TPT March 2007

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14 March/April 2007
Industry News
Specialist distributor of tube, pipe and
bar, Van Leeuwen Wheeler has opened a
new sales office at its Middlesbrough, UK
warehouse. Orders for the northeast of
England were previously
handled by the
company’s Bury sales
office, but substantial
growth has prompted the
creation of an additional
office specifically serving
customers in the region.
This development
follows on from the
major 2006 investment
programme in
Middlesbrough, which
saw the reorganisation
of its 100,000ft2
warehousing space and
doubling of its cutting capacity. Last year,
the company also created a dedicated
facility for the fluid power industry, with
the addition of two new cutting machines
Design facility opened at Tube Investments of India
Tube Investments of India Ltd (TII) has established a new engineering design centre
in Chennai, to help progress its new product developments. The design centre will
use state-of-the-art software to simulate tubular forming, hydroforming, expansion and
extrusion operations.
The company designs automotive components using Catia and SolidWorks, with 3D
models subsequently analyzed for stress and strain under static and dynamic loading
conditions. Alternate designs can be offered in order to save weight and reduce the
number of parts while retaining end-performance. These finite element models work on
packages including Ansys, LS-Dyna, and Hyperform.
The design centre has been established
to support new products such as the
company’s formable and weldable
high strength steel tubing. This tubing,
which offers strength levels from 600-
1200Mpa, can be used to manufacture
high strength tubular components
including axles, stabilizer bars and
steering linkages for the auto sector.
This product is the result of the company’s special manufacturing facility for value added
lightweight components, established with the aim of weight and cost reduction for auto
customers. Such components can replace solid bars, forgings/castings and alloy steels,
delivering comparable performance levels.
All TPI tube mills are virtually simulated using Copra FEA tube manufacturing simulation
software, to assist in roll design optimization. The facilities are also fully equipped for
prototype testing under torsion, impact, axial and bending fatigue. The failure analysis
laboratory is also equipped with a Scanning Electron Microscope to analyze endurance
failures.
Tube Products of India – India
Fax: +91 44 2638 3110
Email:
Website:
The design centre has
been established to
support new products
such as high strength
steel tubing
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More expansion for Van Leeuwen Wheeler
fi Van Leeuwen Wheeler’s Middlesbrough warehouse, where expansion of
business has led to a new sales office being opened for customers in the
North East of England