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Articles tagged with "tube and pipe"
Results: 49
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Cutting to the chase: ArrayArray
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Sawing? Cool it.: Coolants can extend blade life, improve cut finish, and quicken cut ratesNearly every metal sawing operation can become more cost-effective with a properly mixed and maintained sawing coolant. Proper use of sawing coolant improves cutting rates by balancing the combination of cooling and lubrication of the blade. Quality coolant improves the cut finish and can extend blade life by as much as 20 percent.
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Festivus poles for the rest of us souls: No grievances for Milwaukee fabricator who turns aluminum poles into holiday funThe Wagner Cos. has staked out its position as the world's foremost producer of Festivus poles. Yes, it's the plain pole that Frank Costanza put up in his living room as a rebuke of Christmas' commercialism in a Seinfeld episode in 1997.
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Tube hydroforming for expanded design options: Knowing the capabilities, limitations, and misconceptions is key to understanding hydroforming's potentialHydroforming has become a favored technology for automotive parts because it allows manufacturers to increase a component's strength, reduce its weight, and reduce the number of parts in an assembly. Another important benefit, one that is often overlooked, is the increase in design freedom this technology allows. Engineers and designers must be aware of the factors that restrict design freedom, such as material characteristics and press limitations, and alternatives such as annealing and axial feeding that help work around these limitations.
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Roll forming basicsRoll forming, often called open-section forming, uses successive sets of roller dies to bend a strip of steel progressively until the desired shape is achieved. This process is very similar to traditional tube- and pipemaking, but differs in that it can form more complicated sections.
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A high-flying metal fabricator: Aircraft components supplier takes off in search of new marketsFrom its beginning in 1986 as a machine shop, Custom Tube Products has changed to a fabrication shop. Along the way it has adapted to the skilled worker shortage, mainly by trading in its manual processes for automation.
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Fabricating: Employment or enjoyment?: Making the most of metal doesn't have to be a full-time jobRobert Warnett didn't take many vocational classes in school, never spent much time reading about welding or fabricating, and never had a job in a shop. However, he made quite a few friends in the fabricating industry and made a hobby out of fabricating. Being a hands-on type of guy, he has capitalized on the knowledge and experience he has acquired over the years to do something that many people only dream about doing. He builds custom motorcycles.
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9 Questions About Annular Cutting: A Twist on Tube and Pipe DrillingOne way to avoid dimpling and deburring while making holes in tube and pipe is use annular cutters. Because annular cutters are hollow, there is no dead-zone resistance to overcome. Knowing how to use an annular cutter and what to watch for can help avoid problems and extend tool wear.
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Imagination fabrication: To be a playground equipment fabricator, you gotta have gameBCI Burke, Fond du Lac, Wis., is the oldest playground and park and recreation equipment manufacturer in the country. As the company grew and its product offerings and colors multiplied, it found it needed to address problems with long leadtimes. Burke looked at every possibility for improvement, including processes improvements, inventory organization, manufacturing equipment purchases, and personnel productivity improvements, including crosstraining.
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When a good tube bends bad: ArrayHave you ever started with what you thought was a good tube, ended with a bad bend, and wondered where you took a wrong turn? Correcting for defects requires some detective work, and an understanding of the bending process. This article examines tube defects and offers fixes.
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Understanding how rotary tube and pipe cutting works: Why 25-year-old technology is still aroundInnovations and new developments in rotary tube and pipe cutting, such as high-speed cutting, minimal heat generation, special holding collets, and automatic loading, trim and sorting have reduced or eliminated time required for secondary operation, improved efficiency, and reduced costs.
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Flushing out four-letter words: rust, dirt, and wear: ArrayArray
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Hitting pay dirt -- in pipe: Pipe fabrication, repair companies meet needs in CanadaFabricating and repairing pipe in the oil-rich tar sands of Alberta, Canada, is an enormous, ongoing project that requires specialized equipment to meet a variety of challenges. John Page is a consultant in Canada who has been working on several of these projects and has learned what's needed to get the jobs done.
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Not a one-stock shop: Throwback chopper fabricator relies on skills, not equipment, to create custom bikesAfter years of working in fabricating and machining, Shawn McFadden struck out on his own to start a fabrication shop, which later evolved into a custom motorcycle shop. He doesn’t use the latest CNC machines with digital readouts and other state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. He uses manually controlled machines and ingenuity.
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Flush out four-letter words — rust, dirt, and wear: Part II: Removing soils effectivelyRust, wear, and dirt cost tube fabricators and producers millions of dollars annually, and they can be the bane of tube processes. Analyzing the criteria for selecting the lubricant, cleaner, and rust preventative can help provide maximum protection.
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Cutting tube saw costs: Modern machines, modern bladesToday metal tube sawing technology is light-years ahead of where it was just five years ago. Sawing machine and saw blade advancements—Special-purpose CNC tube-sawing machines, Dynamic ball-screw feed systems, Automatic Blade-changing, Carbide-tipped blades, blade coatings, Thin-kerf Blades, segmented saw Blades, optimize tube cutting.
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French tube fabricator meets volume increase with orbital welding: ArrayCMI Enterprise is a 107-person fabricating shop located in the scenic region of Saint Sylvain D'Anjou, France, serving the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and chemical industries. CMI began experiencing growing pains. For the process equipment and heat exchanger projects, CMI selected orbital welding equipment from Polysoude [U.S. division is Astro Arc Polysoude Inc.]. to increase productivity rates. A welder can make more welds per day because the weld presents a regular geometry without overlay, and requires no secondary operations, such as grinding or cleaning.
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Bridging the challenges: Arizona shop overcomes fabrication obstacles in artistic pipe bridge designA good design doesn't guarantee challenge-free fabrication in the bridge industry, as one fabricator found out. Despite material availability obstacles, stringent welding requirements, and massive pipe cutting needs, Stinger Welding and the design team it worked with pulled off a winning pipe bridge design in six months.
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Selecting a tube end forming method: It's a matter of asking the right questionsFabricators that need to do end forming have many choices. Even after narrowing the process down to using a ram or segmented tooling, choices abound-the tooling can form the ID, the OD, or both; and operation can be manual or CNC. Understanding the processes and their capabilities are the keys to choosing the best one for the application.
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Lasers loom larger in tube, pipe cutting: Ushering in a new era in tube designLaser technology has a new, larger role in cutting tube and pipe. It's suitable not only for niche applications, but also for broader tube cutting applications such as cutoff.
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Luminous aluminum makes light work: Meeting challenges unique to fabricating tubes into light postsHapco Aluminum Pole Products, Abingdon, Va., fabricates aluminum light posts that must be beautiful while standing up to wind, and the forces of nature.
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Turning a machine shop into a fabrication shop: Contract manufacturer rolls with the changesSenior Editor Eric Lundin traces the history of a machine shop-turned-fabricator. Founded in 1984 as Target Boring, the company changed from a machining shop to a fabrication shop when, in 1994, it purchased its first sheet and plate laser cutting system. Now named Target Laser & Machining Inc., it boasts three lasers for sheet and plate (two 2-D machines and one multiaxis machine) and one for cutting tube.
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High-speed cutting, end-finishing -- a means to an end: Fluidity is keyLeading Edge Hydraulics improves tube cutting efficiencies with a high-speed cutter, plus integrated end forming for its fluid power tube manufacturing.
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Tube fabricator bends with industry changes: 3 distinct business changes put Harco Metal Products in a good position for future successAs customers look for ways to add to their bottom-line performance, Harco Metal Products, Tempe, Ariz., has stepped forward with services that make the tube fabricator more valuable to its customer--and harder to replace.
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4 Troubleshooting tips for rotary cutting made easy: Installation, air pressure, blades, and materialFollowing four specific guidelines for operating the rotary cutoff machine can help you avoid making simple mistakes in setup and operation that can cause downtime.
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Top five questions about anodizing architectural tube: Science and nature come togetherAnodizing combines with nature to create one of the world's best metal finishes. It is the process of electrochemically controlling, accelerating, and enhancing oxidation of an aluminum tube, creating a durable, scratch-resistant coating on the surface comparable to a sapphire. Architectural anodize finishes are limited to certain colors, and it is impossible to produce a perfect color match. Perform as much bending and forming as possible before finishing.
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Designing for laser cutting: Fortify your frontline by designing tubular parts to maximize laser’s capabilitiesDesigning for the laser cutting process optimizes what tube fabricators can achieve.
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Machine shop sees the (laser) light: MG Products Inc. learns laser cutting tube complements its CNC machining businessMG Products Inc., Elkhart, Ind., successfully made the transition from a machine shop to a full-scale tube fabricator thanks to the investment in a laser tube cutter.
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From the CAD station to the production floor: Modern programming methods for modern tube bending machinesConventional tube bending data, regardless of format, is entered manually and therefore susceptible to errors. A modern approach involves using a CAD system to generate a STEP file, which the CAD program exports directly to the bending machine. This method is fast and eliminates errors. The drawback is that such a system requires additional database management efforts.
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Reflections on a perfectly symmetric ellipse: Full-time sculptor, part-time fabricator overcomes bending challengeSculptor and fabricator Brett Richards of BR Sculpture, Chicago, got a contract to make a frame for an oval mirror—a length of square tubing bent to a perfect ellipse. Not knowing too much about the vagaries of bending tube, he figured he'd spend a few thousand dollars on a simple bender. After searching for months, he happened to see an elliptical shape made from square tubing in a vendor's booth at FABTECH.
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Serpentine bending in production: Making 180-degree bends quickly, efficientlyBending serpentine profiles—successive 180-degree bends, which typically are used in refrigeration systems—can be a challenge. By their nature, they tend to cause interference among the various bend dies, and they can be difficult to handle. Good planning in selecting a bender, planning the process, and paying close attention to infeed and outfeed options, can help make a serpentine project successful.
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4 sugerencias de solucion de problemas para un corte rotatorio facil: Instalacion, presion del aire, navajas y materialFollowing four specific guidelines for operating the rotary cutoffmachine can help you avoid making simple mistakes in setup andoperation that can cause downtime.
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When a good tube bends bad - Part I: How to Prevent Tube From Taking a Bad TurnHave you ever started with what you thought was a good tube, ended with a bad bend, and wondered where you took a wrong turn? Correcting for defects requires some detective work, and an understanding of the bending process. This article examines tube defects and offers fixes.
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Cutting to the chase: ArrayArray
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The regrind process for tube mill tooling: ArrayAlthough most tube and pipe producers don't get too involved in the regrind process, it is crucial—reconditioning roll tooling can extend its useful life by 15 or 20 times. The regrind process reduces the producer's overall out-of-pocket tooling expenses, while helping to ensure the tooling continues to produce a consistent-quality product at the required speeds. A better understanding of the process, especially familiarity with the types of flaws that reconditioning can and cannot resolve, can go a long way toward a better working relationship between a tube and pipe producer and its regrind contractor.
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When a good tube bends bad: ArrayHave you ever started with what you thought was a good tube, ended with a bad bend, and wondered where you took a wrong turn? Correcting for defects requires some detective work, and an understanding of the bending process. This article examines tube defects and offers fixes.
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Flushing out four-letter words: rust, dirt, and wear: ArrayArray
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Buy it by the pound, sell it by the foot: Process optimization can help tube, pipe producers cut costs one foot at a timeIf you're a tube or pipe producer, you're probably under constant pressure to cut costs. And you probably know that you can reduce your raw material costs by reducing the coil width, within reason, and the change will have little noticeable impact on the final product's quality. However, this doesn't give you license to make wholesale significant width reductions. In fact, you'd probably be better off developing a comprehensive process optimization program and striving for higher efficiency instead of merely cutting costs.
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Troubleshooting OCTG threading: Part I: Detecting and working with stress-induced deformationHigh production threading of tube and pipe for use by the petroleum industry is accomplished using either mechanically actuated or digitally controlled, carbide tooled machines. The most effective way to deal with residual stress is to full body anneal each tube prior to machining; however, this may not be economically possible. One alternative is to limit the amount of energy that the tube is subjected to during machining. An examination of the cutting tools that are used to produce threaded product will reveal how the shape of the insert may affect the deformation of the tube.
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Looking to improve weld seams?: Try fluxes for tube, pipe productionMost tube and pipe producers weld the seam as it is—without additives or fillers—and risk the problems associated with oxidation. A specially formulated brazing flux, in liquid or paste form, dissolves and removes oxides, prevents re-oxidation, and helps transfer weld heat to the seam.
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The regrind process for tube mill tooling - Part I: Inspection and evaluationAlthough most tube and pipe producers don't get too involved in the regrind process, it is crucial—reconditioning roll tooling can extend its useful life by 15 or 20 times. The regrind process reduces the producer's overall out-of-pocket tooling expenses, while helping to ensure the tooling continues to produce a consistent-quality product at the required speeds. A better understanding of the process, especially familiarity with the types of flaws that reconditioning can and cannot resolve, can go a long way toward a better working relationship between a tube and pipe producer and its regrind contractor.
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When a good tube bends bad - Part II: How to prevent tube from taking a bad turnHave you ever started with what you thought was a good tube, ended with a bad bend, and wondered where you took a wrong turn? Correcting for defects requires some detective work, and an understanding of the bending process. This article examines tube defects and offers fixes.
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The regrind process for tube mill tooling - Part II: Machining, inspection, and shippingAlthough most tube and pipe producers don't get too involved in the regrind process, it is crucial—reconditioning roll tooling can extend its useful life by 15 or 20 times. The regrind process reduces the producer's overall out-of-pocket tooling expenses, while helping to ensure the tooling continues to produce a consistent-quality product at the required speeds. A better understanding of the process, especially familiarity with the types of flaws that reconditioning can and cannot resolve, can go a long way toward a better working relationship between a tube and pipe producer and its regrind contractor.
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Vertical SMAW: It's a stick up: 5 tips to get it right when it's needed mostStick welding on vertical surfaces is an important and in-demand skill. Luckily, a few tips can help make a welder a much more valuable resource in the fabricating shop.
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Automation in tube and pipe welding: Robots make sense for many reasonsRobots make a lot of sense for tube and pipe welding. The return on investment for a typical robot system can be seen usually within six to 24 months, depending on the parts, complexity of the system, and learning curve of the manufacturer. Quality improvements are typically seen immediately. In addition, by tracking the process, manufacturers can make changes to improve production time and determine the throughput of the system for accurate part production projections.
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Dam the purge gas and full speed ahead: A look at water-soluble purge dam methodsShielding gas is an often overlooked area of savings in tube and pipe welding. Creating a purge dam in one of several different ways can help you isolate the weld area and minimize the amount of gas and time needed to purge the weld zone properly.
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A review of common nondestructive tests: Assessing each process, its tools, advantages, and disadvantagesFive types of nondestructive testing are common for tube and pipe weld inspection, and each has advantages and disadvantages that may make one more suitable than another for your inspections.
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Fitness equipment manufacturer pumps up: Laser leads the way in cutting flat and tubular partsParamount Fitness Corp., a manufacturer of strength training equipment, used to purchase small quantities of laser-cut parts from outside vendors. Its desire for a laser could not be justified because the quantities of parts were so low. Engineers at TRUMPF worked with Paramount to create special fixtures so that a TC L 2530 sheet metal laser could handle tubular parts. The company soon found the new laser running 10 hours per day, six days a week. In keeping with the company's strategy to reduce direct labor, it soon justified a TUBEMATIC to handle its tubular parts.
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Tube, profile cutting with lightning speed: Laser cutting tube with a rotary axisFor more than 30 years, lasers have been used successfully for flat sheet cutting. Complex 3-D laser cutting is well-established in the automotive industry.
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