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Hollow steel bars vs metal tube bars: Which is better?

If you’re working in an industry that needs steel equipment for foundation it is beneficial to be aware of what hollow steel bars are.

Hollow steel bars are cheaper than conventional metal bar stock since they weigh less than metal bar, but it may still provide as much durability as its counterpart in the form of a metal bar.

Continue reading to find out more about the difference between tubes or hollow steel bar.

Three main differences between Tube and Hollow Bars

Three key characteristics that differentiate seamless tubes and hollow bars:

Manufacturing process
Quality
Materials

Manufacturing Process

For hollow and tube bars to acquire their various compositions, they need to undergo a different manufacturing procedure. A tube bar is made using slit coils of base metal, which is then processed by an industrial tube mill. This lets the tube change into shapes, including square or round. Once the proper shape has been reached, the tube is subjected to an elongation process by using an electrical resistance tool.

When you have a hollow bar of steel, as opposed tubes there’s no welding. Instead , two different techniques can be employed to make hollow steel bars. The first method is drilling and the second is known as centrifugal cast. The drilling process results in extremely precise part dimensions, while the centrifugal casting results in an unfinished steel bar which is extremely dense and even.

Quality

Typically hollow steel bars constructed from two types of material such as bronze and stainless steel. The two types of materials enable these steel bars possess an extremely precise dimensional tolerance.

In the case of tubes, it may be much more difficult to achieve precise dimensional tolerances to be met. This is mostly due because of the process used to join them. If a producer isn’t mindful when making tubes, they could produce a poor quality of product.

This is why this hollow bar could occasionally result in a better quality product because there are no other welding process that are employed, while the welding process used in the tube bar may result in various kinds of crystal structures around the welding zone. In the end, this can affect those mechanical qualities within the tube.

Materials

With the tube bar many different types of materials are able to be utilized to make the tubing that is welded. When you want to make welded tubing it is generally recommended to use materials that conduct electricity. For hollow bars made of steel you’ll need to choose harder materials that are more durable. If the steel bar is too tough however, you might prefer an piercing method to create this hollow metal bar.

These are just a few of the principal differences between hollow steel bars. The final decision on which to choose is based with the bar’s use since neither a hollow steel bar or a tube bar is less expensive or superior than the other.