TPi January 2015

Smal l diameter, high precision tubes

It began with “the smallest tube ever made”. . .

most advanced materials in stainless steels, including corrosion resistant austenitic, super austenitic stainless steels as well as nickel, titanium and zirconium alloys, in a range of sizes and cross section shapes to meet specific applications. Seamless and welded products can be manufactured either as straight lengths of tubing or in coils in sizes ranging from under 0.25mm to 38.1mm (0.01" to 1.5") outside diameter. Finished wall thicknesses can be produced from less than 0.05mm to 3.8mm (0.002" to 0.15"). The applications for Superior Tube’s products have a critical nature in common – in many cases failure could cost lives. The company attaches the highest importance to maintaining and demonstrating its commitment to quality; it is ISO 9001 and AS9100 certified, as well as being accredited as NADCAP compliant, and its quality system meets all of the relevant industry-specific regulatory standards. Superior Tube Company, Inc – USA info@superiortube.com www.superiortube.com

hydraulics, instrumentation and engine/ fuel lines.

From its founding in 1934, Superior Tube has been working at the leading edge of tubing technology, manufacturing high-precision, small diameter tubes for industries whose products have changed the world. In its first decade, the company became a major producer of seamless, stainless steel hypodermic needle tubing, contributing to the development of medical practice. It was also granted its first US patent for the design of a cathode component for the thermionic valves on which the radios of the day depended. Superior Tube took advantage of the 1939 New York World’s Fair to demonstrate that it had the capability to meet technological demands beyond those its customers yet required. On display was “the smallest tube ever made” – a tube with a total diameter of just 26/10,000 th of an inch – which Superior Tube had manufactured in order to demonstrate its advanced capabilities. Since then, the company has been involved in a series of world ‘firsts’ – from the Manhattan Project, as a result of which the energy of the atom was first harnessed, to the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine; from the Bell X-1, in which Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier, to the Apollo Project, which put the first man on the moon. As the company celebrates its 80 th anniversary and looks back on its heritage, Superior Tube can also look forward from its position as a manufacturer of precision tubing for safety critical applications across a range of industries where the most exacting performance and reliability requirements are paramount. With a long history of supporting the development of aviation, Superior Tube is involved in some of the largest and most advanced projects in the industry and is a qualified supplier to aerospace companies for both commercial and military aircraft. Applications for the company’s tubing include aircraft

The company’s association with the nuclear industry goes back to the 1930s, when the company supplied the Biochemical Research Foundation with tubes for a cyclotron, a type of atomic particle accelerator, used in early cancer treatment experiments. Since then, the company has been developing and supplying the specialist tubing required for an array of in-core components for the nuclear power industry, including heat exchanger tubes and nuclear control rods. Superior Tube is also a supplier of tubing for the oil and gas industry around the world, including for some of the most hostile downhole conditions. Precision products are manufactured for a range of applications, from chemical injection and hydraulic control lines, to undersea umbilicals. In the medical industry, where everything from strength to weight ratios and microbiological corrosion resistance to fatigue life can be critical, Superior Tube states that it has built up a reputation for the performance of its tubes, which are used for a wide range of applications, including coronary and peripheral stents, heart valve frames and surgical implants. To meet the increasingly stringent requirements of these markets, Superior Tube has developed the capability to work with some of the

Small diameter tubing made by Superior Tube

304 stainless small diameter tube

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January 2015 Tube Products International