TPT May 2014

Technology News

Reducing the need for sawblade re-sharpening centres for seamless tube mills

LINSINGER specialises in seamless tube mills and uses its circular sawing machines in combination with the patented LINCUT ® disc miller to help customers save money. Manufacturing of seamless tubes sees the use of both inclined bed circular sawing machines for cutting of steel billets and vertical circular sawing machines for cutting the finished pipes. If a customer opts for the double benefits of the reliable Linsinger machines and tools it is possible to save the expense of an entire re- sharpening centre. The ingenuity lies in the use of the LINCUT ® disc miller with its small, highly developed cutting tips made of coated carbide. In this system, the carbide tips are not soldered but are screwed on to the base body made of tool steel. The individual carbide inserts (ie the saw teeth) can

Cut of an inclined bed sawing machine

then be replaced if required, even by the customer themselves. Linsinger has developed a complete tool changing system for this, right from a screwdriver to a transport cart that greatly simplifies the replacement. The company has also developed special screws that ensure that the cutting plates are securely fixed on to the base body. Thanks to the LINCUT ® system personnel can now replace worn out saw teeth quickly and cost-effectively. After the disassembly of the saw blade, the hard metal plates can be immediately screwed on-site. The transport to a re-sharpening centre or the investment in one for repair and sharpening is no longer required. This means lower downtimes of the machine and increased availability. A circular sawing machine with a standard saw blade experiences a downtime of two per cent every year due to the necessary tool replacement. The LINCUT ® technology now reduces this annual downtime by half, ie a downtime of less than one per cent. For

instance, taking into account an annual production of 600,000 tons, 6,000 more tons of pipes can be manufactured in the same amount of time, which gives rise to a financial benefit of an estimated €6m (in case of a sales price of 1,000 euros per ton). More points that speak for the cost- efficient of LINCUT ® are that the coating of the cutting tips is designed for optimum life time and the base body is very robust. One base body can be used up to 60 times before it needs to be replaced. This means a considerably lower stock of sawing blades being required, thus reducing the procurement, storage and operating costs enormously. All in all, the life time of LINCUT ® tools is up to three times higher than the standard sawing blades, depending on the processed material. The harder the separating steel, the greater the service life advantage is. The high stability and the specially developed geometries of the LINCUT ® tool enable a cutting performance that is up to 25 per cent higher. Thanks to

this, the Linsinger saws never face a bottleneck situation. “This innovation is already state-of-the- art and tried-and-tested. Globally leading seamless tube mills in China and Korea have already switched to it effectively,” said Johann Wolfschwenger, Linsinger sales manager for Asia. With 86 Linsinger carbide circular sawing machines, the LINCUT ® system is already in use globally. The LINCUT ® disc miller system is available exclusively for carbide circular sawing machines from Linsinger. The company has its own tool technology centre in Steyrermühl, Austria, that focuses on further development and research. The on-site experts provide support in LINCUT ® retrofitting and have longstanding know-how in sawing technology. Linsinger Maschinenbau GmbH – Austria Fax: +43 7613 8840 951 Email: maschinenbau@linsinger.com Website: www.linsinger.com

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M ay 2014