TPT November 2011

CONTENTS

V OL 24 N O 6

N OVEMBER /D ECEMBER 2011

78

88

92

Bending

Software

Special feature

Manipulation of a length of tubing of various sizes entails vulnerability: to breakage, wrinkling, scratching, marking, humping, collapse, excessive springback, and link failure, among others. The methods by which these threats are circumvented may vary, but never the results. The sole standard applicable to the finished workpiece is always “bent the best way.” The companies on these pages are some of the best in the world at this difficult task.

The expression “human-machine interface” was once spoken with awe, as the direction and management of a production run of tube and pipe were being moved from the plant floor to a room with windows, high above the action. Now, that interface is taken so much for granted as to have fallen out of the working vocabulary – the universal sign of a rousing success and a vital part of the industry in terms of helping to improve efficiency.

This special feature looks at a bronze alloy pipe that was part of a pump assembly that appeared to be leaking at numerous locations, but close visual inspection found no cracks. An acoustic microscope revealed not only the cracks but also their unusual arrangement. The pipe was filled with water under pressure and observed for leaks. Water soon appeared on the outer surface of the pipe, but it could not be traced to a single leakage point.

99 Experiences gathered in the operation of the 12¾" tube welding plant By Frank Lagac, SMS-Meer GmbH and M Caldonazzo, Arvedi Tubi Acciaio SpA