TPI March 2021

Interview

As we were talking about pressure vessels it might be a point to mention that we can import the whole vessel and the nozzles directly and automatically from Compress. Regarding Industry 4.0 we are a member of the (German now European) Industry Business Network 4.0 association. We are working closely together with our partners for the electronics, PLC and CNC hardware and as well for the plasma (Kjellberg) to get our machines fully Industry 4.0 compatible. What innovations are you planning for the 3D cutting machines over the next few years? Definitely Industry 4.0 will be one of the major points getting stronger and stronger in the next few years. We will see a strong push in the European market for machines with more automated logistics where we are in very good shape thanks to our American Watts Mueller logistic solutions. I think as well that our still relatively small robotic beam profiling business will grow dramatically in the next three years with more models and options becoming available. What are the core values of Müller Opladen when it comes to manufacturing machines? Our core values come from our 100 years of German machine building. These are the same values that resulted in the concept ‘Made in Germany’ becoming a big global brand. First of all our main value is: to keep our word. Never promise more than you can deliver. Fulfill the customer expectations. Keep your delivery times. Deliver a reliable, stable and long-lasting product. Our customers are our partners. When they buy our machine, this is like a marriage, the start of a long-term relation where both parties depend and rely on each other. If there are problems, they will always be treated fairly and with respect as partners and together as partners we always solve the problems. In short: we establish trustful reliable partnerships with confidence.

6. Less errors and re-welding – human errors are eliminated by importing the vessel directly from the 3D CAD system to the CNC machine. 7. Save time and cost in the assembly – marking holes, nozzles and welding positions reduces assembly shop time approx. 20 to 30 per cent. 8. Save valuable floor space – our patented solution with the tilting chuck saves approximately 20 to 30 per cent floor space vs two station solutions. What is the largest diameter vessel profile cutting machine that the company manufactures and installs? Our largest machine is the MO Heavy Duty 4000 for vessels and structural pipes up to 4,000mm (160”) diameter and up to 50 tons weight. But we are a really customer driven company, so, right now we are evaluating together with a customer, who is already happy with one of our 2,000mm (80") machines, to build a giant MO Super Heavy Duty 6000 machine up to 6,000mm diameter. Development never stops and we like to tackle new technical challenges. What are the cutting processes you use for profile cutting vessels and boilers? The same as already mentioned before: state-of-the-art oxyfuel cutting with automatic gas consoles, which adjust the cutting parameters from a database and automatically switch on and off pre-heating torches for best and fastest cuts. State-of-the-art precision plasma power sources with automatic gas consoles for cutting and marking with the same torch. We also supply the machines with needle marking (airscriber) and needle printing systems so you can mark positions and identifications very fast and efficient. Due to the ASME regulations many times plasma marking is not allowed so needle printers are a very good solution. How would you profile cut the vessel heads of the pressure vessel on your machine? The chuck moves hydraulically in less than one minute from the vertical to the horizontal position in order to cut the vessel or pipes for nozzles or the domes. As the 3-jaw chuck is a self-centering system it avoids the time consuming (10- 15 minutes) manual finding of the centre point of the dome that some other solutions require. This is a patented solution, which is used very successfully by our customers in the industry around the globe. How do these machines operate in terms of software? Could they be integrated in a full automated Industry 4.0 factory for example? Our machines work with our state-of-the-art software system 3D Profile PLUS. You import from your 3D CAD drawings into our system (more than 100 importers available) and then using our software you can perform the automatic nesting on the pipes.

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March 2021 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL