TPi May 2018

products & developments

Reika reports strong growth in automotive High precision at low production costs is the combination that Reika aims for, while also looking to set high standards when cutting precision steel tubes for automotive applications. To match the customer’s precise requirements the line is tailored to two tube sizes. These different tubes and blank geometries can be switched to two subsequent press lines and processed fully automatically without any operator intervention.

There is another way to address this problem: taking pictures of the defects that are detected by ET. This leads to another problem: a very precise synchronisation between the image and the signal is required at high instant speeds. With recent advances in image capture technologies and ISEND ET solutions this is now possible. The acquisition rates of ISEND’s HOTdiscover family of solutions, which is a technology for obtaining and synchronising the images, have allowed the creation of a new system called EDDYeyes that combines both technologies. This allows the user to take real-time images of every defect detected by eddy current, which offers invaluable detection information for the user. Since the precision tubes are processed dry, without any coolant and without any saw chips, cleaning after the cutting process is not necessary. Because the costs of compressed air are still underestimated, and not allocated to the individual machine in the production plants, the automotive industry once again has played a pioneering role in terms of operating- cost analysis. On the other hand, the tool cost during cutting, either with carbide inserts or roller blades, is lower than during the sawing process, especially when working with carbide saws. Case studies have shown a significant cost saving over the course of a year. Reika states that the combination of chiplessandchip-formingcuttingonone machine is unique and the basis for the machine’shigh flexibilityatminimumtool cost. Reika GmbH & Co KG – Germany www.reika.de

For a long time non-destructive testing (NDT) methods have been used for the detection of surface defects in hot rolled long products. It is a complex discipline due to production conditions such as speed, temperature and environmental contamination. Eddy current testing (ET) is reliable, accurate and widely used for the task. However it has a problem: the electromagnetic signals are difficult to understand, and it is difficult to create virtual images. Therefore its main use is orientated to a classification of the coils by statistical criteria based on a combination of measurable elements such as the number of defects per unit of length or the amplitude of the signals they produce (usually related to the severity of the defects). Once the clients have reached an The two largest German automotive groups – and various automotive suppliers – have benefited from this philosophy in a number of ways. For new constant velocity joint (CVJ) blank production, the world’s largest car manufacturer secured a new Reika high-speed cutting line. Four Reika lines have already been working successfully for many years at the customer’s factory. With the fifth machine, there will be a total production capacity in the facility of 100,000 pcs/day. The new compact line 224/324 is a custom-made product, precisely manufacturing the cage blanks to the micrometre (part standard length deviation: 2.2 my) with integrated end processing.

optimum sorting procedure, their priority moves to the identification of the types of defects, with the aim of avoiding critical flaws for specific customers. The ideal solution is correlating and characterising the different types of defects depending on the electromagnetic signal they produce, but this comes with an even bigger problem: it is extremely difficult to physically locate a defect in a coil of several kilometres, then measure its position accurately and locate the signal it produced in the detector. The easier way, and probably the only possible way with current technology, is to analyse the coil rings that are visible and that always coincide with the tail of the same. However, the tail is a special area in which the behaviour of the detectors and the material is different from the rest of the coil. Trying to characterise defects in tails can have disappointing results. Thanks to the automatic tool changer in the finishing process and a tailor- made clamping system, which allows optimum clamping force without any surface scratches of both tube diameters, there are no time- and cost- intensive changeover processes. Powerful wide-range motor spindles are equipped with intelligent process monitoring so important information, such as tool wear, is transmitted to the operator at an early stage. Because of the low air consumption of the Reika lines compared to competing sawing machines, which often must have a ten- bar supply net to remove small chips and quick motion, the Reika cutting lines work with a six-bar net.

Detection of critical surface defects in hot rolled long metal products and tubes

ISEND SA – Spain         contact@isend.es            www.isend.es

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL May 2018

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