Tube Cutting

Tube cutting produces accurate tube and pipe lengths and end features using saw, laser, or abrasive methods for fabrication-ready components.

Overview

Tube cutting is the process of cutting tube or pipe stock to length and, with some methods, adding end profiles (miters, notches, copes) for fit-up prior to welding or assembly. Common sub-processes include saw cutting for straight cuts, laser tube cutting for complex contours and holes, and abrasive cutting for hard materials or thick walls.

Choose tube cutting when you need repeatable cut lengths, clean fit-up, and predictable downstream welding/fixturing. Laser tube cutting shines for high mix/low to medium volume parts that need tight hole-to-end relationships, accurate miters, or multiple features in one operation.

Tradeoffs center on edge condition, heat effects, and cost. Saw cutting is economical but may leave burrs and less-consistent squareness without secondary facing. Laser cutting adds capability and reduces secondary ops, but introduces a heat-affected zone and may require oxide removal for critical welds. Abrasive cutting handles tough alloys but is slower and can leave a rougher edge.

Common Materials

  • Mild Steel
  • Stainless Steel 304
  • Stainless Steel 316
  • Aluminum 6061
  • DOM Steel Tube
  • 4130 Chromoly

Tolerances

±0.010"

Applications

  • Welded tube frames and chassis rails
  • Handrail and guardrail sections
  • HVAC and process piping spools (cut-to-length)
  • Furniture and architectural tube assemblies
  • Hydraulic tube line segments
  • Tube brackets with copes/miters for weld fit-up

When to Choose Tube Cutting

Tube cutting fits parts made from standard tube/pipe sizes where length control and end geometry drive fit-up quality. It’s a strong choice for prototype through medium-volume fabrication when you want consistent cut ends that minimize rework at welding and assembly. It also works well when multiple tube lengths must be nested and processed efficiently from stock.

vs Tube Bending

Choose tube cutting when the part is primarily straight sections, miters, notches, or end preps rather than controlled radii. Cutting is also the right first step when bent tubes still need accurate trim to length and repeatable end geometry for fixtures and weld joints.

vs Tube Forming

Choose tube cutting when you’re working from commercially available tube/pipe and need discrete lengths and feature cutouts rather than changing the cross-section. Cutting keeps tooling cost low and supports frequent design changes without dedicated forming dies.

vs CNC machining

Choose tube cutting when features are 2D through-wall cuts, notches, and end profiles on thin-wall sections where fixtured machining would be slow and expensive. Laser tube cutting often replaces multiple machining setups by holding feature-to-end relationships directly from the tube datum.

vs Waterjet cutting

Choose tube cutting when you need high throughput on long stock and controlled indexing/rotation for features around the tube. Tube lasers and saws handle length processing and multi-face tube features more efficiently than flattening/fixturing for 2D cutting.

Design Considerations

  • Specify tube/pipe standard (OD, wall, grade, ASTM) and whether it’s tube or pipe (OD/ID conventions differ)
  • Call out the cut reference scheme (overall length, end-to-end, or from a defined datum/feature) to avoid stack-up errors
  • Dimension and tolerance hole-to-end and notch-to-end relationships; these drive fixturing and whether laser is needed
  • Define edge condition requirements (deburr, weld-ready, no dross) and whether post-cut cleaning is required for welding/coating
  • Avoid overly tight length tolerances on saw-cut parts unless you allow secondary facing/squaring operations
  • Provide a clear orientation for rotated features (clocking angle from a datum seam/feature) to prevent assembly misalignment