TPT March 2010

T echnology U pdate

Cutting technologies for irregular shaped tubes

SISTEMI Meccanici Industriali Srl (SMI), whose head offices are situated in Varmo, Italy, has been actively involved in the tube processing industry for 30 years, designing and manufacturing a vast range of machines capable of transforming tubes made from copper, aluminium, stainless steel, titanium, cupronickel, bundy, PVC, PE, PPL, PA, steel-wire-reinforced plastics, PVC metal coated, coming from coils into totally worked 3D components. A good quality cut is the first step SMI has taken care of, registering two international patents, elaborating a complex cutting process that involves innovative software and the use of hi-tech metals with specific thermal treatment. SMI’s cutters are capable of cutting tubes using this technology with diameters varying from a minimum of 1mm to a maximum of 40mm. Synthetically, the cutting process starts with a deep groove made all around the circumference using a 38 or 25mm knife that rotates orbitally around the tube; two pneumatic clamps firmly catch the tube on either side of the groove and then separate it by a pull-apart system or a break-off system. The guarantee to achieve a burr-free and chipless cut, maintaining the integrity of the tube’s inside and outside diameter, is obtained thanks to a number of easily adjustable parameters such as the knife’s penetrating speed, the depth of the groove, the cutting advancement speed, the clamping and pull-apart or break- off system, speed and pneumatic power applied.

SMI’s latest research is based on an innovative technology: the orbital cutting of irregular shapes, that has produced some impressive results. This technology has been developed and now introduced into the market with the supply of a completely automatic working cell starting from coiled copper tubes of up to 26.5mm diameter being

transformed into cold-roll-formed T-shaped tubes, which are orbitally cut to the desired length, again without burrs, chips and dust. Sistemi Meccanici Industriali Srl – Italy

Email: info@smisrl.it Website: www.smisrl.it

The SMI pipe cutter guarantees a burr-free and chipless cut

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M arch 2010

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