.2μm to 0.6μm Ra. The internal weld zone roughness allows for a maximum Rt value of 14.0μm. Our results typically range from 2.0 to 6.5 Rt.
PACKING
304L is sleeved in clear plastic, 316L in blue plastic. Bundles are strapped with timber cleats and plywood for the forklift plate. See sizing table for individual bundle sizes.
STAINLESS STEEL TUBE FITTINGS
Industrial Tube Manufacturing stocks a range of butt weld fittings to complement our Stainless Hygienic Tube sizing, suitable for process lines in dairy factories, breweries, distilleries and other sanitary and food processing applications. We partner with suppliers who understand process engineering, ensuring we deliver high-quality sanitary tube fittings that provide a consistent and straightforward fit-up with our tube.​
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Specification: Fittings are manufactured to the AS 1528.3 standard. This Standard specifies dimensional, material and hygienic requirements for butt weld tubular fittings including bends, tees, reducers, y-sections and crosses, for incorporation in tube lines for food processing and hygienic applications. All bends are manufactured in New Zealand to Universal Standard (UNI) dimensions.
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Surface Finish: For all fittings, the external surface is polished to a 320G finish. The internal surface (excluding weld zone) is under 0.8μm Ra as per the standard. The weld area is under the maximum Rt value of 14.0μm.
ANNEALING TREATMENT
Industrial Tube offer in-house annealing treatment for austenitic stainless tube to standards ASTM A249 or A269. We can accommodate 6.35-76.2mm tube. Annealing is performed to reduce the hardness of the formed tube, increase its ductility and improve the weld zone micro-structure, facilitating further processing.
Our process is through an off-line natural gas oven with hydrogen and nitrogen purge, run at 1065°. A continuous conveyor system takes the tube through the oven and the tube is rapidly cooled as the muffle continues through an aerated water bath. The tube is then put through a further straightening process, is 360º eddy-current tested then line marked with the appropriate information and standard.