Steel flange manufacturing

Written on 3 June 2020. Posted in Insights.

Steel flange manufacturing: steel flanges are ring-shaped mechanical elements which couple the ends of two pipes together.

This joining of components can take place by welding or by making a mechanical connection whose seal is ensured by a series of bolts arranged radially.

How the processing takes place

The steel flange manufacturing can follow two distinct techniques, namely hot forging or precision casting.

The casting process foresees that the steel is melted and poured into the appropriate mould. The piece thus obtained will have well-finished and regular surfaces.

On the other hand, in hot forging the metal block is brought to a lower temperature than its melting point, but sufficient to make it ductile enough to be forged with a hydraulic press. This process produces aesthetically less finished steel flanges, compared to those made by precision casting, but with superior internal sealing characteristics.

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The pressure exerted by the press during the moulding phase makes it possible to arrange the steel fibres more homogeneously, thus obtaining an overall more compact structure. This eliminates the risk that liquids and gases will infiltrate to the internal surfaces of the fitting albeit microscopically, thus avoiding the accumulation of waste and unwanted leakage.

The piece thus obtained will then be carefully worked and finished to create both the joining elements, i.e. the through-holes that will house the bolts, and the sealing surfaces. This is an extremely delicate phase, as it is necessary to act with the utmost precision and minute tolerances.

All the pieces that come out of the precision workshop are designed using CAD programs with three-dimensional models and made by specialised personnel through the use of lathes and very high-precision numerical control machines.

The extreme care of all the processing phases let us always obtain the highest quality finished product, whether you need a standard steel flange or a special component.

Quality, fields of application and types of flanges

The choice to produce only the highest quality components lets us deal with the steel flange manufacturing that guarantee the highest standards in every field of application.

Whether the order arrives from the naval, petrochemical or pharmaceutical sector, or even for the production of components for high-pressure machinery, we want to be sure that our couplings have a certain quality and safety levels.

In this way, we can guarantee adequate sealing and reliability for each type of joint, by making steel flanges with a collar with high resistance to the flexions caused by the connected pipes, blind flanges to be used for closing the pipes, as well as flat flanges with or without a step in able to guarantee the maximum mechanical resistance in any condition of use.

Materials used in the steel flange manufacturing

The hydraulic fittings that we produce can be used to connect varying pipes, and for numerous different purposes.

Temperature, operating pressure, climatic and environmental conditions, corrosion from external and internal agents to the pipes are all variables to be taken into consideration, during both the design phase and during construction.

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The characteristics of each flange must correspond to its specific field of application. For example, for products that need high resistance to corrosive wear we use Duplex type steels.

These are particularly used in the petrochemical field, where corrosion is always lurking due to environmental conditions and substances that travel in special pipes, the steels belonging to this family offer great ductility, as well as having high mechanical strength.

In the company, we make extensive use not only of the aforementioned Duplex steel but also of the Superduplex with a higher content of nickel, chromium and molybdenum, as well as special alloys such as Inconel and Class HB Hardox, from 400 to 700. We cannot neglect 321 stainless steel, 904L steel for steel flange manufacturing, mechanical and hydraulic components that meet the most stringent quality standards in the sector.