Steel heated and pressed into shape in a die — not cast, not welded: dense, grain-aligned, with no porosity, and a deliberately heavy wall that leaves room for tapered threads or machined sockets. For small-bore high-pressure pipework: instrument taps, drains, vents and sample lines.
State the NB (both sizes if reducing), class, material, connection type and body style — quotes back within 2 working hours.
| Standards | ASME B16.11 · MSS-SP-79/83/95/97 · BS 3799 |
|---|---|
| Range | 1/8″ – 4″ nominal bore |
| Classes | 3000 (3M) & 6000 (6M) stocked · 2000 & 9000 to order |
| Materials | Carbon steel A105 · stainless SS316 (ASTM A182 F316) |
| Connections | Threaded (NPT · BSP parallel on straight items) · socket weld |
| Marking | Trademark · origin · standard · size · class · material · heat number |
Full dimensions per body style are in the catalogues below, as printed — the pipe schedule pairings are on this page.
| At a glance | Class 3000 (3M) | Class 6000 (6M) |
|---|---|---|
| Socket weld | SCH 80 pipe | SCH 160 pipe |
| Threaded | SCH 160 pipe | SCH XXS pipe |
| Character | Standard | Bigger & thicker |
Tapered NPT is the default — male and female wedge together under compression, which is the seal. BSP parallel on straight items only (couplings, nipples, plugs). Removable for maintenance; can weep if not properly made up. The pipe must be threaded.
The plain pipe end drops into a machined recess and is fillet welded around the outside — no thread cutting, stronger, simpler, nothing to loosen under vibration. Permanent: need future disassembly? Put in a three-piece union.
When forged fittings are not the answer: tube (OD work) → compression / ferrule fittings · frequently broken joints → quick release couplings or three-piece unions · hose → JIC fittings · above 4″ NB → flanges.
| Style | Ends | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Straight coupling | Female × female | Joining pipes in line |
| Half coupling | Female (single) | Branch or tapping point on a vessel or header |
| 90° / 45° elbow | Female × female | Directional change |
| 90° / 45° street elbow | Female × male | Direct turn from a male port — no nipple needed |
| Three-way tee | Female ×3 | Flow combining/splitting; branch may reduce |
| Three-piece union | Female × female | A breakable joint for maintenance |
| End cap | Female | Closes a male pipe end |
| Hex plug | Male | Closes a female port |
| Hex nipple | Male × male | Joins two female ports |
| Hex bush | Female × male | Steps a port size up (the reverse of a reducing nipple) |
The two most frequent mix-ups: cap vs plug — the female cap fits over a male end, the male plug screws into a female port; and reducing nipple vs hex bush — the nipple steps the size down, the bush steps it up.
Small-bore high-pressure pipework — below ~2″ NB where flanges are impractical.
High pressure or aggressive media — SS316 for corrosive and high-temperature duty.
Drains, vents and tie-ins at refineries and production facilities.
Pharmaceutical, food & beverage, construction, paper, power plants — primary supplier: Both-Well (Taiwan).
Dimensions and part numbers are in the catalogues, as printed; stock and price are not — send the list and we confirm both.
A pressure class designation — M means thousand. Treat the original psi figure as a label; the actual working pressure comes from the ASME B16.11 pressure-temperature tables for your material at operating temperature.
No. Class 6000 is physically bigger and thicker walled and carries more pressure, but the relationship is not linear. The pipe typically becomes the limit before the fitting does.
A cap is female and fits over a male pipe end; a plug is male and screws into a female port. The most frequent ordering mix-up on the range.
An elbow with female on one leg and male on the other (90° or 45°) — a direct turn from a male port with no nipple: shorter, and one less threaded joint to leak.
Socket weld for permanent joints (simpler, stronger, nothing to loosen under vibration). Threaded if lines must disassemble or no welding is available on site.
No — unmarked means carbon steel A105, the default. Stainless is always stamped “316” or “F316”.
Yes, as a machined special — made to order with a quoted lead time.
Yes — reducing tees, reducing hex nipples and hex bushes. Provide both sizes and the direction: the nipple steps down, the bush steps up.
No porosity, and a grain structure aligned with the shape — forging eliminates the voids where cracks start under high pressure, and produces the heavy wall that threads or sockets need.
Yes — 1/8″–4″ NB in A105 and SS316, class 3000 & 6000, in our regional warehouses in Singapore and Malaysia; out within 24 hours, quotes within 2 working hours.
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