Sharp-cornered steel profiles such as rectangular and square tubing are increasing in popularity across both the industrial and architectural landscape. Due to this consistent climb, Stainless Structurals implemented the production of hollow structural steel at our Conroe, Texas facility just a few short years ago. Since putting this into action, there has been a steady growth in the use of these types of profiles spanning over many industries.
Domestic Production of Sharp Cornered Steel Tubing
Over the past several years, the demand for sharp-cornered stainless and carbon steel profiles has grown exponentially. One of the most popular products during that time has been hollow structural steel, primarily for architectural applications. To meet this demand, Stainless Structurals started producing stainless steel square and rectangle tubing in our facility in early 2018. The development did not stop there and the need to produce these same profiles in carbon steel quickly became apparent.
In the summer of 2019, we broke ground on a major plant expansion project. This endeavor would increase our production footprint from 120,000 SQFT to 230,000 SQFT with one of the main goals as additional space for a carbon steel production line. This unit is now up and running and we are producing sharp-cornered hollow structural carbon steel in the great state of Texas. Lead times for structural shapes are only 2 weeks for standard lengths and only 3 weeks for tubing profiles, also in standard lengths.
Applications of Laser-Welded Hollow Structural Steel
The majority of projects requiring sharp-cornered carbon steel tubing profiles are for architectural or structural applications. Both the finish and weld seams of these profiles meet AESS guidelines with primary uses including curtain wall sections, mullion profiles, canopies, stair stringers and more.
In stainless steel, laser-welded square and rectangle tubing profiles are found in architectural and industrial applications as well. Many of the architectural features are the exact same as for carbon steel. This includes projects requiring corrosion resistance or where the design calls for the enhanced aesthetics of stainless steel. The majority of the industrial applications for stainless steel are structural in nature and therefore negate the requirement of contemporary character.
Product Parameters
Our flagship laser-welding technology is the method used in the production of all sharp-cornered stainless and carbon steel profiles. This includes beams, channels, angles, tees, hollow structural steel and a limitless range of custom profiles. Our shapes are available in many of the most commonly used alloys however for stainless steel, 304/L, 316/L and Duplex are the most popular. In Carbon Steel, A36 and Grade 50 will be the most common but we are always happy to explore outside our comfort zone. The manufacturing technique for both stainless and carbon steel sections is the same but we circumvent the possibility of contamination of dissimilar metals by having separately functioning process lines and an enclosed blasting house. The only difference will be the finish. Stainless tubing will have our standard blasted & passivated finish while carbon steel is blasted only. The production profile parameters for our hollow structural steel are:
- Length: 120” – 540” (Standard = 240”)
- Thickness: 3/16” – 1.25”
- Weld Penetration: Full pen up to 5/8”
- H & W: 1″x1” thru 35″x20”; profile dependent
Contact Us Today
We encourage engineers, architects, fabricators and designers to think outside the box. If you have a custom profile that fits these parameters or even comes close, our team is ready to assist with inquiries. We have a variety of options to contact us directly including the website, live chat, email, social media and phone.
