Tube forming performance for safety parts production

The FU01-50 in action

Tube and pipe bending and forming machinery expert FELSS Burger GmbH, Germany has delivered a FU01-50 tube-forming machine to a customer in the USA.

The turn-key solution has 16 NC controlled stations feeding 6 metre tubes Ø 22x2mm, cuts pieces to 200mm length, chamfers, forms, stamps, punches, checks, measures and sorts. With a patented process the wall of the tube is first partly thickened. This allows the tube to be widened and the resulting part maintains a wall thickness of 2mm throughout the product. The tube widening is done in several steps as the tube diameter is increased and then formed to a characteristic asymmetric nose.

Keeping the wall thickness constant is key for this product due to the fact that in case of a car accident an explosive propellant will discharge a pressure of well above 300 bar (4,500 PSI), which activates the seat belt restrainer without destroying the tube.

The installed machine’s robust and controlled processes allow more uptime and more output. This highly productive unit achieves output capacity up to 20 parts per minute in a 7/7 mode.

FELSS Burger has installed online machinery access, which allows software to be updated and 24 hour/day trouble shooting via webcam. In combination with FELSS Burger’s tube bending units, such as FB61-21, tubes can also be precisely bent three dimensionally. Additionally, in case of dynamically changing pressures in a tube, Autofrettage unit FA02-83 can be added to significantly increase fatigue strength of a tube.

PUBLISHED: 05 Mar 10

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