General

Rectangualr Hollow Sections (RHS) or Rectangular Steel Tube is available in a variety of grades, finishes and materials.  We stock metric (millimetre or mm) rectangular sizes in a comprehensive range of sizes.  Our steel stores are well stocked in Rectangular Box Sections or RHS tubes available in dual grade or 350 grade mild steel   All of our stocked Rectangular Box Sections (RHS) can be cut to your requirements, and you can take part lengths or cut pieces while only paying for what you need (cutting charges apply).  Our Stores will stock Square Hollow Sections in the manufactured lengths. 

Characteristics

A rectangular tube of steel with a even, consistent finish, with a smooth rounded edge. Most Mild Rectangular Hollow Sections will be a cold formed Electro-Resistance Welded (ERW), producing enhanced strength in the finished rectangle tube.  This welding process will result in a weld seam.  The external weld seam will be scarfed off resulting in a smooth finish on the external face, but the internal weld seam will remain protruding on the internal face of the tube. Several grades of Mild steel RHS may be available and care should be taken if a particular grade is required for your application.

Structurally, Steel Rectangle Hollow Sections (RHS) are a material of choice for columns and posts.  This is due to the higher strengths of the steel rectangular hollow sections are made from resulting in lower weights for the same carrying capacity compared to other profiles and the square flat faces make it easy for construction and fixing to other items with our packing.  You will not have to look far to see Rectangular Hollow Sections (RHS) being used.  Rectangular Hollow Sections (RHS) is popular due to the smooth even finish on the outside faces, most Rectangular Hollow Sections will have no sharp edges and require little clean up after fabrication.  

Common Applications

Our RHS are used for a vast array of applications. Our stock holdings are selected to help you get the RHS you need to get your job done.  Typical RHS applications are:

Structural - Columns and Frames

Mechanical - frames and assemblies

General Engineering

Furniture

Automotive

Trailers and Truck bodies

Marine

Fencing

Rural and Agriculture

Edcon Steel Tips

The stocked length, as well as the sizes (metric or imperial), will vary according to the material grade and size.  The changes in length may be small, however, we recommend customers do their research on the lengths that their selected product comes in.  A small change in the design lengths, can lead to greater product yield and less waste - saving you money.

Fencers and fencing contractors should discuss with our branches their requirements for fence posts.  We stock pre-cut fence posts especially for fencers and we sell hundreds of these every week.  We also have stock of quickset cement to provide a one stop shop for our fencers.  We only stock these pre-cut fence posts sizes in Australian Made 350 or Dual grade AS/NZS1163 material, many other hardware suppliers will supply a cheaper but structurally inferior ERW tube or imported product.  Our customers acknowledge the superior strength and quality of the posts we stock and we are pleased to say these customers have never reported a quality problem to us with our fence posts.

Weld seam is important to any customer who is looking to "Telescope" their Square Box Section.  Telescoping of Square Hollow tube is common to allow parts to sleeve together or to be extendable with one typically smaller RHS sliding inside a larger RHS.  There is a telescoping chart available on our website

Surface Preparation and Coatings

One further important consideration with all tubular construction is surface protection.  All internal surfaces of tubes are not easily accessible (under statement).  This means internal surfaces are not easily coated or painted.   If you are making or getting items made from Square Hollow Section (SHS), Rectangular Hollow Section (RHS) or Circular Hollow Section (CHS) you should take care to ensure there is no way that moisture can enter the insides of your tubes, this will lead to corrosion problems especially in mild steel Hollow sections as there is no surface treatment or rust inhibitors on the inside of these tubes.  For any harsh environment or marine applications (eg. boat trailers) you will need to look at having your steel hot dip galvanised.  Due to the nature of the galvanising process, this is the only way to economically provide surface protection to the outside and inside of hollow steel sections.