TPT September 2020

T UBE S T RA I GHT EN I NG

Durable marking technologies allow tracking of straightened pipes and tubes

Clarity and contrast are of utmost importance in these applications – barcodes often need to be read from some distance in poor lighting conditions. InfoSight’s Opticode ® was specifically developed and has been refined to improve the readability of barcodes from a distance. Stencil marks are susceptible to damage in handling and processing. Heat treating can completely obliterate the marks. Straightening processes can warp or rub off the mark. Stacking, spinning, and moving the pipes can also cause the marks to rub off. Inside diameter marking is usually accomplished by laser marking. A patch of special white paint or ink is applied inside the tube or pipe. A CO 2 laser is used to blacken the ink to create alphanumeric text, 1D and 2D barcodes, and graphics. Often a clear coat is applied over the final mark to protect it. The product needs to be stationary for this type of marking. Robots are becoming more common in inside diameter laser marking systems (IDLMS) applications as they have a small footprint and their motion can be very fast yet still controllable. Stamped marks can be applied to the outside diameter or ends of pipes and tubes. Stamps can be alphanumeric text or barcodes, especially 2D barcodes. Stampers like InfoSight’s InfoDent ® 8400 create a unique stamp on each piece very quickly. Stamped marks are long lasting but require the appropriate lighting to be read. Products generally need to be stationary to be stamp marked, but the marking cycle time is very short. Stamping the ends of tubes protects the mark from wear and tear during handling and processing and can be read when the tubes are bundled or stacked. InfoSight has been improving mark- ing methods for 30 years, with advance- ments in ink types for brilliance and readability. InfoSight is committed to working with customers to understand and meet their specific marking needs – from surviving production processes to storage to readability in the field.

PIPE and tube marking has evolved greatly over the last 40 years. Beginning with hand written, or hand sten- cilled numbers and letters, to machines that automatically mark 60 to 80 alpha- numeric characters, barcodes and logos. Colour banding is also performed. Both ink marking and dot peen marking of the pipe and tubes at specified loca- tions on the product are now an industry requirement and standard. Traceability has always played amajor role in the industry. The requirement to trace a pipe or tube used on an oil rig or buried underground back to its supplier and further back to the manufactured date continuing back to its casting date and steel composition can be essential to avoiding mistakes. As the ability to automatically mark easily read data becomes more widespread, tracing products from cast to placement becomes more widely expected.

Steel products are used in critical applications throughout the world. The specifications of the steel have a direct impact on the safety of each application. In order to minimise risk in any application, accurate identification of components is necessary. Cradle to grave tracking is about knowing what you have, where it came from, and where it’s supposed to be at all times. Technologies exist today to identify steel almost immediately after casting to ensure the next process gets the correct steel. Tube and pipe tracking can be especially challenging given the variety of processing, handling, storage, and end use for these products. Often regulations like ANSI/ASME A13.1 standards apply that specifically require certain information be included or require specific types of marking at specific locations to be used. Colour banding is simple and effective. Users see colour and recognise its meaning faster than reading the associated words, making colour coding a widely used method of categorisation. For colour banding tubes and pipes, essentially one or more stripes of colour are painted around pipe. This is achieved by using an automated spray nozzle to spray the coloured ink as the pipe spins. Colour banding is typically used to identify types of pipes that can be safely joined. Many tubes are ‘stencil marked’ longitudinally by automatic stencil markers. ‘Stencil’ is somewhat of a misnomer as the marks are generally applied by spray nozzles that create ‘dots’ to form characters or barcodes.

InfoSight www.infosight.com

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SEPTEMBER 2020