TPT July 2012

Welding

Mill machinery and inspection RAFTER Equipment Corporation manufactures tube and pipe mills, roll forming machines, cut-off machines and other related mill machinery. The company is able to provide equipment for tube sizes from 4.76 to 400mm OD (0.188" to 16"), and has supplied mills using high-frequency induction (HFI), high- frequency contact (HFC), TIG/plasma, and laser welding. Its equipment has been used for the production of mechanical, structural, HSS, energy, API, refrigeration, automotive, appliance, and other tubular products. Rafter has remained busy during the recent economic downturn. The RT-4000 mill is capable of producing energy tubing up to 76.2mm OD x 6.4mm wall (3" x 0.25") with material yield strengths up to 1,000 MPa (150,000 psi). The mill was shipped during the week it was originally promised, and a second duplicate mill is expected to be ordered in early 2012. Last year also brought many mill upgrades – mainly weld squeeze box and turkshead straightener retrofits. Most the upgrades were driven by the customer’s need to produce tubes with heavier wall thicknesses and/or using higher yield strength materials. In 2009 Rafter expanded its offering through an overseas partnership to include uncoilers, levellers, coil end joiners, strip accumulators, flying saw cut-offs and tube bundling and packaging equipment. Although the mechanical portions are manufactured overseas, the electrical and hydraulic portions will be supplied by Rafter from US sources. In addition, after-sales service and support will be handled by Rafter. Rafter also reached an agreement with HKS-Prozesstechnik GmbH (www.hks-prozesstechnik.de) to become the exclusive United States system integrator for its ThermoProfilScanner (TPS) non-destructive weld seam inspection system. The TPS uses a unique ‘lens-less’ thermal imaging sensor to capture the heat profile of the weld seam just after welding. The heat profile is recorded and displayed at the operator’s interface. Recipes for various products can be established based on known thresholds for temperature distribution across the seam, profile symmetry, profile position (ie on or off centre), and maximum temperature. The heat profiles are stored in a database relative to the location within a given tube as determined by a speed input signal. The individual tubes are identified and numbered in the database by using the customer’s existing cut-off signal. Additional parameters such as tube speed and weld power are also recorded. The database can be accessed and backed up to the customer’s existing network via an Ethernet connection. Profiles for individual tubes can be recalled at any time for further inspection making this system ideal for ISO requirements. Originally started in 1917 as a roll forming machine builder, Rafter was purchased, relocated and transformed into a tube mill manufacturer in 1988. Since this time the company has provided nearly 100 tube mills and more than 400 mill accessory upgrades. Its focus is to provide robust equipment that is simple to operate and maintain.

Mechanised WeLdinG & cLaddinG soLutions

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Rafter Equipment Corporation – USA Fax: +1 440 572 3703 Email: sales@rafterequipment.com Website: www.rafterequipment.com

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J uly 2012