Pipe/Profile
New technology at the forefront From strand lines with higher outputs to fittings made for PVC-O pipes and pipes for the oil and gas sector and pipes for China’s increasing urbanisation, new technology is in the offing.
Davis-Standard profile line doubles output Continual growth in product demand and a full manufacturing floor required Intralox, a US supplier of plastic conveyor belt technology, to get creative with its processing options. Thus, Intralox replaced an older profile line with a new dual-strand profile line from US extrusion machinery supplier Davis-Standard, doubling its output without requiring additional space. The line processes dual-strand solid rod made of PP, PE, PA, Acetal and PEEK materials. Davis-Standard customised the line for Intralox applications, completing delivery and installation within eight months of purchase. Due to the successful set up, Intralox plans to replace its other profile lines with Davis-Standard dual-strand lines in the near future. “This new line is a game-changer in terms of production outputs, rod quality and innovation,” said Gregory Washington, Extrusion Supervisor at Intralox. “While dualstrand profile technology is not new, it’s new for us. We’ve had great results in terms of speed, equipment performance and ease of operation.” Davis-Standard supplied all line components from extruder and controls through downstream equipment. Washington appreciates the intuitiveness of the DS-eVUE control system as well as the dual-strand Y-tooling, accuracy of product dimensionality, cut quality, cooling tank capabilities, and the Intralox says it doubled its ability to isolate products with cast-off equipment. In addition, output with the installation of Intralox was able to witness and approve the entire operating line at Conair, Davis-Standard’s downstream equipment partner. a Davis-Standard profile line “Intralox ships product all over the world to support customers in the automotive, food, industrial, logistics and material handling, packaging, tyre and rubber industries,” said Sean Stephan, Davis-Standard’s Regional Manager responsible for this project. “Being able to take their outputs from 125 ft/minute to 300 ft/minute on the same line while supporting quality goals really defined this project,” he added.
Fittings for PVC-O pipes in PVC-O Spanish pipe machine maker Molecor says it has developed a highly efficient industrial system for the manufacture of PVC-O fittings, with which the company has been capable of manufacturing a product with better mechanical properties. Known as ecoFITTOM, these are said to be the first fittings in the world to be manufactured in PVC-O, with improvements in the mechanical properties of PVC, claims the company. These improvements allow the manufacture of ecoFITTOM to consume lower raw material and less energy and result in an end product with higher hydrostatic resistance and higher resistance to impact than fittings of other materials. Consequently, the manufacturing costs are lower, with no heavy machinery required for their installation. Thanks to their lightness and easy handling, given the physical and mechanical characteristics, the ecoFITTOM fittings can be installed manually up to DN315 mm (12”), something that contributes to reducing the installation costs and time taken considerably, adds the firm. Besides this, the company says the fittings allow for improved behaviour against water hammer, are completely watertight, and provide chemical resistance and ductility and are a 100% recyclable product. These fittings can be used in networks for the transportation of drinking Molecor’s ecoFITTOM is a continuous system water, irrigation systems, industrial applications, sewage, infrastructure that allows for a more homogeneous hydraulic networks and fire protection nets, among other applications. network
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AUGUST 2018