Hi guys, does anyone know a supplier of hexagonal or octagonal steel tube in the Uk? I can find some pics of it in china, but does it get shipped here, and if so, where?
Hmm, dunno yet, I will need quite a few lengths, but first I want a sample to do some testing with, maybe 4 or 5 inches across the flats? Also possibly some significantly smaller section, maybe 1 o 2 inches across, in the same profile.
I'm sure you will get lots of sucking through teeth when you ring stockholders. I got some oval box section 300X200x12, 6 months ago; minimum order quantity 20T.
I've priced up jobs with hex tube, most places wouldnt quote, but those that did said the same, 20T minimum order and it will be ready whenever the mill get a quiet day and decide to blow the dust of the dies.
Never seen it on the racks at any of the stockholders, or in the catalogues.
Hmm, for the smaller stuff I could use solid, yes, but it'll be tonnes and tonnes. Actually I could use solid for the bigger stuff, but the weight will pull the walls down.
I guess I could weld halves together, but really the hex or oct is the starting point for the interesting forming, not the final shape, so itll double the processing time for those elements, and there are quite a few of them.
Well, it looks like it does exist, in 3 general forms. Lots of thin walled stuff up to about 1.2 or 1.5 mm - seems to be used for roller shutter doors almost exclusively. Then hex section tube equivalent to regular box section tube, so wall thicknesses of a few mm typically, either with a circular inner wall profile and hex outer (like a hex bar has been drilled through - hex pipe really), or hex inner and outer faces as you would expect.
Minimum orders seem to be 10 tonnes from china.
So, other options. Hydro forming some pipe - no good - too much pressure required. I'm trying to figure out if it could be done with a power hammer and some heat, I'm sure it could with an internal former, but it'd be tricky.
The only other option, apart from seam welding up 6 or 8 flats, is to pressbrake 2 half profiles out of flat strip and weld them together (as per Welderpaul's suggestion). I think. like this: http://www.anglering.com/metal_bending_methods/press_braking.php
I'll give them a call actually.
Or maybe I can find a cheap pressbrake going spare somewhere and do my own. For those with a p-b, do you reckon this is moderately straightforward to do? Even if I could only do a metre at a time, I could weld those together I suppose?
Thanks a lot Hitch - much appreciated! I look forward to the pics!
Presumably an octagon is equally possible?
Rick - well, actually there is, so... I did look, it all seems to be 10 tonne. I think these could be zipped up pretty quick anyway. I'll do a test to make sure.
Might have to go and re-visit the keetona hydroform languishing in a scrapyard not a million miles away.