TPT January 2008

T echnology U pdate

Ratchet pipe cutter for automobile retro-fitting

cutting wheel gives a long tool-edge life and ensures fast work, while the body of the pipe cutter is made from rugged, easy-care die-cast aluminium. The Dako number 224 ratchet pipe cutter is designed for parting plain steel, stainless steel, copper and aluminium tubes, and is available in two sizes: one for pipe of 16mm to 35mm diameter, and one for 35mm to 66mm diameter, with wall thicknesses from 1.5mm.

The number 224 ratchet pipe cutter from Dako, part of the Gedore group, Germany, is suitable for retro-fitting catalytic converters and soot particle filters, and for replacing parts of vehicle exhaust systems. Depending on the surrounding area, the exhaust simply needs to be pulled down far enough to allow room for the cutter head to rotate around the pipe. No sawing or grinding is required, eliminating the risk of injury to the user and avoiding any possibility of the underside of the vehicle being damaged by sawing or grinding. The cutting produces no swarf, so that no chips or swarf can enter the exhaust system.

› The ratchet tool cuts pipe without sawing or grinding

Gedore Group – Germany Fax : +49 2191 596911 Email : dako@gedore.de Website : www.gedore.de

This can result in a considerable time saving (varying by vehicle type) over conventional methods.

Pipe benders for demanding shipbuilding application Eagle Precision Technologies Ltd, Canada, has designed, manufactured and delivered a CNC pipe bending machine for a shipbuilding application in Asia. The application required the bending of numerous different part shapes on small runs, including the production of a part with a 1.5D bend (109mm bend centreline radius) using 73mm OD x 4mm wall stainless steel pipe.

The ratchet drive of the product features automatic advance of the cutting wheel with every turn, making the cutter easy to use and ensuring optimum results, even in the most inaccessible situations. The special alloy of the

The cut is clean, so new sections of exhaust can be fitted immediately after the pipe has been parted off.

› The Dako no.224 ratchet pipe cutter

Collaring in the automotive industry T-Drill, Finland, a manufacturer of tube processing and chipless tube cutting machines, has reported increased deliveries of its S-54 collaring machines for automotive engine cooling tube, fuel rail and exhaust circulation applications. The T-Drill collaring method provides reliable and easy T-joining of tubes. This is of great importance in automotive applications, where every vehicle is subject to severe

vibrations that can create leaks and other problems with traditionally made T-joining using saddle-adapters or drilled holes. Due to the increased lapping length between extruded collar and branch tube, the lapping joint length is increased by three times. With capillary action, this provides a reliable brazed joint. T-Drill’s extruded outlets are formed only outside the main run tube. This eliminates flow restrictions that are common with other forming operations.

› Eagle’s EPT-150 CNC pipe bender

The challenge was to bend this pipe while meeting the customers exacting requirements for ovality of 8 per cent or less, and wall thinning of 12 per cent or less. This had to be achieved without producing any wrinkles on the inside of the bend, and with minimal scrap. Eagle designed a custom EPT-100 XPH (100mm capacity) CNC hydraulic pipe bender featuring a high torque, robust bend head to handle the high torque requirement of the application. For loading the heavy wall pipe, Eagle reduced the load height of the machine for easier operator handling. A programmable follower was supplied to provide boost assistance to maintain the

T-Drill Oy – Finland Fax : +358 64753 300 Email : sales@t-drill.fi Website : www.t-drill.fi

T-Drill Industries Inc – USA Fax : +1 770 925 3912 Email : t-drill@t-drill.com Website : www.t-drill.com

› T-Drill’s S-54 collaring machines

44 ›

J anuary 2008

www.read-tpt.com