Carbon is an element we’re all familiar with, but do you know what carbon steel is? Carbon steel is essentially an alloy steel composed primarily of carbon and iron. This alloy steel can be made into carbon steel pipes and carbon steel pipe fittings（carbon steel pipe tee and other） for use in engineering projects.
Carbon Steel Pipe Types
Carbon Steel Pipes：According to Carbon Content
The main classification method of carbon steel pipes is to control the carbon content.
You can understand it as “iron + controlled carbon content + a small amount of unavoidable impurities”
Below are some common carbon content pipes I have listed. PandaPipe can also customize pipes with different carbon content according to your needs.
- Low Carbon Steel Pipe
Carbon Content: ≤0.3%
Low carbon steel, also known as mild steel, has low strength and hardness, but good ductility and flexibility, making it easy to machine. It is often used in automotive body panels, building structures, nails, bolts, and nuts.
Common grades: ASTM A36 (structural steel), AISI 1008, and AISI 1018
- Medium Carbon Steel Pipe
Carbon Content: 0.3% – 0.6%
Compared to low-carbon steel, medium-carbon steel maintains a certain degree of ductility and toughness while also possessing a certain degree of strength and hardness. While its weldability is somewhat inferior, this can be improved through heat treatment. It is commonly used for mechanical parts such as gears, connecting rods, and shafts.
Common grades: AISI 1030, SAE 1541, AISI 1050
- High Carbon Steel
Carbon Content: 0.6%-1.0%
This type of carbon steel has the highest hardness and strength among carbon steels. However, excessive amounts of carbon make it extremely brittle, with the lowest ductility and toughness, making it difficult to machine. It is commonly used in wear-resistant parts (such as bearing balls), springs, drill bits, saw blades, and more.
PandaPipe is a Chinese low-carbon steel pipe manufacturersspecializing in producing low-carbon steel pipe. We have advanced technology and extensive experience in carbon steel production. If you require custom carbon steel or other types of pipe, please contact us here.
Carbon Steel Pipes：Classification by Manufacturing Process
In addition to classification by carbon content, you can also select the pipes you need according to the manufacturing process
- Seamless carbon steel pipe
Production process: A carbon round tube is perforated to create a hollow core, then formed by rolling or drawing.
This seamless process creates a uniform carbon steel pipe with no weak points or welds, resulting in high pressure-bearing capacity, but at a higher cost. It is widely used in hydraulic transmission systems and aerospace systems. - Welded carbon steel pipe
Welded carbon steel pipe can be further categorized into the following processes:
ERW – fusion of the steel plate edges by electric current heating
LSAW – pre-bending the steel plate edges and welding on both sides with submerged arc welding;
SSAW – spirally coiling the steel strip and welding it with continuous submerged arc welding
HFW – instantaneous fusion of the edges by high-frequency current heating.
Welded carbon steel pipe has significant disadvantages. LASW can result in incomplete fusion and slag inclusions, while SSAW can cause residual stress. However, this process is low-cost and can produce extremely large-diameter pipes. It is widely used in energy transmission systems, construction and structural engineering, and industrial fluid transportation.
Other Classification Methods
We’ve already introduced the two main classifications for carbon steel pipe. There are also other common classifications.
- Classification by standard: Carbon steel can be manufactured to most standards, such as ASTM/ASME (A53, A106), API (5L, 5CT), GB (GB/T 3091, 9711), and EN (EN 10255, 10216-2).
- Classification by wall thickness: Carbon steel can be manufactured in a variety of thicknesses, such as Schedule 40 carbon steel pipe and Schedule 100 carbon steel pipe. PandaPipe can customize the wall thickness of carbon steel pipe to best suit your needs.
English 
Deutsch 
Español 
Português 
Nederlands 
Italiano 
Français 
Русский 
Українська 
العربية 
日本語 
한국어 
Bahasa Indonesia