Most tube mill buyers start with a diameter and a wall, then get stuck when three line families all list the same model name. This guide gives you a repeatable way to pick one line from the six YH machine tables, and a rule for the overlaps.
Step 1: Fix your inputs
Before comparing models, write down two numbers and one grade family.
- Diameter range — both the smallest and the largest pipe you will ever run on this line, not the average.
- Wall range — minimum and maximum. Thin-walled decorative tube and thick-walled pipe rarely share one mill.
- Material — stainless SS201, 202, 304, 316 or 316L coil, or carbon and low-alloy steel.
The YH stainless category spans Φ5 – Φ630 mm and 0.25 – 12.7 mm across SS201, 202, 304, 316 and 316L coil, so a single plant can cover the whole range — but only by splitting it across lines.
This is also why the quote form asks for pipe diameter, wall thickness and material as separate required fields (see the contact page).
Step 2: Put your range on the diameter × wall map
Every row of the six line tables sits somewhere on a grid running from Φ5 to Φ630 mm and 0.25 to 12.7 mm. Reading the tables as one map tells you which line owns your corner.
- Carbon and low-alloy steel: Φ8 – Φ219 mm, 0.5 – 8.0 mm on the HF line. Thirteen mill sizes run from a 25 Mill at Φ8 – 32 mm / 0.5 – 1.5 mm to a 219 Mill at Φ114 – 219 mm / 3.0 – 8.0 mm.
- Stainless, small and mid size: the smart SS, industrial and laser tables cover Φ5 – Φ325 mm, with walls from 0.25 mm up to 8.0 mm.
- Large bore stainless: Φ219 – Φ630 mm, 2.0 – 12.7 mm. The 2.0 mm floor belongs to the YH-100; from the YH-110 up the starting wall rises to 3.0 mm, and from the YH-120 to 4.0 mm.
What this rules out: if your coil is carbon steel, the stainless lines are out regardless of diameter. If your wall is above 8.0 mm, only the large-diameter table goes that thick (YH-110 from 3.0 mm, YH-120 to 12.7 mm).
Step 3: When the model name appears in more than one table
YH-60 is the clearest case. It appears in four tables:
| Table | Pipe Ø (mm) | Wall (mm) | Motor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart SS | Φ50–Φ114 | 1.0–5.0 | 15×3 kW |
| Laser | Φ50.8–Φ114 | 1.0–4.0 | 18.5+18.5 kW |
| Decorative | Φ50.8–Φ114 | 0.7–3.0 | 18.5 kW |
| Industrial | Φ50–Φ114 | 1.0–5.0 | 15+15 kW |
Tie-break rule: decide the line by material and product first, then compare the wall ceiling at the same maximum diameter. If decorative tube is your product and you need walls down to 0.7 mm, the decorative line is the only YH-60 that reaches it.
If you run thicker walls up to 5.0 mm on stainless, smart SS or industrial fit; if the job is laser-welded precision tube and 4.0 mm is enough, the laser table applies.
YH-90 repeats the pattern: decorative Φ114 – Φ219 / 1.5 – 5.0 mm, industrial Φ133 – Φ219 / 1.5 – 7.0 mm, smart SS and laser both Φ133 – Φ219 / 1.0 – 6.0 mm. The lowest diameter floor in that group is 114 mm, so a job that starts at Φ114 needs the decorative table.
YH-100 is different. The smart SS table lists YH-100 at Φ219 – Φ325 / 2.0 – 8.0 mm, and the large-diameter table lists the same name at the same Φ219 – Φ325 / 2.0 – 8.0 mm. Here the diameter does not decide it.
The downstream process does: pipeline tube for the petrochemical or utility market goes with the large-diameter line, while precision industrial tube goes with the smart SS line.
Step 4: Filter by material and product
- Carbon and low-alloy strip → HF. The HF table runs from 100 m/min on the smaller mills down to 40 m/min on the 219 Mill, with HF power from 100 to 800 kW. Details: high frequency tube mill.
- Decorative stainless → decorative line. TIG, plasma or HF welding is chosen per project, and the family covers Φ6 – Φ219 mm and 0.25 – 5.0 mm.
- Industrial or precision stainless → industrial, smart SS or laser. Compare walls: industrial YH-90 reaches 7.0 mm, smart SS and laser stop at 6.0 mm.
- Stainless above Φ325 → large-diameter. The smart SS table ends at Φ325 (YH-100), so diameter above that goes to the large-diameter line: the YH-120 covers Φ325 – Φ426 and the YH-150 covers Φ426 – Φ630.
One tooling note: laser moulds are made to Φ630 mm and HF moulds to Φ711 mm, so every line above can be tooled for the diameter you buy.
Step 5: Footprint and motor check before signing
Line size is not just diameter. The smallest decorative mill, YH-S40, needs 20 × 1.1 m and a single 5.5 kW motor. The largest, YH-150, needs 60 × 5.8 m and two 95 kW motors. Between them, a YH-100 smart SS line asks 45 × 4.3 m, and the laser YH-90 asks 43 × 3 m with 22+30 kW main motors.
Run the check in this order:
- Measure the usable floor length and width — not the hall size.
- Confirm incoming power can carry the motor count (×2 or ×3 means multiple drives).
- Check coil handling and run-out space, which the footprint figure may not include.
If two lines fit your diameter but only one fits your floor, that decides it.
Get a configuration, not a guess
The stainless steel tube mill overview lists every stainless family in one place. Send your diameter range, wall range, material grade and available workshop length through the contact form.
The engineers return a mill model with expected line speed and workshop layout confirmed against your product mix — and if a detail is missing, they ask rather than guess.