The thickness of tubular material, usually expressed as "nominal" or "minimum".
wall factor
The ratio of the pipe outside diameter (OD) to its thickness (t) (i.e., OD/t).
wall thickness
The thickness of the material.
wall thinning
The amount of reduction from original wall thickness of pipe or tube to the amount of wall thickness remaining in the extrados of a bend after forming.
wall1
Wall thickness or gauge. Specified in either fractions or decimals of an inch or by a wire gauge number. In the United States, the most common gauge used for tubing is the "Birmingham" iron gauge, designated "BWG".
weld bead
A weld resulting from a weld pass.
weld pass
A single progression of welding or surfacing along a joint or substrate. The result of a pass is a weld bead.
weld squeeze box
The station on a tube mill where the tube is held together with the gap at the 12 o'clock position for welding.
welded tube
A tube that is produced when a strip of metal is formed by a set of rolls into a tubular shape and the edges are welded together, creating a seam that runs the length of the tube.
welded tube mill
A machine that takes a strip of metal and forms, welds, and shapes it into a tube. These machines make up the primary equipment in a tube production facility.
welding
Joining two or more pieces of material by applying heat or pressure, or both, with or without filler material, to produce a localized union through fusion or recrystallization across the interface.
welding torch (arc)
A device used in the gas tungsten and plasma arc welding process to control the position of the electrode, to transfer current to the arc, and to direct the flow of shielding and plasma gas.
wing die
A tool used in press or ram bending that forms the pipe around the ram or bend die.
wiper die
A die mounted on the bender used in rotary draw bending. It is located on the compressive side of the bend, adjacent to the bend die centerline. It supports the intrados and helps prevent it from buckling during bending.
wire EDM
Wire electrical discharge machining (EDM) uses a traveling wire electrode that passes through the workpiece. Wire EDM removes metal with electricity by means of spark erosion.
work roll shaft
The horizontal shaft in a tube mill that holds the tooling necessary to make tubes. The shaft also provides traction and power necessary to move the metal through the tube mill. Also called roll shaft.
