Tubes and cut-to-length tubes
CPC Inox Tube Solutions:
excellence in every application
Our division specialising in the production of laser-welded stainless steel tubes of the latest generation offers tubular solutions of the highest quality for the most technically complex and service-intensive applications. In its machining and inspection processes, CPC Inox Tube Solutions uses only state-of-the-art tools such as laser welding lines and laser cutting equipment.
Main application fields
Automotive industry
The tube’s good deformability and diameter accuracy are optimal for use in the production of exhaust systems.
Pipelines and fluid transport
The perfect internal and external conformation and hydraulic seal make our pipes ideal for pipelines and fluid transport.
Food industry
The minimal roughness of the inner surface of the products is perfectly suited for use in the food industry.
Heat exchangers
Good deformability and maximum diameter accuracy make our tube perfectly suited for thermal hydraulics.
Structural field
The tube provides a good seal, excellent mechanical strength and a predisposition to deformation.
Tube coil
We can produce tube coils from a minimum diameter of 8 mm up to a maximum of 16 mm. The minimum thickness is 0.5 mm up to a maximum of 2 mm.
What are the advantages of coil packaging? Reduced scrap, increased process continuity and thus customer productivity.
excellence and competence
From strip to calibration
All the experience and know-how of CPC Tube Solutions is based on progress and new technologies and aims to meet the most demanding expectations in different applications.
Thanks to its expertise in stainless steel processing and unrivalled stock, we are able to select the raw material with the most suitable mechanical and surface properties for the customer’s end use.
Our forming process goes through successive calibration steps and allows us to produce a precision tube with dimensional tolerances much smaller than current standards.
Finally, the design of our lines, together with the use of raw materials with special characteristics, allows us to achieve high mechanical properties of the tube that make heat treatment of the product unnecessary.
The laser process
As a rule, the type of welding source influences the morphology of the weld bead and its mechanical characteristics. The CPC Inox Tube Solutions laser process offers great advantages in this respect.
The laser source makes it possible to obtain a very narrow weld bead and complete penetration over the entire thickness range, which means minimum thermal distortion, better dimensional tolerances on the finished diameter and excellent strength of the welded area.
Testing
Non-destructive testing
Non-destructive testing is carried out with induced currents through induction coils: testing is performed on the weld seam and with special circular coils, also on the entire tube section. Inspections are carried out by operators in compliance with the EN and ASTM standards and according to the inspection standard defined in EN 10246-2:EN 10246-3 – SEP 1925/SEP 1914.
Destructive testing
Destructive tests are performed by crushing and flaring specimens.
Laboratory tests
The CPC Inox laboratory is able to perform a range of tests including tensile and hardness, as well as micrographs.
Material control
The chemical composition of incoming material is systematically checked.
Surface checks
Surface roughness measurement can be performed on both the inner and outer surfaces of welded pipes.
Certifications
Tube Solutions is certified under ISO 9001 and TUV AD 2000 – Merkblatt W 0 / TRD 100.
Standard tests and dimensional checks
Dimensional checks on tube outer diameter and thickness, dimensional checks on tube length and straightness, and visual checks on surface finish.
Non-destructive testing of welds
Continuous testing with eddy currents to detect defects, according to SEP 1914 – 1925.
Weld seam tightness test
Flaring test on tube samples, performed off-line using a conical mandrel driven by a 100-ton hydraulic press. On request, a crush test can also be performed as an alternative.
Tensile test on tube samples
For each production batch, tube sections are taken and subjected to a destructive test on a tensile machine to determine the actual mechanical characteristics of the welded tube.
Tests and checks at customer’s request
Testing of weld hardness values, tube pressure test (Directive 97/23/EC “PED”), corrosion resistance test and crush test.
Any other tests can be agreed upon.
Certificates
For each production batch, a certificate is issued by our in-house laboratory indicating that all standard tests carried out according to regulations have been passed and that the parameters specified by the customer have been met in the case of special tests.
