ASTM A249 304L Square Tubing

[Nick C.]

Good morning,
I have a client that is insisting on receiving square tubing spec'd to ASTM A249 and A269 (304L); they will not accept material to ASTM A554 only. My company produces welded round tube only, so our experience in shaped tube is limited.
From my client, I have the following information:
304 square tube a249 and or a269. Both need some type of weld control to .005
.625 square x .049 w X 10' or 19'
.5 square x .049 w x 10' or 19'
Use: all I know is that they place magnets inside the tube. They would not provide further details on the specific application or environment.

1st question - Do ASTM A249 and A269 apply to anything other than round tube? I don't see any specific references in the specs for shape, but I do not know the reference specs well enough to determine if the shape is limited by them.
If the answer to question 1 is "no", then the rest is moot.
2. If round tube is produced to A249/A269, could it then be formed/drawn into square tubing?

Thank you

 

[libowei111]

1.ASTM A249 and A269 do not restrict their scope to round tubing, but they are implicitly designed and applied to round tubing in practice.
2.Yes, round tubing produced to A249/A269 could be formed or drawn into square tubing, but it risks compromising weld quality and wouldn’t strictly conform to those standards post-forming.

 

[EdStainless]

The only square A249 tube that I ever made was certified as A249, and then turned into cold-drawn-as-drawn square tube.
The final tube did not meet A249 as it was not annealed.
I know of a mill that used to make A249 304L square tube.
They welded round and then shaped square on the mill.
Tubes were banded together in bundles of 9 and run through a bright anneal furnace.
Doing ECT on square tube is a bit iffy, it is very hard to actually meet the test criteria but people do it.

 

[Nick C.]

The only square A249 tube that I ever made was certified as A249, and then turned into cold-drawn-as-drawn square tube.
The final tube did not meet A249 as it was not annealed.
I know of a mill that used to make A249 304L square tube.
They welded round and then shaped square on the mill.
Tubes were banded together in bundles of 9 and run through a bright anneal furnace.
Doing ECT on square tube is a bit iffy, it is very hard to actually meet the test criteria but people do it.

Thank you. While I was searching the forums I've seen your name often and was hoping that you would chime in. Was that mill in East Troy or Warrenville?

 

[EdStainless]

There is no mill at Warrenville, just offices.
This was done at East Troy (a mill that they don't own anymore).

 

[mfgenggear]

there are custom sheet metal tubing manufactures that specialize on tough projects such as this.
tube can be made from sheet metal , formed and welded., welds pass NDT , then draw formed to the desired geometry.
but it will be costly. there will possibility of high scrap rate.
end of the tube can be swaged down, place through a draw die . then pulled through with a mandrel on hydraulic ram. but it is a PITA.
PS the welds are planished to obtain the desired wall thickness.