TPT November 2017

T E CHNOLOG Y

Circular saw technology from Framag IN order to keep pace with the increasing demands of the market, many manufacturers of seamless tubes are converting to circular saw technology. Particularly in India, more and more companies are refurbishing or upgrading their production lines. This increases the pressure on international – especially European – competitors. and capacity increased thanks to the high degree of automation; on the other hand, the costs for consumables decrease significantly.

KKS 800 carbide billet sawing machine, the topic of material effects caused by the thermal process of flame cutting is also history for BHEL. The changes in material structure and consequent tube scrappage, which flame cutting necessarily entails, are no longer an issue with circular saw technology, where the cutting is “cold”. Many companies in India have discovered the potential of Framag saw systems and are in the process of retooling their production lines. This is essential if they are not to lose touch in global terms, added Mr Habring: “It’s not the case that modernisation measures only cost money – they can also earn a lot of money in the medium term. If the amortisation period is relatively short, a great deal can be saved and the investment quickly yields economic benefits.” A reduction in production costs is particularly worthwhile in times when price pressure is high. Indian companies like BHEL have already realised this.

One key benefit of the new saws, however, is the low material loss, explained Christian Habring, industrial equipment sales manager at Framag: “With old flame cutting systems the material loss is relatively high, mostly between 10 and 20mm per cut. With the new saws, this loss is reduced significantly by between 5 and 15mm. Depending on the billet diameter, only 3-6mm is lost.” This difference carries weight – it allows either greater output (tube length) to be produced or material costs to be reduced through optimisation of the billet input lengths. The new saw systems also stand up well compared to flame cutting technology in terms of tube scrap: the better quality of cut surface – due to no thermal changes – results in less tubing being wasted. In contrast to the cinders from flame cutting, the swarf created by sawing can either be melted down or resold. With the decision to modernise the production lines and use the new

Framag Industrieanlagenbau spe- cialises in large cold circular saws. The company from Frankenburg in Upper Austria ranks among the most important manufacturers internationally in the field of sawing technology. The quality of Framag systems, the precision Austrian craftsmanship and the customer-orientated solutions are said to be highly regarded in Europe. Manufacturers from India and elsewhere also increasingly count on products from Framag. Recently two KKS 800 carbide billet sawing machines were shipped to India and successfully commissioned. Since then the machines have been utilised in three-shift operation – to the satisfaction of the customer. The company, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), is one of India’s largest mechanical engineering and power station plant builders. BHEL ordered two billet saws, including positioning system and scrap disposal, from Framag for its seamless tube plant. The task for Framag was to refurbish the production line by incorporating the new Framag circular saw technology in place of the old flame cutting technology. The saws were integrated in-line, upstream from the induction ovens. Since customer-orientation is a key element of the Framag philosophy, not only were the new Framag machines automated, but also the customer’s existing equipment, including loading tables, roller conveyors and handling equipment. The potential savings that can be achieved by employing circular saw technology are considerable. On one hand, personnel costs can be reduced

Framag GmbH – Austria Fax: +43 7683 5040 86 Email: sales-st@framag.com Website: www.framag.com

Large cold circular saws frrom Framag

29

www.read-tpt.com

NOVEMBER 2017