If you’re looking for one of the strongest and most durable steel formats for a variety of project types, one of your best bets will be steel tube. Available in a few different shapes and styles, steel tube is one of the single most popular formats of steel or any metal on the market.

At Wasatch Steel, we can help you choose the perfect steel tubing to match the needs you have for your next project. Let’s look at exactly what steel tube is to begin with, plus some of the fields where it’s commonly used and why it’s so valuable in these areas.

Defining Steel Tube

Steel tube, which can be found in a variety of shapes including round, square and rectangular, is a tough and durable steel material. It often includes several potential alloys, such as aluminum, manganese, tungsten or titanium, meaning it’s a very versatile product and can be used in several different industries.

Every single year, millions of tons of steel tubing are produced across the globe. These products can be either welded or seamless – the latter is made by passing molten steel over a piercing rod for a hollow tube, while the former is made by curling a rolling plate and welding the seam together. In addition, modern technology has allowed for the increased strength of seamless tubes; where in the past these were always weaker than their welded counterparts, they’re now often easily strong enough to be used in some of those previous applications.

Our next two sections will go over the two primary areas where steel tube is used: Within the construction and engineering world, and within the automotive industry.

Construction and Engineering Fields

The single most common industry for steel tube is the construction and engineering industry. Both of these utilize huge numbers of hollow structural sections, abbreviated HSS, which is a form of steel tubing. HSS tubing may be found in a variety of shapes, used for a few different important reasons:

• Rectangular: In many cases, rectangular HSS are used to help weld steel frames that are used for loading from various directions.
• Square and circular: These shapes are generally used for columns, plus for a few other important areas.

On top of this, metal scaffolding within the construction world is almost always made from steel, often steel tube. This is because no nuts and bolts are required here and assembly is very easy.

Automotive Industry

In addition, the automotive industry has long drawn from steel tube for several uses. Since the early 1990s, steel tube has been used for everything from suspensions to fuel injection systems, and is even vital for vehicle control systems in many models.

For more on tube steel, or to learn about any of our steel services or buy steel online, speak to the pros at Wasatch Steel today.