Product category:
Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: Kasto | Subject: Sinico sawing and rotary transfer machines
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 14 July 2000
Faster fittings through double-ended
machining
Three sawing and rotary transfer machines built by Sinico, Italy, have replaced 10 dedicated barrel nipple automatics at CMT Engineering for the volume manufacture of threaded pipe fittings
Three sawing and rotary transfer machines built by Sinico, Italy, have replaced 10 dedicated barrel nipple automatics at the Cradley Heath factory of CMT Engineering for the volume manufacture of threaded pipe fittings for use in steam raising, compressed air plant and many other fluid and gas transfer applications Supplied to the company's Tube Fittings Division between May and July last year (1999) by Rivers Machinery, the new rotary transfer machines are able to cut-to-length and machine both ends of black or galvanised mild steel tube or stainless steel tube in one hit
This eliminates the previous method of semi-automatic circular sawing followed by manual handling onto one of the automatics.
The cost of the Sinico equipment, which was roughly equivalent to the quote for refurbishing the 10 auto's, will be recouped in under two years according to CMT Engineering's managing director, Paul Taylor.
Moreover, the output from the three rotary transfer machines on double shift is comparable to that of the bank of auto's on single shift, so when round-the-clock operation of the Sinico machines is phased in during the next 12 months, production capacity will be 50 per cent greater.
A further advantage of the Sinico method of production is that, in addition to sawing and thread cutting, double-end internal and external chamfering can be included economically in the Sinico program.
Even with the extra operations, cycle times are still on average one third less than on an auto even though the latter is only thread cutting.
Thus a better quality product of improved cosmetic appearance may be offered to customers at no extra cost.
Mr Taylor considers that this advantage will enable him to further expand the business, which is already UK market leader producing in excess of four million fittings per year and with exports accounting for 40 per cent of turnover.
The new machining process, which produces fittings conforming to BS 1387, is as follows.
Mild steel tube of 6.0 or 6.4 metres long and from 6 mm to 150 mm nominal bore is fed automatically into a Sinico machine where it is gripped at the first station and cut by a circular saw to the required length.
Indexing through 90 degrees brings the blank to station 2 where it is chamfered inside and outside at both ends simultaneously.
The third station is unused in this application so the part is indexed immediately to the fourth station for double end thread chasing, after which the finished component is ejected into a bin.
Cycle time varies from four seconds for smaller fittings up to 14 seconds for the larger varieties.
The ability to chamfer as well as to incorporate yet another operation - marking - in the automatic cycle at the presently unused station has allowed CMT Engineering to enter a new area of business, that of producing stainless steel tubular fittings for the food and beverage industry.
Previously these would have required four separate operations and would have been uneconomic to manufacture.
The new facility at the Cradley Heath factory, near Birmingham, was officially opened on 10th September by Sylvia Heal, JP, MP, Labour Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis.
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