TPT September 2019

I NDUS T RY

Kusakabe builds state-of-the-ar t pipe mill for Mannesmann factory in Mexico

can be smoothly replaced and adjusted because access to the inside of the safety cover is safe and easy. Kusakabe was founded in 1916 and this year marks its 104 th year in business. The company commenced its involvement with the tube and pipe industry in 1959 and has been continuing its development ever since. Currently, a full range of Kusakabe ERW mills and associated equipment are available for all sectors of the tube and pipe industry. The company is one of the few specialist manufacturers of these mills globally and benefits from an experienced and innovative design team. The high-quality workmanship of the manufacturing and installation teams used for integrated pipe manufacturing systems means that Kusakabe is highly regarded by pipe manufacturers around the world. By processing and assembling at its own factory, Kusakabe can carry out thorough quality control checks, which enables the manufacture of high quality pipe mills. Its research and development of new products has led it to increase its market share in Japan and it now also supplies mills to more than 30 countries around the world. The El Salto plant at MPTM began its production of welded pipes in June 2007. The company employs approximately 150 people and annually produces 18,000 tons of welded pipes and 10,000 tons of welded cold drawn steel pipes. It ships 20 million cut pipes anually. MPTM is strengthening its production, sales, and research systems for high quality pipe for camshafts and stabilisers that mainly contribute to the North American automotive industry. Linked to the recent tightening of environmental regulations, the need for the weight reduction of automobiles is arising all over the world. The demand for important parts using original pipes that meet this need is expanding year by year. Kusakabe Electric & Machinery Co Ltd – Japan Email: sales@kusakabe.com Website: www.kusakabe.com

enables reliable annealing of the welded part, which prevents it from cracking in the accumulator. (2) Forming mill: a high rigidity pipe mill that can handle tensile strength up to 900 MPa and enables the production of high-quality pipes for important parts using boron steel. The improvement of the mill’s reliability and the enhancement of the reproducibility can reduce material cost and overall manufacturing cost. (3) Quick change system: the quick- change system, with stand change carriage, enables stand change in only ten minutes, ensuring maximum production time. (4) Modular sizing stand: a heavy gauge modular sizing stand consisting of three rolls, resulting in space saving, quick roll exchange and the production of high-quality pipes with high OD cor- rection accuracy and high productivity. (5) Press cut-off: double-cut press cut-off enables accurate and high-speed synchronous cutting by servo control. It has a program that can cope with various press cutting speeds and, therefore, the upper blade life can be extended by reducing the pressing speed when cutting high-tensile steel pipes or thick- walled pipes. Furthermore, the blades

KUSAKABE Electric & Machinery Co Ltd has supplied a complete pipe mill for a factory expansion being undertaken by Mannesmann Precision Tubes Mexico, SA de CV (MPTM). The main objective of the new plant is to manufacture steel pipes for automo- biles, and important related parts, that could not be easily procured in Mexico, such as automotive stabilisers using bo- ron steel. The maximum diameter pipe is 76.2mm (3"), the maximum thick- ness is 8mm and the maximum tensile strength is 900 MPa. Kusakabe first introduced a pipe mill to Mannesmann at the Hamm plant in Germany in 2000 and the mill was highly regarded for its long-term reliability. It therefore made sense for the equivalent mill to be fitted at the plant in Mexico. The new pipe mill that was recently introduced to MPTM can be used with materials such as 26MnB5, 34MnB5 and HSLA700, and can manufacture steel pipes for automobiles and important parts such as camshafts and stabilisers. Its main features are: (1) Annealer: a strip joint burner using natural gas is equipped and the burning time management run by timer control

The plant will make tubes for the automobile market

8

www.read-tpt.com

SEPTEMBER 2019