TPI January 2009

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20 Tube Products International January 2009
Carbon and stainless steel tubes
TS Steel Pipe & Fittings Srl is an Italian company specialising in the distribution
of carbon and stainless steel tubes for various applications.
Among a wide range of products offered, the company delivers from stock
seamless pipes for water and gas services (EN 10255, EN 10216-1, S195T
and P235TR1). Tubes are produced mainly for use in the machine and building
industries, and are used for liquid, air and gas distribution.
These products are produced according to referenced standards for pressure
pipeline and distribution systems.
TS Steel is a member of Zeleziarne Podbrezova Group, producing and
distributing more than 400,000 tons of steel products per year.
TS Steel Pipe & Fittings Srl – Italy
TS Steel specialises in carbon and stainless steel tubes S S
100% inspection of medical tubing
made of opaque or transparent material
Pixargus develops and manufactures
systems for optical inline measurement
and inspection of plastic and rubber
profiles. Established in 1999 as a spin-
off of the Institute of Plastics Processing
(Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung IKV)
of the Technical University RWTH of
Aachen, Germany, the company
specialises in optical quality control of
extruded products made of plastics and
rubber.
The company has launched the new
Medictube-S system, which captures
even the smallest flaws on the surface
of tubing. The inline inspection system
detects and classifies different defects
such as pimples, bubbles, gel particles,
inclusions or small holes, and is flexibly
adjustable to different materials and
tube diameters. Sections of tubing not
complying with the demanded quality
standards can be cut out.
The system operates with four cameras,
inspecting the tube surfaces completely,
objectively and reproducibly, and
allows the defining of precise quality
standards for medical tubing, main-
taining these standards throughout the
production process, and ensuring that
only completely flawless material is
released for sale.
The captured data is used beyond the
final inspection of the quality assurance
process for optimising the production
process and avoiding defects from
the beginning. For example, trends
in the frequency of occurrence of
surface defects are captured in real
time, so that remedial action can be
taken immediately. The operators can
directly intervene and promptly sort out
defective material.
A special challenge in designing the
inspection system was the fact that
the outside diameters of many tubes
are very small, and defect sizes of less
than one tenth of a millimetre have to be
detected. At the same time, such tubes
are extremely sensitive to mechanical
handling. This had to be taken into
account in the guiding and threading
solution of the system. Pixargus solved
this challenge by providing a C-type
slot at one side of the inspection unit,
enabling the system to be moved into the
production line even after the production
run has started. The use of high-
resolution cameras and a special split
light source make the system capable of
making even the smallest flaws visible
and detecting them reliably.
Björn Lindner, managing director of
Pixargus, commented on the advantages
of the system: “Especially in medical
applications, 100% inspections are an
absolute must. At production speeds
of 50m/min and above, the human eye
is unable to detect extremely small
irregularities, above all in a transparent
material. Also, so-called node monitoring
devices, which used to be employed
in the past, only measure the outside
diameter in two axes. Our new system
inspects every individual millimetre of
tube from all directions. This ensures
that only material of perfect quality is
delivered to the customer. The system
also helps manufacturers to significantly
reduce their production costs.”
Pixargus GmbH – Germany
The tube is illuminated from all directions S S
to make defects visible on the complete
circumference
products &
developments