TPT March 2011

A utomotive T ube & P ipe M anufacturing

Tube mills for automotive heavy wall products all the component parts of the tube mill need to be designed to cater for the extra loadings caused by these products. This includes the uncoiler, strip accumulator, forming and welding, tooling, internal fin cutting, sizing and cutting to length.

KUSAKABE Electric & Machinery Co, Ltd of Japan develops and improves the design and manufacture of tube mills for the international automotive industry, for the production of heavy wall products. These tubes are used mainly in the suspension and drive train of motor vehicles, and a range of products are required to meet the full range for motorcycles, cars, trucks and industrial engines and machines. The Kusakabe heavy wall automotive tube mills are designed to meet the needs of the automotive sector where drawn tubes or products made from solid bar can be replaced with heavy wall ERW welded tubes at a lower cost. Over a number of years Kusakabe has developed the technology and machinery to produce small diameter, heavy wall tubes for the automotive industry, and has supplied a range of these machines to Japan, Germany, Taiwan, USA and Turkey. To be able to manufacture such tubes,

from the manufacture of aluminium radiator tube to large pipe mills for the oil, gas and structural market sectors. Kusakabe Electric & Machinery Co, Ltd – Japan Fax: +81 78 992 9139

Kusakabe provides a comprehensive range of tube and pipe mills and associated equipment to meet the industry’s needs,

Email: sales@kusakabe.com Website: www.kusakabe.com

Tube mill production

Comfortable car seats with precision tubes

example of co-engineering: the mutual development of a product by two specialised technology partners. Jansen Ltd, Switzerland, supplies a wide range of international customers with high

TOGETHER with the automotive supplier Faurecia, Jansen has developed special precision steel tubes for the rear seat construction of the Audi Q7 SUV. The successfully completed project is a good

quality precision steel tubes. By beginning close collaboration at the earliest stage, it is possible to define the materials and product specifications together with the client. This saves development costs and time, and the time to market-readiness is significantly decreased. The rear seats of the Audi Q7 were developed by Faurecia, one of the most significant automotive supply companies in the world. The rear seat concept in the Q7 offers multiple configuration possibilities. The rear seats can be folded down and stored away as needed so that a flat loading surface up to the front seats is created. For the sub-construction of the rear seats, cold-rolled precision steel tubes from Jansen were delivered in five different sizes. Depending on the type of seat, round, rectangular or flat-oval tubes are used. The definitive forms and models of the steel tubes were developed by Jansen, together with Faurecia. Various grades of steel, wall thicknesses, strengths and elongations were made and tested in the course of prototyping. Jansen Ltd – Switzerland Fax: +41 71 761 22 70 Website: www.jansen.com

Round, rectangular and flat-oval tubes for rear seats in Audi Q7

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M arch 2011

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