TPT March 2010

S traightening T echnology and E quipment

World’s smallest computer driven tube straightening machine

As the outside diameter of tube gets increasingly small, the difficulty in rotary straightening slowly increases. Historically tubes with outside diameters below 0.080" (2mm) have been extremely difficult to straighten on rotary straightening machines. Tubes less than 0.60" (1.5mm) have been straightened on manually operated devices including a device commonly known as a ‘whizzer’. All such devices have never really been controllable and at best produced inconsistent tube straightness. Over the years, other machinery designers have made unsuccessful attempts at designing a conventional rotary tube straightener to handle tubes down to 0.040" (1mm) tube OD. Makers of stainless steel tubing used in the medical industries have been searching for a machine to precision straighten very small and thin wall tube for many years. Turner, USA, has long been known for design and manufacture of straightening machinery that includes a unique approach or feature. For a number of years Turner has continually reviewed the possibility of adding a miniature precision straightener

to its range. In 2005/6 Turner engineered improvements to two small tube diameter straightening machines made by competitors which resulted in a definitive improvement in their capability. In late 2006, a respected company approached Turner and requested the consideration of the development of a precision straightener to handle high yield, thin wall stainless steel tube down to 0.040" OD. A decision was finally made to proceed with a project to design and develop a fully computer controlled miniature 10 roll precision rotary straightening machine. As a result, the company launched the Turner model 911.25 10 roll Casam I machine with digital tube pressure sensing system. The finished model 911.25 machine was powered up in January 2008 and undertook its first trials. The ability to set roll positions with extreme precision was proven within the first day or two of machine testing. The measurement of the pressure being applied by each pair of rolls with digital tube precision was more accurate than had been expected. It proved to be totally necessary to control

the tube as it was threaded up and run through the machine. The Turner auto-acceleration drive system enables very accurate and easy tube thread-up into the 5 pairs of machine rolls. It also enables the ejection of the tube end from the machine at the end of the fully automatic straightening cycle. The machine is configured with 5 pairs of rolls all driven. The rolls can be adjusted in height and angle as per common practice to enable tubes of different diameters to be accommodated. The roll to tube pressure sensing is accomplished by strain gauges fitted into the base of the machine. Extremely accurate roll RPM’s are achieved by two AC vector drives with unique control that ensures the tube is maintained on the centreline of the machine. The new model 911.25 10 roll Casam I precision straightening machine is capable of straightening tubes from 0.040" (1mm) up to 0.100" (2.5mm). Turner Machine Company Inc – USA Fax: +1 330 332 5871 Email: rpage@turnermachineco.com Website: www.turnermachineco.com

April 2010 • Small Diameter, High Precision Tubes • Coated Pipes & Tubes (internal & external coatings) • Fittings and Flanges Forthcoming features

WORLD PREMIERE Tube cut-off machine, MC3

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July 2010 • Stainless Steel Tubes

TheWorld of Tube& Pipe Products,Materials&Ancillaries

January 2010

• Tube China 2010 • EuroBLECH 2010

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M arch 2010

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Inserat Blech 87x125mm.indd 1

25.02.2010 09:18