TPT May 2007

Technology Update

Automotive forming lines for power steering cylinder blank tubes

Small diameter thin wall tubes

George A Mitchell Company, USA, has been contracted to design and build two complete lines of forming equipment. This equipment will be used to produce variable wall/variable OD cylinder blank tubes for a major parts supplier to the auto- motive industry. A cylinder blank tube is an integral part of the power steering assembly. Each of the two lines will be capable of producing more than one million parts per year. The unique manufacturing process is carried out by several forming procedures. Mitchell is considered an industry expert in the field of tube push pointing, tube drawing and tubular extrusion. The forming equipment is specifically designed for the purpose and shall be tooled for eleven different parts. One forming system includes four forming stations with an automatic tube lift and carry handling mechanism. A 1,000 gallon pumping unit with a total of 170 HP and eleven Vickers pumps powers the equipment hydraulically.

High Tech Tubes Ltd, UK, supplies high quality, small diameter and thin wall tubes to the aerospace, electronics, instrumentation and medical industries. The company is an independent manufacturer, specialising in producing non-standard tubes with tight tolerances in aluminium, OFHC and DHP copper, brass, cupro-nickel, nickel/nickel alloys and stainless steel. Outside diameters range from 0.25mm/0.01" to 16mm/0.625". The company also produces profile tubes, including square, rectangular, hexagonal, elliptical, oval, triangular and half-round sections. Quality assurance is covered by ISO.9001:2000 and the International Aerospace standard AS.9100:2001. Orbital machines for cutting, bevelling and welding Axxair, France, develops and manufactures orbital machines that allow users to cut, bevel and weld tubes with the same machine. The Global Concept covers all orbital operations applied to tubes, enabling users to make a step-by-step investment. The machines can be equipped according to user requirements, with all relevant training and servicing. For 10 years, the company has offered technology including a large range of cutting machines (with integrated greaser), large diameter capacity per machine, and a single concentric patented clamping system with stainless steel clamps. They also supply a new patented orbital bevelling system with carbide tips, and a single range of welding machines for pre- fabrication. The company’s machines are sold worldwide through a network of qualified Axxair partners, who supply to industries including food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics. High Tech Tubes Ltd – UK Fax : +44 1932 355 441 Email : sales@hightechtubes.co.uk Website : www.hightechtubes.com

› A Mitchell serial PP-677 multistation tubular extrusion system

› A cross section of formed cylinder blank tubes

The extruding stations each utilise specially designed extrusion mandrels and carbide dies, along with linear displacement transducers for programming linear tooling positions. An Allen Bradley PLC along with a human-machine interface operator panel controls the forming cell. The new forming process makes the current procedure obsolete, which utilises multiple vertical presses. The cost savings in the manufacture of the product is achieved through automatic material handling and overall reduction of cold forming operations. The starting tube is welded, annealed and prelubricated, with no intermediate lube required in the Mitchell operation. The total percentage area reduction achieved for certain parts is over 68 per cent. For the past few years, the company has been a leading provider of production equipment for variable wall tubes used in making SUV and truck axles, as well as instrument panel beam tubes and ball bats. New developments are currently underway, with cold forming processes designed for manufacturing utility poles up to 70ft in length and multiple wall furniture leg tubes. Mitchell is also an industry leader in push pointing technology with more than 44 years of machine design and manufacturing experience, with successful installations in 29 countries throughout the world. George A Mitchell Company – USA Fax : +1 330 758 7263 Email : sales@mitchellmachinery.com Website : www.mitchellmachinery.com

Axxair – France Fax : +33 4 75 57 50 80 Email : marketing@axxair.com Website : www.axxair.com

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M ay /J une 2007