Machine explained
- The machine has a pipe stack which can accommodate up to 1500 -1700 pipes of 60mm.
- The pipe dispenser will feed two pipes at a time and if it is necessary to run 2 sizes of pipe then we can provide partition in the dispenser. This is adjustable individually.
- The pipe is singled out in the dispenser and can be fed by an operator who will load 2 pipes at a time.
- The coupler which has ridges is preloaded on the machine fixture and fixtures are individual and will be separate for different sizes. We are considering 60mm at the moment but design is to take up all sizes upto 130mm.
- The coupler has 2 ridges for 60mm and has to be loaded with the locking hole at the top. The servo motor shall be programmed to stop at this position where it is easy for operator to lock.
- The pipe is fed into the pipe clamps as shown in the drawing and the operator will push till it touches the coupler after application of glue.
- Once the Start button is pressed , the pneumatic piston will gently push the pipe till it engages the coupler. The servo will start rotating the coupler and will start the assembly process till the end. The servo shall be programmed to avoid any thread damages by incremental RPM at the beginning and then picking up the speed after engagement.
- The end of assembly is sensed from inside the coupler by the position of the pipe inside the coupler and once the switch gets activated , the coupler stops the rotation and it is end of assembly operation. If the hole is not at the top , the pipe clamp will release and will allow the assembled pipe to rotate to bring the pipe hole to the top which will be a rotation of less than 350 to bring it in home position.
- The sensing shall be done by a reliable mechanical switch with very high repeatability.
- The individual machines will have completely separate controls and can operate independently.
- Once the pipe is done the pipe is ejected into the middle slant roller assembly and will be stacked as per requirement.
- The servo will have a torque control to avoid any excess torqueing and shall detect damage threads as well. In case of any such instances , it can be set to stop automatically and abandon the cycle and return to home position.
- The productivity expected is 3000- 3800 pipes per day using this 2 heads in 16 hours. ( 2 pipes per minute /head or 4 pipes /minute )
- For different pipe sizes, the fixtures ( machine and pipe clamp ) needs to be changed. The limit switch need not be disturbed and sensing rod inside the coupler will have different distances for different pipe sizes. So 3 parts are to be changed or 7 screws are to be opened for a size change
- The machine will be fitted with a HMI and thread length data where the user can change pipe size . It is possible to run two different sizes in the two machines and controls are separate.
- Since wire insertion and cutting is there , there will be a wire inserter machine along with cutter.
Foot note: Design of this may be slightly different in construction during execution.
PVC Column Pipe Assembly Machine
