Forged Threaded Hex Nipple
The Forged Threaded Hex Nipple is a short forged fitting with male NPT external threads at both ends and a hexagonal centre body between the two threaded sections. The male threads at each end screw into the female-threaded outlets of two separate fittings — such as a valve and a tee, or two couplings — joining them in a straight run with a very short standoff distance. The hex centre body allows a spanner or wrench to be applied at the midpoint of the fitting to tighten or remove it without gripping the threads.
The hex nipple is specified wherever a short, wrench-installable connector is required between two female-threaded fittings — particularly where there is insufficient clearance for a pipe wrench on a plain round nipple. The forged body provides significantly better mechanical integrity at the threaded sections than a cut nipple machined from bar stock, since the forging process aligns the grain structure with the thread profile. Cunimet Alloy International manufactures threaded hex nipples through closed-die forging with both thread ends and the hex centre machined from a single forged blank.