FAQ: ERW Tube Mills and Entry Equipment

By the tube specifications you need to produce and the equipment configuration; there is no list price. Send us your requirements and we will quote for your project.

For a complete line: the tube diameter range, thickness range and material. For entry equipment: material, strip width range, thickness range and line speed.

Yes. Tell us what you want to produce — the tube shape, outside diameter or side length, wall thickness, material and approximate output — and your plant conditions, and we will recommend a model and line configuration.

If some information is still missing, contact us anyway: the quotation states the conditions it is based on and is adjusted when you send the rest.

The quotation lists the line machine by machine — from the uncoiler, shear and butt welder and spiral accumulator to forming and sizing, HF welding, the flying saw and the run-out table — as configured for your project.

Forming rollers (tooling) are not included in the line price. Each finished size needs its own set; rollers are quoted separately for the sizes you will produce and invoiced by actual weight.

Yes. Not only uncoilers, levelers, shear and butt welders and spiral accumulators: any machine in the line can be supplied on its own, to add to an existing line or to replace an existing machine.

In your enquiry, give the strip centre height (or pass line) of the existing mill, the feed direction (left- or right-hand), line speed, strip width and thickness, and whether a hydraulic unit and controls are needed, so that our engineers can check the interfaces.

Yes. Besides complete lines under our own brand, we have also built complete tube mill lines for other manufacturers and trading companies, and we supply entry equipment such as uncoilers, shear and butt welders and spiral accumulators to tube mill builders and export traders in China.

Where we supply only the entry equipment, the tube mill itself comes from the other builder.

Our equipment is used by many tube makers in China and has been exported to the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and South America. For projects abroad, our engineers can guide installation and commissioning on site.

We reply within 2–3 working days (longer during public holidays).

For equipment exported to the EU, CE conformity assessment can be carried out on order. Please tell us in your enquiry which country the equipment will be used in.

Single machines from about 60 days, complete lines about 120 days, subject to contract.

It depends on the diameter range, production speed and line configuration, so we work it out with you for each project.

The layout can be adapted to the building, for example as an L-shape, a U-shape or an angled entry, with the spiral accumulator changing the direction of the strip. Whether this works, and how, is confirmed with a layout drawing based on your plant plan.

Once the contract takes effect, we provide the layout and foundation drawings within the time agreed in the contract, so that you can build the foundations while the equipment is being manufactured. The drawings show the machine positions, the anchor bolt layout and the water, power and air connection points.

Have ready: the building and overhead crane; foundations built to our layout and foundation drawings and fully cured; an air compressor; a cooling water tank or tower, cooling pumps and cooling water for the HF welder; power cables and earthing to each machine; installation workers and lifting equipment (provided by the buyer for projects abroad, as agreed in the contract for projects in China); and strip for trial production.

Order the rollers for the trial sizes in advance. The exact list follows the technical agreement and the layout drawing.

Yes. Our engineers guide installation and commissioning on site; costs are agreed per project.

Against the acceptance conditions agreed in the technical agreement. When the agreement is drawn up, it defines the products used for acceptance, the configuration, the operating conditions, the inspection methods and the records; trial runs and acceptance then follow the procedure it sets out.

The equipment is bare packed, suitable for container shipment.

Yes. During installation and commissioning, our engineers train your operating and maintenance staff; the content and scope of the training are agreed with you.

Yes. After delivery we keep supplying spare parts and rollers and provide long-term maintenance. When ordering, send the machine model and, for each part, its name, a photo or its number on the wear-parts drawing.

Yes. Rollers for a new size are quoted separately. Send the outside diameter or side length, wall thickness and material of the new size, and the model of the mill it will run on.

Yes. We carry out upgrades of tube mill lines, subject to firm preconditions that need to be discussed and confirmed in detail, and can add entry equipment such as spiral accumulators, uncoilers and shear and butt welders to an existing mill. We can repair equipment we have supplied, but we do not take on repairs of equipment built by other manufacturers: without the original specifications and drawings, it is difficult to repair it properly.

A retrofit needs different information from a new line: whether existing equipment can stay in use, and how it connects, is decided after checking each interface and the condition of the equipment.

Warranty terms are set out in the technical agreement.

Start from what you will produce: list the outside diameters (or square and rectangular sizes), wall thicknesses, materials and output you make most often, choose the smallest model that covers your maximum diameter and maximum wall thickness, then check the line configuration against material, cut length and quality requirements.

The tube mill pages give the round-tube diameter, wall thickness and line speed of each model; if information is incomplete, we can recommend a model from your product list.

Each model covers a range of outside diameters and wall thicknesses; if your sizes span more than one model, two lines are needed. A larger model can also make sizes below its own range, provided they are not far below its smallest size; otherwise setting up the mill becomes very difficult.

Square and rectangular tube can be made. The usual method is to weld a round tube first and shape it into a square or rectangle stand by stand in the sizing section; square and rectangular sizes can share the forming rollers of the round tube with the same perimeter and need only an extra set of sizing rollers. The model pages list the square sizes of each model.

Yes. Stainless grades and sizes are assessed case by case; please mention them in your enquiry.

Carbon steel, galvanized and zinc-aluminium-magnesium (ZAM) coated strip, among others; stainless and high-strength steels are assessed case by case.

In your enquiry, give the material grade with its yield and tensile strength: the stronger the steel, the larger the cylinders of the leveler and the shear and butt welder need to be; motors, frames and roll shafts also need to be strengthened accordingly, and the mill itself may need to be reinforced.

As a theoretical value: for round tube, strip width ≈ outside diameter × 3.14; for square and rectangular tube, ≈ the sum of the four sides. For example, a 2-inch tube has an outside diameter of about 60.3 mm, giving a theoretical width of about 60.3 × 3.14 ≈ 189 mm.

This is a quick estimate only: the actual strip width is set by the roller pass design and is usually slightly smaller, and it is confirmed by trial rolling when a new size is first produced.

Each model has a maximum line speed, given on its model page; the actual speed depends on tube size and wall thickness and is confirmed for your sizes in the technical proposal. If you have special speed requirements, for example a very high-speed mill, please discuss them with us in detail so that the line can be custom-built.

Not necessarily. A spiral accumulator keeps feeding the mill while coils are changed and joined, so the line does not have to stop. Without one, the line stops each time a coil runs out and restarts only after the next coil has been loaded, which seriously reduces productivity. Whether you need one, and how large, depends on the storage length calculated from line speed, the time one coil change and joint takes, and your output.

In the horizontal (disc) accumulator, one main motor turns the disc and the strip is wound on edge in a spiral; it is compact and suits small to medium widths and thinner strip, in diameters of Φ2–6.5 m. The floor-type accumulator has a large storage capacity and suits wide, thick strip and large mills, in diameters of Φ4–20 m. Our engineers choose the type from strip width, thickness, material and line speed.

Yes. Motors and controls are configured for your local supply voltage and frequency, and electrical components can follow your brand requirements, although the quoted price may differ from brand to brand. Please state the voltage, frequency and preferred brands in your enquiry.

The large-diameter YJ-219, YJ-254 and YJ-273 mills cover larger sizes. They are designed and built to order: once an order is placed, our engineer designs the line around your products and plant before it goes into manufacture, and the configuration is set in the technical agreement.