Tube Cutting, Particulate Ingress & Wear

When cutting steel or metallic hydraulic tubing, special care must be taken to pellet or clean the tube before fitting it. The video below shows the metallic particulates generated during the cutting process and subsequently recovered through pelleting and microscopic examination.

Tube cutting can produce sharp metal swarf, and fine particulate debris. If not properly removed, these contaminants can enter the hydraulic system, leading to rapid abrasive wear, scoring of precision components, valve malfunction, and premature system failure.