A method disclosed herewith is a method for producing a first seamless metal tube with a first wall thickness and a second seamless metal tube with a second wall thickness by using a three-roll-type inclined rolling mill, and the method includes a first inclination rolling step (#5), a setting changing step (#10), and a second inclination rolling step (#15). At the first inclination rolling step, a first workpiece is rolled by the inclined rolling mill. At the setting changing step, a setup condition of the inclined rolling mill is changed in a manner (a) or (b) as described below. At the second inclined rolling step, a second workpiece is rolled by the inclined rolling mill under the changed condition. (a) When the second wall thickness is smaller than the first wall thickness, the cross angle of each of the inclined rolls is made greater than the cross angle set for the first inclination rolling step. (b) When the second wall thickness is larger than the first wall thickness, the cross angle of each of the inclined rolls is made smaller than the cross angle set for the first inclination rolling step.

A method for producing a tempered, seamlessly hot-rolled steel pipe includes heating a hollow block to forming temperature and rolling the heated block in a rolling mill to form a pipe with a finished diameter after rolling. Subsequently, the pipe is tempered with appropriate tempering parameters after rolling whereby the diameter of the pipe increases during tempering. The finished diameter of the pipe to be tempered after rolling in the rolling mill is adjusted as a function of a value of the growth in diameter of the pipe during tempering.

Provided is a round billet capable of reducing damage on a piercing plug in a method of producing a seamless metal tube with a Mannesmann process. The round billet (5), for use in a seamless metal tube, to be produced into a seamless metal tube with a Mannesmann process includes a body having a hole (6) formed in an axial direction of the body. The hole (6) includes an aperture (6a) opening at least at one end face of the round billet (5), and a tapered portion (61) continued to the aperture (6a) and having a diameter gradually increasing toward the aperture (6a).

A manufacturing method of a seamless metal pipe includes: preparing a plurality of mandrel bars in which lengths of work portions which come into contact with a hollow shell during elongating are different from one another; selecting a mandrel bar including a work portion having a length corresponding to the number of stands used in thickness reduction, among the plurality of mandrel bars; inserting the mandrel bar selected in the selecting into the hollow shell; and performing the elongating on the hollow shell into which the mandrel bar is inserted. Moreover, in the elongating, outer diameter reduction is performed by one of a preceding-stage stand group and a succeeding-stage stand group and the thickness reduction is performed by the other of the preceding-stage stand group and the succeeding-stage stand group, or the thickness reduction is performed by both of the preceding-stage stand group and the succeeding-stage stand group.

Measurement accuracy during determination of the thickness of rolling stock, in particular a rolling strip or a metal plate, is remotely measured using a base measurement value for the thickness obtained by a radiation measurement system having a radiation source and a radiation detector, both carried by a holding mechanism. A reference measurement value for the thickness is measured by an ultrasonic measurement head that is likewise arranged on the holding mechanism. The reference measurement value is used to eliminate the influence of errors on the base measurement value.

A manufacturing method of a seamless metal pipe includes determining whether a preceding-stage stand group is used in outer diameter reduction or in thickness reduction of a hollow shell; and performing elongating on the hollow shell, into which a mandrel bar is inserted, based on the determination. In addition, in the elongating, when the preceding-stage stand group is used in the outer diameter reduction, the hollow shell is rolled in a state where an inner surface of the hollow shell does not come into contact with the mandrel bar in the preceding-stage stand group, and the hollow shell is rolled in a state where the inner surface of the hollow shell comes into contact with the mandrel bar in the succeeding-stage stand group.