TPT March 2010

S traightening T echnology and E quipment

High-quality tube straightening tends to be taken for granted — for the excellent reason that it is granted. State-of-the-art straightening equipment delivers on all the critical assurances: fast entry of basic setups; high throughput speeds; perfect contact between tube and roll; utilisation of the maximum effective roll profile; push-button roll changes; enhanced rigidity; foolproof lift mechanisms; and uniform lengths. In the mature technology of tube straightening, advances year-to-year are best appreciated in the widening variety of applications for the equipment, and the extent to which features requested by clients are incorporated from the design stage onwards. The best of these features will move quickly from special to standard, which means that the purchaser of

equipment for straightening can expect something very close to custom treatment. To the suppliers of the products and services reviewed here, it is all in a year’s work.

Photo: S+C Bowers & Jones Ltd, UK