Technology News
60
M
arch
2014
PlasmaANNEALER for small
diameter high precision tubes
PLASMAIT has introduced a new
PlasmaANNEALER for precision, thin-
walled and small diameter tubes. The
annealer can be used for tubes made
of copper, titanium, alloy, stainless
steel and nickel alloy. Plasma improves
annealing speeds on small diameter and
small cross-section tubes and improves
surface quality of the finished tubes.
Plasma annealing can be performed
in-line with tube welding or drawing
substituting multiple lines of a traditional
tube furnace.
The annealer features compact
design, high energy conversion
efficiency and very low gas consumption,
and gives the operator the ability to
target mechanical properties with a
great degree of accuracy. Rapid heating
and reduced time of recrystallisation
results in fine grain size with uniform
crystal structure. This in turn improves
material formability, and its susceptibility
to bending and further drawing.
PlasmaANNEALER can cold start
production in a few minutes and can be
stopped immediately. This avoids the
lengthy heating-up and cooling-down
times and associated energy costs
that are symptomatic of a conventional
furnace.
Ion sputtering on the material surface
results in fine dry surface cleaning and
surface oxide removal, which have
proved beneficial to applications with
demanding surface requirements.
Plasma can also be used for surface
cleaning and degreasing only. This is
performed with PlasmaCLEANER at
temperatures of about 200°C, or higher
if necessary.
Trials on the new line can be performed
at Plasmait’s facility in Austria.
PlasmaANNEALER and Plasma
Cleaner can process different type of
materials used in applications such
as: fine precision tubes, medical
tubes, hydraulic tubes, capillary tubes,
heating element tubes, heat exchanger
tubes, thin-walled tubes, and various
tubes in automotive, aerospace and
instrumentation applications.
Plasmait will exhibit at Tube and wire
Düsseldorf in the Austrian pavilion in
hall 10, stand 10A40.
Plasmait
– Germany
Email:
Website:
Fast phased array system
THE FAAST_II system is a UT phased
array technology fitting with high-speed
testing applications and high in-line
productivity, able to replace more than
ten conventional phased array systems
working in parallel. Its linear pulsing
generator allows the transmission of a
large quantity of ultrasonic beams, at
different allocated angles, in one single
spray.
Tube ends and full body inspections
on line comply with the strictest API
standards for OCTG: longitudinal,
transversal and all oblique notches (½"
long and 5 per cent depth) orientated
every 5° step of the 360°, ie 72 oblique,
ID and OD, with 2D Matrix array probe;
lamination (square ½" at 10 per cent
and 90 per cent, FBH 3.2mm diameter)
and WT with 1D Linear array probes.
The calibration process is quick and
easy, with no mechanical positioning
of the phased array probes according
to tube diameter and thickness range.
All that is required is the loading of the
correct UT setting file.
Fitting of the relevant number of
phased array probes ensures line
productivity is maintained: one 2D
Matrix plus one 1D Linear per tube end
for 300mm inspection equals 80 tubes
per hour; six 2D Matrix plus three 1D
Linear for full body inspection of tube
14m-long equals 30 tubes per hour.
The FAAST_II system with 2D
active surrounding probes for L&T flaw
detection, associated to the E.ROTA-12
patented system for full dimensional
measurement (OD, WT, ECC, ID and
OV) is now available as an option to
rotary heads on linear feeding of high
precision tube lines, with no mechanical
rotating movement for easy and quick
probe positioning and calibration.
Socomate International
– France
Fax: +33 164 636021
Website:
A new PlasmaANNEALER
from Plasmait
