TPT January 2016

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Industry News
30 January 2016
Rafter completes RT-2000S tube mill
RAFTER Equipment Corporation has
completed a new RT-2000S HFI tube
mill, ready for shipment to a major
North American aluminised carbon/
stainless steel tube producer. The mill
is designed to produce tubing from 0.5"
OD x 0.038" wall minimum, to 2" OD x
0.12" wall maximum.
The company was awarded the
contract because of the familiarity and
success with the existing Rafter tube
mill.
The customer also appreciated the
company’s willingness to listen to
feedback necessary to improve and
customise the new mill for its particular
application.
The mill includes an improved three-
roll weld box design, a new tandem OD
bead trimmer design, and an improved
turkshead straightener design. The weld
box for this mill was on display at the
company’s stand at the FABTECH show
in Chicago, USA.
Although only contracted to supply the
tube mill, the company worked closely
with the customer to integrate the
directly purchased entry/exit equipment,
HFI welder, mill coolant system, and
high-speed shear cut-off.
Other integrated components in-
cluded the ID scarfing system, weld
seam remetalliser, eddy current NDT
equipment, and rust preventative spray
applicator.
Rafter Equipment Corporation manu-
factures tubemills, pipemills, roll forming
machines, cut-off machines and other
related tube and pipe mill machinery.
Additional services include rebuilding
and upgrading mill equipment.
Rafter Equipment Corp – USA
Fax: +1 440 572 3703
Website:
Metalube opens new laboratory
METALUBE’S new Manchester
laboratory is now fully operational,
having doubled its capacity to 126m².
The purpose-built space is fitted with
specialist furniture and equipment for
solving tough technical challenges.
Along with the new laboratory, Metalube
has invested more than £100,000 in
new equipment to further enhance
development capability. This equipment
includes a Seta 4-ball tester, Mettler
differential scanning calorimeter and
Liebisch Kesternich cabinet, and covers
the key functional properties of friction
and wear, thermal stability and corrosion
protection.
Technical director Chris Nettleship
commented, “As award-winning innova-
tors we needed to update our laboratory
facilities accordingly. We have in recent
years increased our number of chemists
by 25 per cent and the new lab provides
them with a fabulous contemporary 21st
century environment to work from.”
Metalube manufactures a range
of non-ferrous drawing oils and
maintenance lubricants as well as a
variety of corrosion protection and
forming oils. The company has offices in
China, India and Brazil.
Metalube Ltd – UK
Fax: +44 161 775 7511
Email:
Website:
Record-breaking figures
for EMO Milano 2015
EMO MILANO 2015, the exhibition
dedicated to the industry of
manufacturing machine tools, robots
and automation systems, enjoyed a
record-breaking event.
The show registered 155,362 visits
over the six exhibition days from
visitors representing 120 countries.
The international character that is
traditionally a strong feature of EMO
Milano was again in evidence with the
attendance of foreign visitors amounting
to 51 per cent of the total.
Commissioner general Pier Luigi
Streparava said: “These figures confirm
how appealing the Italian venue has
been for the global manufacturing
industry, which met in Milan to discover
and learn about the technological
innovations that will determine the future
of manufacturing production and of work
procedures inside factories.”
EMO Milano also confirmed once
again that it is an event capable of
anticipating new trends by proposing
a focus upon additive manufacturing,
and held an international conference
dedicated to this issue, which was
attended by around 180 people
including researchers, technical
specialists, entrepreneurs and experts.
The presence of European (62 per cent
of the total foreign visitors) and Asian
visitors (32 per cent) was significant this
year and even wider than at the previous
edition of EMO Milano.
Around 4,000 students, accompanied
by teachers and tutors, also took part in
EMO Milano 2015, a traditional meeting
opportunity between schools and the
industry world.
The next edition of EMO Milano will
take place in six years time, from 4 to 9
October 2021.
EMO – Italy
Email:
Website: