TPT March 2019

T E CHNOLOG Y

T E CHNOLOG Y

Two large heat-treating quench and temper lines purchased from Ajax Tocco Magnethermic

space requirements. In addition to OCTG pipes, Ajax Tocco provides heat-treating quench and temper lines for the coiled tubing industry. These lines typically process ranges from a 1" to 2.875" outer diameter with miles of continuous length in mobile spools. It provides in- line processing within the ERW mill or stand-alone spool-to- spool complete heat-treating solutions. Ajax Tocco Magnethermic ® has extensive design expertise

AJAX Tocco Magnethermic ® has continued to see growth in its OCTG tubular products business, with the announcement that two large induction heat-treating quench and temper lines are to be delivered in 2019. Ajax Tocco is known for providing advanced, custom-engineered solutions for heat-treating quench and temper lines. It has supplied many tube and pipe manufacturers globally with reliable, versatile and efficient induction heat- treating lines over the past 70 years. Its induction pipe heat-treating lines range from two to 42 tons/hr for plain end casing and upset end tubes. Most induction lines are designed to heat a 2.375" to 13.375" outer diameter range with a wall thickness up to 0.5". Common pipe length ranges are between 20 and 50 ft supplied from ERW or seamless forming mills. A 36 ton/hr rated induction line can be arranged in a ‘U-shaped’ configuration of 350 ft in length by 65 ft in width or an ‘in-line’ configuration that is 500 ft in length by 115 ft in width, depending on

The induction heat-treating quench line

operated by major companies in the USA. Both lines are in the 15 to 20 ton/ hr production range, processing upset tubing in-line through multi-frequency scheming technology. These systems incorporate Ajax Tocco’s exclusive water sleeve quenching design, utilising high- volume precision barrels to accomplish uniform metallurgical grain structures as required by API certified tube and pipe. To achieve high quality American Petroleum Institute (API) tube and pipe requirements, uniformity in the heating and quenching process is key. To maintain uniformity Ajax Tocco incorporates a slow-feeding rotating cooling bed at the exit of the tempering zone. The cooling bed is the final key element in the line design and is vital to maintaining straightness after the heat processing. The pipe must be cooled with natural convection until it reaches a critical temperature. Once the pipe is below the critical temperature point, forced air convection is utilised to increase the cooling rates and shorten the cooling bed’s overall required length. By utilising inverter duty motors in its forced air convection fans Ajax Tocco

in all heating applications involving critical coiled tubing lines. The ERW mill includes butt weld annealing, Emmedi MosWeld SiC HFI welders, “quad” seam annealing, and full-body normalising systems. The Ajax Tocco heat-treating line includes induction austenitising, a water quench system and temper process for a complete single-source solution. The two new pipe heat-treating systems will be installed in facilities

Ajax Tocco will deliver two large quench and temper lines in 2019

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MARCH 2019