Industrial pipe fittings are used to transition or connect one piping element to another or to a piece of equipment, valve or instrument. This is necessary in order to change size, change direction, or connect to an equipment.

The most common pipe fittings used in industrial applications are:

Pipe Elbows: A pipe fitting that allows a change of direction, usually 90° or 45°.

Pipe Tees: A pipe tee is used to combine two streams. Most common are tees with the same inlet and outlet sizes, but they are also used to connect dissimilar size pipe streams. These are called "reducing tees".

Pipe Cross: A pipe cross connects three streams. It has one inlet and three outlets.

Pipe Caps: A pipe cap covers the end of a pipe.

Pipe Plugs: A pipe plug closes off the end of a pipe. It is similar to a cap but it fits inside the fitting.

Pipe Nipples: A pipe nipple is a short stub of pipe with a connetion to allow a smaller pipe to be connected to a larger pipe or piece of equipment.

Pipe fittings come in many end connections and are rated according to the pressure that they are capable of withstanding. The most common end connections are butt weld, socket weld, threaded, or flanged.