Tube and Pipe Fabrication Tech Cell - Articles
Home \ Tube and Pipe Fabrication \ Articles
Tube and Pipe Fabrication Articles
Results: 50
View this Issue |
Material handling in a tube cutting process
A tube is a tube, as most in the industry would declare. But getting that tube from point A to point B isn't a simple proposition. That's why fabricators need to keep in mind key factors when looking to set up a material handling system for a tube...
|
View this Issue |
CNC tube bender provides precise bends for monocoque frames
Industrial Laser Solutions, Atlanta, has carved out a niche as a firm that engineers and develops its own products. During the downturn that followed the financial crisis of 2008, the company decided to take on some additional work, and it found...
|
|
View this Issue |
Conveyor components manufacturer relies on inverse lathe
Mining equipment has to take a beating more so than most other types of industrial equipment. Constant exposure to heat, dust, dirt, and debris means that mining equipment has to be built to last. When the Goodman-Hewitt branch of Joy Global...
|
View this Issue |
Bringing new laser cutting, bending capabilities to market
After getting a start in the handrail business in 1990, Sharpe Fabrication Inc. relaunched itself in 1994 as Sharpe Products and started to offer general fabrication services. Two of the company’s investments, a free-form bender and a...
|
View this Issue |
Tips for buying a second-hand bending machine
The second-hand market can be a good source for a used bender, but buyers must be careful. A thorough evaluation of the bender’s capabilities and condition is necessary before making a purchase. Because modern benders are complex and...
|
View this Issue |
Fabricator trades bend-cut-bend-cut-bend-cut-weld-grind-polish-blend sequence for bend- bend-bend-polish sequence
SF Tube Inc., a fabricator that does a substantial amount of bending, found itself facing a perfect storm—it had quite a bit of manual equipment, it often had to use two or three benders to make a single component, its...
|
|
View this Issue |
The ins and outs of recutting tube
A bit about cutting tube and pipe from an interview with Bruce Benedict and Dave Clarke of Production Tube Cutting.
|
View this Issue |
Troubleshooting the machine before troubleshooting the bend
Bad bends and abnormal tooling wear can result from a number of factors, two of which are worn machine components and work durable tooling. Check these areas first to identify whether your operation is overlooking a hidden problem.
|
View this Issue |
Undertaking the challenge of tube fabrication
The field of aerospace tube fabricating is one marked by difficult-to-form materials and very tight tolerances. As a result, not too many shops are involved in the business. Tube Specialties, Tempe, Ariz., however, has emerged as a go-to shop for...
|
|
View this Issue |
Rethinking rotary processing
Hautau Tube Cutoff Systems LLC turned the lathe concept on its head when it developed a machine that holds tube steady and uses tooling that orbits the workpiece. This concept, coupled with a handful of other innovations developed over the Hautau...
|
|
View this Issue |
Looking for an alternative to conventional swaging?
A fluid-carrying line usually consists of a length of tube or pipe that has a fitting that is either attached at the end of the tube by a conventional swaging method or attached to the tube by welding. A little-known process, elastomeric swaging,...
|
View this Issue |
Guitar-maker branches out with new designs
Editor Eric Lundin visited Gordon Branch, the guitarmaker featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of TPJ, to see what Branch had come up with in the last few months. In addition to a new model, 33 1/3 Degree, made with round tube, Branch had...
|
View this Issue |
Fabricator reduces part handling, improves consistency with combination bender
Full Vision Inc., a manufacturer of components and equipment for the off-road industry, encountered a hurdle in manufacturing roll-over protection systems (ROPS) and falling-object protection structures (FOPS) for its customers. To make a ROPS or...
|
View this Issue |
Tube bending, the lean way
A Wisconsin tube bending shop takes an untraditional approach to the
traditional job schedule--and thrives because of it.
|
View this Issue |
Fabrication automation
Need help dealing with the skilled worker shortage? Eric Lundin, editor of TPJ-The Tube & Pipe Journal, interviewed several automated equipment manufacturers for their perspectives on automation for tube and pipe fabrication.
|
View this Issue |
Better tube bending
This article explains how to examine and alter loading, bending, unloading, and quality checking operations to improve overall bending cycle times.
|
View this Issue |
Assessing the arc
Large-radius bends are used in many places, such as appliance handles and automobile components. For measuring large-radius bends, fabricators have at least three options: go/no-go fixtures, entering the bent part’s measurements into a CAD...
|
View this Issue |
Using ultrasonic energy for drawing tube
In conventional metalforming operations, the main way to reduce friction between the tooling and the workpiece is to apply a lubricant. Another supplementary method, which has been used for decades, is to introduce ultrasonic energy to the...
|
View this Issue |
Fabricating antenna components
Mobile phone systems are mainly electronic, but a fabricated tube plays a critical role—known as a waveguide, this rectangular tube connects the transmitter to the antenna. Precise bending and forming are critical to manufacturing a waveguide...
|
View this Issue |
Hands-off tube finishing
Tube finishing doesn't have to be a manual operation. Centerless grinding can efficiently finish straight tube, and now planetary
grinding machines can aid the finishing of tubes of various shapes,including previously bent workpieces.
|
View this Issue |
Fabricator leaves its competitors in the dust
It wasn't that long ago that Joe Fabiani decided to make a custom exhaust system for his Porsche. A member of the Porsche Club of America (PCA) and racing enthusiast, he soon found himself making exhaust systems for fellow PCA members. That led to...
|
View this Issue |
Holding the dies
There are a few popular ways to affix the clamp die and pressure die to a rotary draw bending machine. All aim to accomplish the same thing: provide precise vertical alignment to the mating bend die and provide rigid support for the...
|
View this Issue |
The “hole” picture in laser tube cutting
Ace Metal Crafts installs a laser tube cutting system with integrated tapping, a system that has shown its strength when producing structural tube. The machine cuts tube shapes, laser cuts holes, and performs tapping all in one setup.
|
View this Issue |
Getting a grip on tube bending
A collet closer, commonly found on CNC or NC tube benders, serves an important role in the bending process. When quality is good, little attention is paid to its operation. When one or more quality parameters fall outside of acceptable...
|
|
View this Issue |
Yearning for learning
When James Castoro founded Custom Aluminum Products in 1960, the company’s premise was simple and concise: It produced aluminum products, mainly storm windows and storm doors. It was a good time to be in the business—the baby boom was in...
|
|
View this Issue |
GTAW electrode selection and preparation
Selecting the right tungsten electrode, and preparing it to match the welding process, aren't just good ideas to maximize welder productivity. They are necessary to prevent weld defects and all the time necessary for troubleshooting and rework.
|
View this Issue |
Tube, pipe cutting equipment - Part II
Lasers have been in use for industrial purposes for decades, and their capabilities continue to develop. Many machines these days can cut sheet and tubular sections, and fabricators are finding that the laser’s programmability really broadens...
|
|
View this Issue |
Ironing the wrinkles out of copper tubing
A wiper die is helpful for making wrinkle-free bends. Understanding how one works can help you decide if you need to use one.
|
View this Issue |
9 questions about tube bending software
Bending simulation software offers a way to improve workshop efficiency. It can save time and money as well as reduce the risk of accidents or damage.
|
View this Issue |
Get the slug out
Punching a hole in a tube is one thing; getting the slug out is something else altogether. Even if most of the slugs exit without a problem, the occasional hanging slug can cause a serious problem. Two methods are mechanical force and air pressure.
|
|
View this Issue |
Tube, pipe cutting equipment - Part I
Tube and pipe cutting advancements include saws that are programmable to cope with varying cross sections and a variety of material hardnesses; a rotary axis for waterjet cutting; and automation.
|
View this Issue |
Tube bending with no straights? No problem
A Wisconsin tube shop invests in an unusual, freeform bending technology that can bend tube sections with no straight sections between bends. Different radii requires no tool changeouts or complex tooling setups. Instead, an operator changes the...
|
View this Issue |
All-electric, multisense tube benders enhance design freedom for OEMs, add flexibility for job shops
Challenged with shorter product life cycles and increased global competition, OEMs and job shops are looking for more flexible design and production equipment. All-electric, multisense tube benders are designed to meet their needs.
|
View this Issue |
The axis of safety
A tube bender can be considered a collection of power presses and, as such, it needs more than just a few conventional barriers between the operator and the machine. Safety mats, interlocked switches, emergency-stop switches, and interlocked side...
|
|
View this Issue |
Cold sawing turned inside out
Cold sawing, widely used for cutting tubes,
pipes, bars, and profiles for decades, has
evolved steadily over time through advances
in materials, coolants, coatings, tooth
forms, and cemented carbides. However, new
tube, pipe, bar, and profile...
|
View this Issue |
Feeding the process
Whether a bending process starts with a cut length of tubular product or a coil, gravitational or torsional forces can lead to unwanted variations in the finished product. In the case of gravity, tube supports can counteract it; for torsion,...
|
View this Issue |
Small components, big plans
Since its start as a supplier of a single fabricated item in 1936, Zeman Manufacturing Co. has expanded its fabricating services to include all manner of cutting, bending, end forming, and finishing processes. In response
to growing competition...
|
View this Issue |
Doing more with less
Loading and unloading tube for fabricating often is a manual process. Because labor rates in the U.S. are higher than those in many other countries, manual loading and unloading isn’t competitive. Using an automatic loader/unloader can change...
|
|
View this Issue |
Selecting the right mandrel and wiper
Tube bender operators could rely on complex mathematical formulas and rules of thumb, but it’s much quicker to use a tooling chart. This sort of chart lists the two main bending criteria, D of bend and wall factor, on the X and Y axis,...
|
View this Issue |
No need for annealing
Tube benders work with unannealed material and deliver better-performing products to customers.
|
View this Issue |
Making a workhorse run
Figure 1
The use of vertical compression benders became widespread in the 1950s. A primary application was forming automotive exhaust pipes in high volumes. Photo courtesy of Pines Technology.
Vertical compression tube benders have...
|
View this Issue |
Manufacturing motorcycle mufflers
Like all manufacturers, Woodsage Industries is always on the lookout for a better way to manufacture the many components it produces for OEMs. It recently devised a way to make one-piece external muffler shells for motorcycles and all-terrain...
|
View this Issue |
Shaping profits with a mandrel extractor
Using a mandrel is helpful for maintaining a tubes profile when bending. Without a mandrel, bending forces tend to distort and flatten tubular workpieces.
|
|
View this Issue |
Manufacturing motorcycle mufflers - Fabricator finds improvement with rotary swaging
Like all manufacturers, Woodsage Industries is always on the lookout for a better way to manufacture the many components it produces for OEMs. It recently devised a way to make one-piece external muffler shells for motorcycles and all-terrain...
|
View this Issue |
To think 'in tube'
A tube laser spurs a shop to think about design and metal fabrication in a new way.
|
|
View this Issue |
Bending nonround tubing
While bending round tube and pipe involves many variables and challenges, the difficulties in bending nonround shapes are more numerous and complicated. Among the most common shapes are square, rectangular, and oval (elliptical and flat-sided)....
|
View this Issue |
Making a 20-degree Marman bead
Two forming methods can make a bead for an airtight seal on a metal tube: rotary (spin) forming and progressive ram forming. Each has advantages and disadvantages in bead profile, cycle time, amount of wall thinning, and so on.
|
|
View this Issue |
Focusing on bent tubing
Measuring the bends and straight sections of a bent tube can be tricky and time-consuming, especially if the tube has a large number of bends in several directions. Photogrammetry, also known as optical measurement, uses a booth equipped with...
|
View this Issue |
Orbital welding technology breaks new ground
Automated orbital welding technology has evolved to the point where one welding system can perform multiple processes and adapt welding parameters in real-time.
|
View this Issue |
Teeing up orbital welding
Two technologies improve the quality and decrease the cost of fabricating high-purity systems, such as those used in the food and beverage, dairy, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor industries. These two techniques are mechanically formed T...
|
