Centrifugal Casting
Kubota produces tubes using centrifugal casting. Metal is poured into a hollow steel die spinning fast enough to force the metal against the inside surface. The metal freezes very rapidly, from the outside in. This process ensures that all impurities or gases “float” to the inside surface. Once these impurities are removed by machining, the remaining metal is very sound with a very fine grain structure.
Kubota can cast tubes from 2 1/8″ up to 32″ outside diameters. Individual tubes can be cast from 6-15′ long. Most of the tubes produced are made into pressure containing assemblies for fired heaters in the petrochemical industry. These tubes will be pull-bored and beveled for welding in our shop.
Advantages of Centrifugal Casting
Directional solidification, starting from the outer face in contact with the metal mold, realizes a sound cast metal quality, free of cavity and inclusions. The centrifugal force produces a hollow cylindrical product with no wall thickness variations. Another advantage of the centrifugal casting method is that residual stress after casting is minimized because there is nothing to disturb solidification shrinkage.
