TPT January 2011

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62 January 2011 ›
Technology Update
UWIRA Oy, part of Leinolat Group,
manufactures welding products for the
energy, shipbuilding and machine building
sectors. One of Uwira’s special fields is the
production of oil and fuel pipes, as well as
cooling water lines.
The company’s president, Samuli
Kuusisto, stated, “It is very important to react
immediately to customer wishes. Currently,
the most important subject is quality
assurance. As our customers themselves
have to meet increasing quality standards
with their products, we as their supplier
have to meet the strictest quality demands,
too. By procuring the highly-precise tube
measuring system TubeInspect from Aicon,
we are now disposing of state-of-the-art
measuring equipment for inspecting bended
tubes. Thus we are well-prepared for future
demands. Beyond that, with TubeInspect,
we are in the position to document the
measuring results in a traceable way. This
builds confidence in our company.”
TubeInspect, which measures tube
with 16 high resolution digital cameras,
calculates the tube’s geometry within only
a few seconds. The measurement results
are reported in an easily understandable
way, making it clear if the pipe is within or
outside tolerance. At the push of a button,
TubeInspect generates a user-independent
and reproducible measurement report that
can be forwarded to the customer.
However, Uwira faces more than quality
demands. With respect to lead times, the
company sees potential for improvement by
applyingTubeInspect. Mr Kuusisto explained
why: “TubeInspect not only measures the
pipes, but the machine also transfers the
correctional values to our Herber bending
machines. This is particularly useful when
setting up a bending machine for a new tube.
Since TubeInspect provides the correctional
data within only a few seconds, we can set
up the machines in a flash.”
Mr Kuusisto also appreciates the
possibility to measure free-form geometries
with TubeInspect. “After having acquired
Aicon’s measuring system, we are now
the first ones in Finland who are able to
do this. This gives us a true advantage in
competition.”
Aicon 3D Systems GmbH – Germany
Fax: +49 531 58 000 60
Email:
Website:
Uwira Oy – Finland
Fax: +358 6 315 7601
Email:
Website:
Optical measurement system in Finland
Uwira is the first Finnish company to apply
TubeInspect