TPT July 2008

T echnology U pdate

Hydrostatic pipe lining and calibration press

AWS Schäfer Technologie, Germany, manufactures equipment for pipe forming and plate forming from complete solutions to single machines. The company’s hydro- static pipe lining and calibration press, branded HFC 380, is equipped to handle a pipe length of 12.2m. In order to calibrate the inner stainless steel pipe into the outer carbon steel shell, the inner pipe is initially subject to a high internal water pressure over its full length. When contact has been made between the inner lining and the outer shell pipe, the  The AWS Schäfer hydrostatic pipe lining and calibration press

water pressure is further increased, until the inner pipe is forced against the outer shell in a plastic state. The outer shell is also subject to an elastic deformation under such high pressure. The pipe to be calibrated is placed into a two piece tool by an overhead crane. During loading, the bottom tool half travels, by means of a sliding table, into the loading position. Once the pipe is loaded, the table travels back into calibration position. The upper tool half is lowered by means of hydraulic cylinders onto the bottom tool half, so that the pipe is fully enclosed by the two tool halves. The force to hold both tool halves closed must be sufficient to press the longitudinally banana-shaped, oval pipe, into the die. Two axial cylinders equipped with extension rods and sealing heads close the pipe ends hermetically, the two tool halves are mechanically interlocked to counteract the forces created during the calibration operation. The pipe is filled and flushed

 Function events of the machine

with an emulsion, from a tank reservoir, until there is no air left in the pipe. The force transmitted on both ends of the pipe by the axial cylinders is increased automatically by the machines control program, in direct relation to the build up of the internal pressure within the pipe, ensuring a positive end seal during the process. As internal pressure increases, the pipe’s outer surface gradually makes contact with the internal contours of the tool. As soon as full contact is achieved, the internal pressure is raised to the calculated calibration pressure. On completion of calibration the internal pressure is relieved and the axial cylinders are retracted. At the same time, the pipe is almost completely emptied of fluid. The forming liquid is then filtered and recycled back to the reservoir tank. The tool locking system is opened, the upper tool half moves up and the sliding table with the bottom tool half, together with the calibrated pipe, travels to the loading/unloading position. The calibrated pipe is then ready to be unloaded by an overhead crane. To cope with different pipe diameters, the axial cylinder, sealing heads and tools have to be changed accordingly. The internal contours of the tooling have to be changed out to match the required outside diameter of the pipe. The company recommends the use of one basic tool for the proposed pipe diameter range. Dimensions for the basic machine range are between 101.6 Ø x 8.65mm and 610.0 Ø x 25.4mm. AWS Schäfer Technologie GmbH – Germany Fax : +49 2739 87003 10 Email : info@aws-schaefer.de Website : www.apt-stg.de

High definition measurement of small tubes Tube and wire shorter than 500mm are concealed in many common objects, such as precise dental drills made from bent wires, and fuel injector rails in automotive engineering. The quality control of these parts concerns industrial sectors including automotive, electronic, household appliance, construction, furniture, and medical engineering. The inspection of the geometries of these very small, thin tubes and wires is not an easy task. Typically applied metrology is unable to acquire the elements of each individual small part, and even a common gauge check often proves to be unfeasible. Aicon 3D Systems GmbH, Germany, has developed TubeInspect HD as a solution to this problem. The system is based on the technology used in the company’s TubeInspect and TubeInspect S optical 3D tube measuring systems. While these systems are designed to measure tubes of any length, the new TubeInspect HD three-dimensionally inspects short, thin tube and wire with diameters from 1mm to 10mm. The system checks geometric features including bends, length of part, and end-to-end distance, and the measuring field comprises a volume of 450mm x 400mm x 200mm. Accuracy is provided by eight digital cameras positioned close to the workpiece, each having a resolution of 2 megapixels, and the system uses a glass reference that is stable both with respect to shape and temperature. For the determination of the sheath tolerance, the measuring accuracy accounts for +0.025mm. Measuring results, displayed on the provided notebook computer, are available within seconds and are presented in a colour-coded method following a gauge check, enabling the operator to quickly make a decision about the quality of the parts. The dimensions of TubeInspect HD are 700mm x 700mm x 900mm, making it suitable for table-top use, for easy integration into existing production environments. Aicon 3D Systems GmbH – Germany Fax : +49 531 58 000 60 • Email : info@aicon.de • Website : www.aicon3d.com

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J uly 2008

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