TPT March 2011

T echnology U pdate

In-field tensile tester

Mechanised WeLdinG soLutions

THE new McElroy In-Field Tensile Tester gives contractors and pipeliners the ability to quickly and accurately test high-density polyethylene (HDPE) butt fusion joints in the field. In the past, quality assurance testing of butt fusion joints required cutting part of a completed joint out of a pipeline and sending that test sample to an off-site laboratory. The results of the testing would then take hours or days to return. Another popular testing method, the bend-back test, requires specialised tooling and procedures to be performed safely on thicker pipes. With the In-Field Tensile Tester, a hand-pump system safely tests coupons from pipes sized 2" IPS (63mm) and larger. The In-Field Tensile Tester also incorporates a template that is attached to the pipe to create a coupon through the use of a drill and reciprocating saw. The coupon is then inserted into the hand-pump tensile test unit, which performs a destructive test to qualitatively pass or fail the joint. “The In-Field Tensile Tester is an exciting new product that is generating some buzz because there’s nothing like it on the market,” commented Chip McElroy, president of McElroy. “The appeal of the device is that it is light enough to be loaded into a pickup truck, taken out to the site, tested, with a quick pass or fail determination on the quality of the fusion joints being made.” The device is patent pending, but is available now through McElroy’s distribution network. McElroy – USA Fax: +1 918 831 9256 Email: fusion@mcelroy.com Website: www.mcelroy.com Cutting machine ROLF Schlicht GmbH, Germany, has developed and delivered a cutting machine constructed to the customer’s needs. The flexible plant offers advantages, especially concerning rigid profiles such as scanner strips made of rigid PVC or ABS, where the user is looking to produce quickly and cleanly, without expensive subsequent processing, whether inside or outside the extrusion line. The new machine features a caterpillar in-feeder type RB-600/100, which is equipped with a stop/start or continuous operation, with a sensor system to detect the product, and the possibility to return remaining pieces from the plant. This allows automatic operation in which the only task of the operator is to place the profiles. A pre-warming station cares for the necessary warming-up, so that the cut is performed clean and without white breakage. During a stoppage the pre-warming station automatically runs into a parking position in order to eliminate the risk of over-heating of the profiles. The rotation cutter MC-80 provides a clean, exact cut without burr. Discharge systems convey the cut pieces into

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respective commissioning boxes. Rolf Schlicht GmbH – Germany Email: info@schlicht-gmbh.de Website: www.schlicht-gmbh.de

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M arch 2011

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