TPT March 2011

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March 2011 117 ›
23-26 May 2011 Moscow, Russia
Bültmann GmbH
Germany
COPPER tubes for sanitary and
industrial purposes require fine-grained
microstructures. The disadvantage of the
widely used production process (casting,
extruding, drawing) is a comparatively large
eccentricity of extruded tubes, which cannot
be completely eliminated by drawing.
Another production process includes
casting thick-walled tubes, peeling the outer
surface, reducing by rolling and drawing.
Due to the heat generated during rolling,
the tubes are soft-annealed. Disadvantages
here are that the annealing conditions are
not controllable, resulting in differing results.
Furthermore, high-priced pierce rolling mills
are mono-plants: dimensional changes
require expensive tools and extended
changeover times.
Bültmann has developed a cast and draw
production process for copper tubes that
displays none of these disadvantages. The
process allows casting of tubes, regardless
of wall thickness. Thin-walled tubes can
be cast and then machined on drum-type
drawing machines, and eccentricity is
claimed to be virtually non existent.
Peeling of the surface is performed by
two methods. Generally it is carried out
using millers or peeling machines. The outer
surface of thin-walled cast tubes, however,
can also be peeled with shaving tools, so
that additional equipment is not required.
Drawing of cast tubes is carried out
on conventional machines such as draw-
benches and drum-type drawing machines,
and annealing or continuous annealing is
used to generate the fine grain structure
required. In furnaces, annealing parameters
can be strictly observed and adjusted.
The individual production steps are
carried out successively and are adjustable
according to the particular conditions,
resulting in consistent quality.
Observing this process, Bültmann
carried out trials with thick-walled cast
tubes, which were drawn with different
reduction parameters and subsequently
annealed. At a certain reduction degree, a
fine-grained result was achieved.
The new cast and draw production
process combines simple, well-known
operations, without requiring expensive,
energy-intensive extrusion presses or
rolling mills.
Fax: +49 2394 18 171
Email:
Website:
Contrôle Mesure Systèmes
France
CONTRÔLE Mesure Systèmes provides
eddy current and ultrasonic solutions and
products all over the world, and is especially
involved in wires and bars, tubes and
pipes, plates and sheets, automotive parts
inspection and nuclear plants.
CMS is able to offer a large range of NDT
equipment and key standard or specific
installations, to provide optimal solutions for
applications in the laboratory, on-site or on
the production line. All systems meet quality
standards such as API, ASTM and DIN, and
can be used on- or off-line.
Tele-maintenance in real time, via
networking, allows CMS technicians to
connect and take remote control of devices,
offering users high quality technical support
with fast response.
Instruments, associated to a full range
of accessories, allow CMS to offer the
best solution corresponding to customers’
eddy current and ultrasonic inspection
requirements.
The company’s eddy current range
includes Zet@ brand mono- or multi-
channel instruments, special software,
high-speed data acquisition systems with
real-time visualisation, and accessories
like rotating heads, rotating systems,
magnetising and demagnetising units, and
eddy current probes and coils for specific
applications and standards.
The ultrasonic range includes the usc-
100 ultrasonic instrument, and immersion
tanks for pipes inspection. The ultrasonic
rotating head for tube inspection is available
in different sizes, from 6 to 130mm, for
internal defect detection and thickness
and diameter measurement. It provides
high precision inspection and accurate
defect detection (5% of wall thickness and
measurement accuracy of ±2µm).
Fax: +33 3 8594 1415
Email:
Website:
Copper tube manufacturing processes