Immediately after my graduation, my first job was operating a tube mill and since then I have been engaged in various aspects of tube manufacturing for last 47 years. I have been fully engrossed in the fascinating world of tube technology.

Metal tubes, particularly welded steel tubes and pipes are around us everywhere in our day-today life - from ordinary furniture or structural tubes to tubes for critical application in power plants, automobiles and aeroplanes. Tube manufacturing and its further processing involves every important aspect of production technology and industrial engineering. Millions of tons of welded tubes are produced by thousands of tube   manufacturing   units   worldwide.   These   tubes   are   further   processed, manipulated,  fabricated  and  finished  by  large  number  of  units  to  produce components  for  further  use.  Thousand  of  entrepreneurs,  engineers,  technicians, designers, supervisors and operators are involved and engaged in producing tubes and  pipes  in  carbon  steel,  stainless  steel  and  non-ferrous  metals  from  tiny hypodermic needle to large diameter pipes for sewage and water transportation.

Incidentally, I have found that there is hardly any reference book written on welded tube technology encompassing and covering basic aspects of tube manufacturing. Also,  tube  manufacturing  is  not  covered  in  engineering  colleges curriculum extensively.  This  prompted  and  motivated  me  to  bring  out  comprehensive  book covering basic aspects of tube technology which may be helpful to entrepreneurs, technocrats   and   supervisors   in   understanding   various   aspects   of tube manufacturing, equipments, tooling  and raw material.

One  of  my  companies,  DeeTee  Industries  Ltd.  is  supplying  tube  mill tooling  and spares  to  hundreds  of  tube  plants  worldwide.  In  this  connection,  I  had  the  opportunity to meet and interact with various tube manufacturers, mill suppliers and mill engineers which enriched me with practical and theoretical knowledge of welded tube technology. I could collect lot of inputs for this book from my friends who have indepth knowledge in their field.

Majority of the welded tubes manufacturing units produce longitudinally welded carbon  steel  or  stainless  steel  tubes  and  therefore,  I  have  covered  tube  mills/roll tooling  and  welding  technology  extensively  spanning  in  six chapters.  There  are separate  chapters  for  cold  drawn  tubes  and galvanized  tubes  which  are integral parts of welded tubes manufacturing. Operational issues for the  production of good quality tubes are covered in separate chapters on raw material, mill setting, quality 
problems/remedies and inspection/testing of tubes.

I have tried to provide various technical details and recommendations to the best of my knowledge and details / feedback provided by experts in their respective fields. However, there is no guarantee or assurance for the outcome which often depends on implementation of operational practices, process variables and operator's skill.

This book will be beneficial to all who have interest in welded tubes and pipes.