TPi July 2015

products & developments

High-performance rubber materials for subsea

years’ experience in rubber moulding. It manufactures precision rubber moulded components, rubber seals and gaskets, and diaphragms to a worldwide customer base. The company offers a complete design service, and production methods that include rubber to metal bonding, and ultra-thin (0.2mm), 3D fibre reinforced mouldings based on the company’s proprietary DFT (dispersed fibre technology), using a combination of injection, compression, transfer and flashless fabrication techniques.

+80°C, 67-73 Shore hardness and compression set up to 14 per cent. In large rubber blocks where greater stiffness is needed, Metflex is able to supply mouldings containing single and multiple metal inserts. “The NRX range of rubber materials are the result of a three-year subsea rubber development programme working closely with the offshore industry,” said Steve Parry, director of development at Metflex. “These new rubber grades are designed to assist engineers in meeting the challenges of long term water immersion, robust handling and rigours of subsea deployment.”

Precision rubber moulding specialist Metflex Ltd has introduced a new range of high performance rubbers designed specifically for demanding subsea applications. Named MetflexSubsea NRX, the API 17 compliant, natural rubber materials are available as moulded shapes for pipeline pigging connectors, protective shielding for HPHT pipelines, and riser and umbilical connection systems. Advantages of natural rubber include high tensile strength, resilience, the ability to absorb dynamic stresses, and abrasion resistance.

Metflex Ltd – UK sales@metflex.co.uk www.metflex.co.uk

Metflex is an established supplier to the offshore industry, and has over 70

The NRX rubbers offer temperature resistance in the range -50 to

Circular saw blades 50 years’ experience in metal cutting circular saw blade production, along with constant technical cooperation with pipe producers and machine manufacturers, enables Stark to offer the high performance Olympic line, fully dedicated to tube cutting applications.

higher tensile strength values, greater tube thickness, and faster production line speed are often required by customers. The range includes Olympic 100, suitable for hard material, cutting with low vibrations; and Olympic 200, suitable for stainless steel cutting. Stark Olympic also includes a range of TCT circular saw blades suitable for orbital cutting machines. For cutting tubes with large dimensions, customers are increasingly using orbital cutting heads equipped with two to four blades. Stark developed a new PVD-coated resharpenable blade with special tooth shape, with the aim of reducing the effort during cutting and to reach a longer tool life. According to the section and the material to be cut, Stark can supply different toothing geometries, specially developed to obtain the highest cutting performance.

The range includes three kinds of blades: HSS circular saw blades; throw-away TCT saw blades; and resharpenable TCT saw blades. The HSS circular saw blade is an alternative to TCT saw blades for tube cutting. Its special steel and PVD coating allow it to be used at the same peripheral speed as TCT circular saw blades. The feed rates in the central area of tube crossing are claimed to be 40 per cent higher than feed rates of TCT saw blades, and so the blade cuts thin tubes 20 per cent faster than TCT saws. It is suitable for carbon steel, alloyed steel with high tensile strength, stainless steel, stainless steel and non- ferrous materials.

Circular saw blades from Stark

Stark SpA – Italy info@starktools.com www.starktools.com

In recent years, tube processing technology has changed greatly. Steel’s

25

www.read-tpi.com

July 2015 Tube Products International