TPT July 2010

E xtrusion , D rawing & r EDucing

Boston Matthews introduces new extrusion line for automotive fuel lines

BALLOFFET, France, is one of the largest worldwide manufacturers of a compete range of diamond dies. The company claims to ensure higher productivity, lower maintenance cost, high-quality surface conditions, diameter accuracy, and optimum technical characteristics of tube/pipe and wire/cable. To manufacture tubes on a bullblock, the company advises the use of diamond dies to guarantee consistency of the tube’s final diameter. When manufacturing on drawbenches and wire drawing machines, PCD dies are used for a longer die life and a better return on investment. The Balloffet range includes natural diamond dies from 6µ to 2.5mm, mono- crystalline dies from 6µ to 0.5mm, and poly- crystalline (PCD) dies from 50µ to 28mm. The company also provides compacting, A COMBINATION of over 50 years of extrusion line manufacturing experience together with the incorporation of the latest technology has produced an extrusion line to meet with high demands for quality and performance associated with manufacturing components for the automotive industry. The line is capable of producing fuel lines in accordance with the known automotive industry standards including tube structures, tolerances and polymers (PA, PVDF, PBT, ETFE, EVOH, etc) In addition to producing the necessary accuracy and performance to meet the quality levels required, the new line from Boston Matthews provides manufacturers with such features that allow them to remain competitive in today’s global market. These include complete production flexibility; fast set-up and change-over; energy efficient operation; quick and easy maintenance; and product traceability. Advanced screw design, AC vector and direct-drive technology ensure precision accuracy and maximum energy efficiency at all times as well as providing a clean extrusion operation with maintenance reduced to an absolute minimum. Precision accurate and easy to adjust vacuum calibration and cooling systems ensure the tube is produced to the exact tolerance specification required and with a high quality surface finish. AC flux vector caterpillar haul-off and servo-cutting ensure

precision accurate, clean, swarfless cut lengths are continuously produced. If the fuel lines are required to be coiled then a choice of semi-automatic and fully automatic winding systems are available to meet the exact requirements of the production operation. Understanding the pressures faced by today’s manufacturers Boston Matthews have designed the line so that any routine maintenance required can be quickly and easily undertaken by the operator without the need for dedicated maintenance personnel. This not only reduces (and in some cases eliminates) the need for dedicated maintenance personnel, it ensures the line is only out of production for a minimum amount of time. Sales director Simon Brookes states “The design philosophy behind all Boston Matthews extrusion lines is to satisfy the production demands faced by our customers today and at the centre of that is the ability to be completely flexible and maintain performance at all times.” Boston Matthews Helix Die Head Technology has many essential advantages over ‘alternative’ die head design including the ability to produce mono and multi- layer fuel lines on the same line without any disruption and therefore allowing the manufacturer to benefit from complete production flexibility. Material change over or die head cleaning is very fast

and non-complex and can be undertaken completely in-house and therefore remains under the complete control of the fuel line manufacturer. Automatic Laser Diameter Control Measuring System further ensures tube specification is always adhered to as well as providing assistance during line start-up. Complete PLC control through the SMART system is also available with the Automotive Fuel Line. The SMART colour touch-screen control system allows for simple line operation and quick start- up as well as providing essential tools for the tube manufacturer’s management. Password protection ensures line settings and production security is always controlled and maintained. Production data, including all process variables, is fully accessible and transferable through a variety of means including Ethernet and modem. This allows for production data to be used for product quality analysis, traceability and efficiency reports. Simon Brookes states, “The Smart control system provides the manufacturer with the means to control the extrusion operation as well as the ability to access a large amount of data if required.”

Boston Matthews – UK Fax: +44 1905 763101

Email: sales@bostonmatthews.co.uk Website: www.bostonmatthews.com

Excellence in die technology

Balloffet – France Fax: +33 4 74 35 79 01

stranding and special shape dies, together with extrusion tooling (guides and dies), and repolishing machines and equipment. The ISO 9001-2000 company

Email: balloffet@balloffetdie.com Website: www.balloffetdie.com

offers a range of services including repolishing, training of operators/technicians at Balloffet or at the customer’s plant. Balloffet is a forerunner in manufacturing innovation (drilling, forming, sizing, polishing), and expert product control. Established in 1870, the company has several subsidiaries: Balloffet Die Corporation USA (since 1904), BDWD UK (since 1925), Balloffet GmbH (since 1996), and a worldwide network of agents.

Balloffet manufactures a range of dies, including PCD dies and diamond dies

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J uly 2010

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