All about Pipe bevelling

Pipelines are vital for any fluid transportation. Be it the water supply to our home from a lake located miles away or from one tank to another. But an important thing that concerns in pipe joining is the finish of the pipe edges. Gone are the days when engineers order lengthy pipes and cut it to required lengths. Industries require precision cut pipes and quite a few parameters influence the process of joining two pipe ends.

Majority of the industries use two types of pipe joining concepts. One is the very familiar “joints or elbows” and the other is the pipe welding. Pipe elbows and joints are very common but they have a fair share of glitches. So using them in industries where quality and losses are a strict concern is a bit uncommon. 

Pipe Bevelling is the forming process by which the pipe edges are tapered or bevelled to an angle. Though it might seem a bit insignificant, the advantages are numerous. When it comes to pipe welding, the basic need is to make the weld surface fit for welding. When pipes are bevelled, it becomes easier for the welding process and the strength of the weld increases to a great extent. Pipe bevelling originated as soon as pipe welding originated indicating the need for bevelling.

There are few instances when pipe welds fail to hold fast especially in the cases of liquids. This is due to the poor surface – weld bonding. As important pipe bevelling is, as calculated is the process of pipe bevelling. Traditional pipe manufacturers used even pedestal grinding machines to bevel pipes. Though not a poor concept, it might not yield the required results. A notable flaw in traditional pipe bevelling is the time it takes to bevel. Though it can be justified for few pipes, mass production will result in huge capital losses.

So, the need for pipe bevelling equipment is evident. This is one of the regions where expertise and accuracy needs to be in play. Professional pipe bevellers maintain close cut accuracy without making metal chips hinder the joint efficiency. Another important parameter is the bevel angle i.e. the angle between the perpendicular plane and the bevelled plane. Pipe bevelling might sound a bit easy and insignificant. With the right equipment and practice, bevelling might be easy but it is never insignificant.

As long as pipes need to be welded, pipe bevelling needs to be done. In simpler words, bevelled pipes are more reliable in the longer run when compared to the conventional joined pipes. Pipes and ducts are important to any fluid transportation need so is bevelling for pipe welds. This can be justified by the contact area between two pipes. Since pipes are circular in cross section, regular butt or lap welds will lead to cracks leading to head losses and in worst cases, fluid losses. Hence bevelling is used to increase the weld area, improve the surface smoothness so that the joint becomes strong enough to hold for many years to come.