Short on space and long on commitments? If you’re struggling with a difficult decision—whether to add more tube or profile capacity—equipment manufacturer SEUTHE has made this a simple choice. With a single investment, you can do both. The company designs and builds hybrid systems, which use the footprint of one machine but functions as two machines.
Because it’s designed to produce profiles and tube, the hybrid concept uses a large number of tooling stands for forming complex profiles, and is equipped with a high-frequency resistance welding unit for making tube. The machine is intended to produce standard profiles, custom profiles, and steel tube in diameters specified by the customer.
To accommodate the quick changeovers needed for just-in-time manufacturing, the machine’s design is based on the use of rafts. The forming stands before the welder, the sizing stands after the welder, and the turkshead units are rafted. The rafts are removed and replaced by overhead crane. After placing a raft on the mill, the operator uses hydraulic actuators to position the rafts and to couple the drive shafts to the stands.
For maximum flexibility, each driven roll has its own motor. This allows the operator to tune the system so that each driven roll rotates at the optimal speed. The control panel also allows the operator to shut off specific motors as needed, for example to prevent marking the tube or to conserve electricity.
The HMI stores programs for making each specific product. After the operator calls up the correct program, the software activates an automated adjustment system to move the tooling to the correct locations, sets each motor’s speed, and so on. SEUTHE estimates that, where a conventional mill might require four to five hours for a complete changeover, the hybrid system with automatic tooling adjustment requires less than two hours.
To support high production rates, the mill is equipped with a linear drive cutoff system from ASMAG. Linear drive technology doesn’t require a rack-and-pinion transmission, so the cutting carriage can accelerate and decelerate much more quickly than that of a conventional flying cutoff unit. ASMAG manufactures six models of linear drive saw, providing its engineers more than enough options to specify the most appropriate saw for each customer’s applications.
Because The ASMAG Group is long on experience in designing and building entire production systems, customers can specify custom equipment from entry to exit. This allows maximum versatility in the type and design of uncoiler, accumulator, coil end joiner, and leveler at the entry end, and the runout system, stacker, and bundler at the exit end. Options include a mist oiling system after sizing to inhibit corrosion and a measuring system to verify the product’s dimensions.
To learn more about the hybrid production system and the company’s other offerings, visit the booth of The ASMAG Group, D42351, at FABTECH, September 8-11, McCormick Place, Chicago.
Based in Hemer, Germany, SEUTHE GmbH is a member of The ASMAG Group. The members of The ASMAG Group focus on tube, bar, profile, and wire, in ferrous and nonferrous applications. The companies also design and manufacture material handling and galvanizing equipment, providing complete end-to-end turnkey manufacturing systems.