New product development keeps Fine Tubes at the forefront of metals innovation

Fine Tubes holds a proud position at the cutting edge of material processing developments for a wide range of sectors including aerospace, medical, chemical process, nuclear, power and oil and gas. The company currently has particular focus on aerospace and defence.

Fine Tubes now has new materials available for cold drawn tubing and is currently attracting new customers with other industry-leading developments. Cold working not only allows the reshaping of metal; it also strengthens it in the process, giving rise to a huge range of potential products that have to perform reliably.

Ronen Day, Managing Director of Fine Tubes commented, “Fine Tubes is continuing to bring brand new materials to existing processes that allow for a wide range of applications. Everything we learn in each of our specialist sectors is carefully analysed for use elsewhere. This approach is currently allowing us to adapt high resistance materials traditionally associated with chemical process to great effect in aerospace design.”

The company is also involved in the development of high pressure hydraulic tubing for the Airbus A350 XWB. The A350 prototypes are currently being manufactured and ground-tested, with first flight testing in the near future. The aircraft is due to go into service in 2014.

In 2006 Fine Tubes became one of the first qualified suppliers for the Airbus A380 hydraulic tubing, producing Ti 3AL/2.5V for the new 5000psi system. Each Airbus A380 uses around 1km of hydraulic tubing and Fine Tubes remains one of the few mills that are qualified to produce this product.

As one of the leading innovators in metal tube fabrication, Fine Tubes is continuing to cater for the future of aerospace by developing tubing solutions in new, higher strength grades of titanium which can offer substantial weight savings compared to the current industry standard.

Extending company quality practices to raw material suppliers is vital to ensure the constant development of brand new materials and their applications, and Fines Tubes prides itself on fostering these working relationships. The world of engineering will always need new solutions to new problems, and the ability to find the exact materials that do just that is the reason Fine Tubes is a globally-recognised company.