SSAB, a Nordic and US-based steel company, has launched SSAB Form Tube Plus – a completely new family of precision steel tubes that provides a unique combination of bendability, dimensional accuracy and superior surface quality suitable for high-gloss painting and chrome plating.

The new product family was rolled out at The Subcontracting Trade Fair (Alihankinta), last month in Finland and after that will be launched gradually in other countries.

According to a statement from the company, the tubes can be used, for example, in furniture manufacturing and demanding light engineering applications. The tubes are protected with thin plates to help to prevent transportation and handling damage, thus providing a scratch-free surface for the user.

The biggest benefit of SSAB Form Tube Plus tubes is in applications where tight fitting and very high surface quality are required, as in furniture manufacture. Also automated manufacturing and bending operations benefit when choosing SSAB Form Tube Plus, it said.

“Dimensional accuracy ensures cost-effective automatic manufacturing and telescoping solutions. In some cases it could even substitute cold drawn tubes. Furthermore, chrome plating and high quality painting can be directly applied to the surface. And this comes together with bendability and formability. The product is unique due to the fact that all three characteristics are offered in one product,” explained product manager Anders Klang at SSAB Europe.

“For the customer, use of the new product means optimisation and more cost-efficient manufacturing in processes requiring high surface quality, bendability and dimensional accuracy. With the new product, there is no need for grinding before painting, etc and neither is a thick coating required. Also there is less scrap,” continued Klang.

SSAB Form Tube Plus comes in two steel grades, E220 and E420, the number stands for yield strength. By choosing high-strength SSAB Form Tube Plus 420 significant weight savings can be achieved without compromising the usability of the tube. The product meets all the requirements of EN 10305-3/5 and are delivered with a cold-rolled (S3) surface and +CR2 delivery condition, it said.

The product offers the following benefit and business value: Cost-efficient manufacturing process; better surface quality; and larger design features. SSAB Form Tube 220 Plus provides superior bendability and formability, thus enabling the use of very small bending radius. SSAB Form Tube 420 Plus provides a combination of high strength and formability enabling weight savings without compromising the usability. SSAB has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the US.