Smaller quantities, lots of
automation
transfluid develops a highly flexible production cell
for complex pipe variants
This nearly seems possible: automatically
producing tubes in small quantities. Prompted
by increasing demand, the trend meets
expectations for economy and efficiency to
allow the sort of production that transfluid has
now made possible as part of a current project.
“The most important thing for automation in
small quantities is process reliability and the
ability to read out data precisely. They key
word is Industry 4.0,” explains Stefanie Flaeper,
Managing Director at transfluid. “In addition,
there is employee-independent production. And
with automated processing, the process has
a strong influence on subsequent procedures,
such as assembly of component groups. Here,
automation offers a good deal of planning
certainty.”
10 TUBE NEWS September 2017
Tube surfaces are retained and stay flexible
In the transfluid project, the customer wanted a
precisely coordinated automation system — one
for processing chromium VI free coated tubes, as
well as tubes with powder-coated surfaces, which
are very sensitive. The workpieces can be relatively
short (150 mm) or relatively long (up to 3,000 mm),
and loading was to be automatic. Moreover, cutting
ring assembly was required, along with mounting of
flanges, production of hose connections.
Precisely coordinated process
Altogether, it was very demanding, but transfluid
has met the challenge with an automation system in
which, after the separation process, the workpiece
can be loaded into a slide conveyor for automatic