Utilise ship-building capacities more efficiently

SCHMALLENBERG, Germany - Aug. 25, 2014 - PRLog -- Challenges offer opportunities for creative ideas and innovations: In the international ship-building and offshore sector there is a search for new ways of planning capacities more efficiently and utilising resources more effectively. In tube machining the industry is therefore working with time-efficient and cost-saving bending machines more than ever, for increasingly large tube diameters. In demand are efficient solutions such as those from the specialists at transfluid Maschinenbau GmbH.

In the the last year alone, transfluid designed and developed 17 large tube bending machines that are in use in ship-building and the supplier sector around the world. Solutions for tube sizes with diameters of up to 350 mm are no rarity in this segment. Gerd Nöker, managing director of the global player transfluid explains: "In the past, large tubes were usually welded. However, in ship-building it was recognised that our tube bending technology t bend enables significantly more efficient machining. Our solutions considerably reduce production costs and result in a head start of up to 60%. An unbeatable advantage on international markets."

The trend lies in the fact that flanges are welded onto the straight tube prior to the bending process. The experts from South Westphalia always recommend internal networking with the corresponding CAD programs here. In this way it is possible to process the isometries directly in the transfluid bending software t control. "Through this we offer huge flexibility that - together with the extremely short tool change times of less than 20 minutes - enables increased efficiency in tube production" enthuses Nöker.

There is also the option, for example, of measuring tubes on site, sending this data to the machine online for production and timely installation. This process has been developed by some transfluid customers into a principle that delivers a considerable head start.

The company offers a further advantage with the possibility of end forming processes, e.g. the direct shaping of flanges.
With transfluid bending technologies it is possible to optimally machine large tubes and tubes with small diameters. Tight radii are even possible with CuNiFe and stainless steel tubes, meaning that it is additionally possible to realise a spatial advantage in the ship itself.

At the present time transfluid has a number of large tube bending machines ready for delivery, with which tubes of up to 168 mm (6") can be machined. With these individually developed solutions the bending radius lies at two-fold the tube diameter. As one of the leading manufacturers of tube processing machines, transfluid has created optimum solutions for the ship-building industry through efficient further developments, which are bringing benefits worldwide.

SMM (Hamburg, Germany), September 9-12, 2014 / Hall B2.GF, Booth 415