Tubeandpipejournal20201011 DL

Maximizing
efficiency
with a
semiautomatic
October/November 2020
tube mill
The official publication of The Tube & Pipe Association, Intl.
Also inside:
Orienting a weld seam
A fabricator looks back
at 30 years of success
A guide to laser cutting
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AMOB-TPJ Oct-Nov 2020 Final copy.pdf 4 28/09/2020 09:01:18
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contents october/november 2020
Vol. 30 No. 7
Departments
6 Editor’s Angle
8 Event Calendar
10 Product Highlights
18 Product News
48 In The Know
56 Trade Showcase
Special Advertising Section
22 Photo courtesy of SEUTHE GmbH, Hemer, Germany

58 Advertisers Index
Cover story columns

22 Tube manufacturer invests in
flexible, automated mill 30 Technology Spotlight
Orienting the tube’s weld seam
technology
Decreasing product runs, long changeover
on the mill
Tube producers need the weld seam at the
50 Executive Perspectives
Planning for a full-scale
derailment or a high-speed trip
times, and tooling maintenance hassles are 12 o’clock position, but in some cases, after
on a bullet train
some of the challenges that tube and pipe it’s welded they need it move it to some other
producers deal with. Tube producer Dundee location along the tube’s circumference. Many During a global pandemic, when essentially
Products, Dundee, Mich., recently invested in use specialized rolls in place of the first sizing nothing is predictable, does it make sense to
a tube mill that uses a single set of tooling, pass, but another option is to use a seam rely on economic predictions and industry-
located and relocated automatically, to orientation stand. specific forecasts to create a strategy? In the
eliminate some of these difficulties. view of columnist Lisa Wertzbaugher, it most
34 Company Profile
Strategic investments,
certainly does.
FEATURES shrewd business decisions fuel

fabricator’s 30 years of growth, 52 Business Brief
Maintaining the momentum
of innovation
innovation
12 Applications
Automated processing stations
provide productivity, safety for
Learn how a small welding business became
a full-fledged tube fabrication shop with an
Many manufacturers hustled to innovate
when COVID-19 hit. Assessing challenges and
embracing risks accelerated during this time,
wind tower operation OEM business on the side.
and if at all possible, manufacturers should
44 Laser Cutting
Pemamek assembly and fitting stations meet continue to maintain the momentum of inno-
production and safety criteria for Brazilian A guide to laser tube cutting vation, preparing for a postpandemic world.
manufacturing facility.
54 Tube & Pipe Market Update

Today’s laser tube cutting machines are
designed and built to cut a large range of Recovery continues,
16 Applications
Fabricating system achieves
one-piece flow for exhaust
mill-length tube and pipe, regardless of shape,
and in many cases, it can be a one-and-done
but risk of a stall is growing
Although many manufacturing sectors are
process. still far below prepandemic levels, and some
manifolds
are backsliding a bit, overall the picture is
An exhaust system manufacturer approached positive. However, much of the economic
transfluid about building a system that would @thefabricator recovery earlier this year is credited to
achieve one-piece flow and monitor itself Congress’s actions, which have run their
to make replacement parts midstream if course. Without a second boost or sustained
necessary. The result is a robotic workcell that @TubePipeJournal assistance from the federal government, the
bends, forms, cuts, and unloads. recovery is at risk of stalling.
4 The Tube & Pipe Journal_OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
OctNov 2020 TPJ.indd 4 10/1/20 11:05 AM

Don’t settle for less cuts
than what you should be getting.
Don’t be fooled by cheap imitation cut-off blades
from other suppliers that underperform and
can ruin your production runs. For 75 years,
Steelcraft Tool Company has revolutionized cut-off
blades for the tube and pipe industry.
Count on Steelcraft Tool Company for the best products,
with the best service, at the best value.
We’ve been making cut-off blades better and

longer than any one else in the industry.
Proudly Made in USA
call 734.522.7130 fax 734.522.1134

email sales@steelcrafttool.com
visit www.steelcrafttool.com

Editor’s Angle
Fighting fire with money
D
ealing with a global pandemic owns about 45%, or 144,371 sq. mi. It’s
is bad enough, but this summer clear that the federal government should
natural disasters throughout the pay for 45% of the forest management in
U.S. have compounded the misery. On this vast area.
the West Coast, more than 100 fires have And there’s the rub. The U.S. government
burned nearly 5 million acres, generating has not been spending money like a
so much smoke that it can be seen on the bunch of drunken sailors (who tend to
East Coast. We’ve had so many hurricanes pay cash and head back to the ship when
this season that we’ve gone through they’re running low), but it has been
most of the alphabet (Hurricane Sally is spending money like a government. Now
the 18th of 2020). In the Pensacola, Fla., at $22.8 trillion, the debt compared to
Read more from Eric Lundin at
area, Hurricane Sally dumped 30 in. of gross domestic product (GDP) stands at
www.thefabricator.com/
author/eric-lundin. rain—in a typical year, this is four months’ 107%.
What to do? First, have a few people
worth of rain—in four hours. Almost 60%
in manufacturing take a look at forest
of the continental U.S. is in some stage of
management techniques. My guess is that
drought. On August 10 and 11, a derecho
some of the very innovative people in this
storm generated 120-mile-per hour winds
industry would devise a few new tools to
that knocked down crops and trees in a
help. We’ve all seen National Guardsmen
wide swath of Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois.
and volunteers filling sandbags when
It spawned more than a few tornadoes
flooding is eminent, haven’t we? From an
and left little undamaged in Cedar
efficiency standpoint, using a common
Rapids, Iowa, where the wind speed was
shovel to fill sandbags is an unmitigated
estimated to have reached 140 MPH. The disaster. A short search on YouTube reveals
toll is extraordinary, and the full extent of all sorts of clever sandbag-filling devices,
the damage many never be known. some of which are many times faster than
Of these four forces of nature, just one a shovel. One or two came directly from
The obvious questions pertain to fire
is subject to some measure of prevention, metal fabricators who figured they could
prevention: How can it be done, how
containment, and suppression. The build better mousetraps.
much can be done, and at what cost?
obvious questions pertain to fire Second, enlist the help of AmeriCorps.
prevention: How can it be done, how Never heard of it? Imagine the Peace
much can be done, and at what cost? Corps working right here in the U.S., and
Relying solely on fire suppression can you understand the role of AmeriCorps.
make things worse by extinguishing The organization takes on all sorts
the flames before much of the old, of roles, many involving emergency
dead material burns up, allowing it to mitigation, so AmeriCorps volunteers
accumulate. Active forest management are well acquainted with long days and
programs rely on some combination of hard work. And for young adults carrying
pruning and felling trees, clearing brush, some student debt, a two-year stint in
and starting controlled fires. AmeriCorps can help with student loan
The three main states where these fires relief.
are concentrated—California, Oregon,
and Washington—have 318,500 sq. mi. of
land area; of that, the federal government

“A Confluence of Capability”
TWISTER2 16-18 RL RBV 25 R

Ideal for tube assemblies with hose CNC bending machine for the production
segments and fittings of larger two- and three-dimensional
Operating Range parts of tube or solid material
Tube diameter 18.0 x 1.5 mm Bending Capacity
Standard length from magazine 2000 mm Bending torque 1.0 kNm
CNC Axes 7 Clamping force 25 kN
Machine Control WPS 3.2 EasyWay Tube diameter (max.) 25.4 mm
Automation Bending radius (rotary-draw) 75 mm
TWISTER2 16-18 RL Loading from a magazine
Position-oriented discharge
Option
yes
Bending radius (free-form)
Bending angle (max.)
Infinite
195°
RU 18 RU 18 Bending Levels ( / direction) up to 3
RBV 25 R CNC controlled machine for all of your

end forming needs: WAFIOS
• Servo-Electric systems • Thread Forming
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• New Roll Forming Tool
for assembly handling, endforming and
Tool Stroke 220 mm
material bending.
Endforming Force 180 kN
Clamping Force (workpiece) 270 kN
Forming Punches 2, 6 or 8
Economical • Versatile • Reliable

Engineered for What’s Next
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USA www.wafios.us / 203 481 5555 / sales@wafios.us
Canada www.wafios.ca / sales@wafios.ca
WAFIOS Machinery Corporation is a subsidiary of WAFIOS AG

event calendar
Tube 2020 GOLF4MFG South
Dec. 7-11—Düsseldorf, Germany April 26, 2021—Charlotte, N.C.
Messe Düsseldorf North America Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn.
312-781-5180 www.mdna.com 888-394-4362 www.fmamfg.org
FMA’s certified
education centers
Virtual Robotics for FABTECH Mexico FMA Certified Education Centers (CEC) are
community and technical colleges, trade schools,
Inspection & Maintenance May 4-6, 2021—Monterrey, Mexico
and universities that specialize in training adults
Dec. 9-10 FABTECH Event Partners for careers in the metal forming, fabricating,
ASME 888-394-4362 mexico.fabtechexpo.com processing, and machining sectors. They offer
coursework for local students year-round
800-843-2763 event.asme.org/robotics and serve as host locations for many types of
FMA professional development programs as
requested. A council of members convene six
Virtual FMA Annual Meeting
times a year to plan and execute special programs
March 2-4, 2021 on worker training for educators and human
Fabricators & Manufacturers Assn. resource managers from companies of all sizes.
888-394-4362 www.fmamfg.org To learn more about FMA’s CEC program and view
a list of member schools, visit www.fmanet.org/
membership/certified-education-center.
To have an upcoming event considered for inclusion in The Tube & Pipe Journal’s To discover how your local community or
Event Calendar, email information four months in advance to technical college can become a member, call 888-
Dan Davis, Editor-in-Chief at dand@thefabricator.com. 394-4362 or send an email to info@fmanet.org.
Director Contributing Editor: Senior Account Representatives:

Kent Li, TMK-IPSCO Amy Nickel, amyn@thefabricator.com Sean Smith
seans@thefabricator.com
Director Digital Editor: 815-227-8265
Pete Meglin, Thermatool Corp. Gareth Sleger,
Published by: gsleger@thefabricator.com Mike Lacny
Director mikel@thefabricator.com
FMA Communications Inc. Senior Copy Editor:
2135 Point Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123
Christopher Smith, 815-227-8264
Cooper Standard Teresa Chartos
815-399-8700 Amy Hudson
www.tubepipejournal.net Graphic Designers:
Director amyh@thefabricator.com
Janell Drolsum, Mary Mincemoyer,
Lisa Wertzbaugher, 815-227-8237
Margaret Clark, Jennifer Paulson
tube & pipe association Wertzbaugher Consulting
Media Coordinator: Michael Scott
intl. advisory board President & CEO, Rose Merlino michaels@thefabricator.com
815-227-8271
Chairman FMA Communications Inc.: Director of Circulation:
Rick Olson, Edward Youdell Kim Bottomley Classified Advertising
Roll Machining Technologies & Circulation Manager: Jerry Gunderson
Solutions Inc. Publication Staff Brenda Wilson jerryg@thefabricator.com
815-227-8257
First Vice Chairman Data Processing Specialist:
President & CEO,
Michael Strand, T & H Lemont Kelly Palmer
FMA Communications Inc.:
Second Vice Chairman
Phil Meinczinger,
Edward Youdell Data Verification Specialist: Statement of Policy
Group Publisher: Rhonda Fletcher
Magnetic Analysis Corp. Dave Brambert The Tube & Pipe Journal’s objective is to disseminate new and complete infor-
Senior Fulfillment Specialist: mation relating to the producing and fabricating of metal tube and pipe. The
Director Editor-in-Chief: Anna Peacock main editorial text consists of articles and news releases designed to assist
owners, managers, manufacturing engineers, supervisors, and foremen in the
John Anton, Modern Tube LLC Dan Davis, dand@thefabricator.com
Web Designer: evaluation of new methods and techniques. The policy of the publisher is to be
Director Senior Editor: Sherry Young nonpartisan, favoring no one product or company. The representations of facts
and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the author and are not nec-
Brian Havlovic, Tim Heston, timh@thefabricator.com essarily endorsed by the publisher and this journal. By including information on
Senior Web Developer:
Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp. The Tube & Pipe Journal Editor: new products, new literature, and industry news, etc., this impartiality is strived
Mike Kunzelman for and extends to the mention of trade names. Unless product identification
Eric Lundin, ericl@thefabricator.com makes reference unavoidable, the generic name is used when feasible. We
Director
STAMPING Journal Editor:
advertising sales
acknowledge that on occasion there may be oversights or errors. The editors re-
Joe Kiger, gret such oversights and re-emphasize their policy to be impartial at all times.
Kate Bachman,
Allied Tube & Conduit Corp. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising it deems inappropriate for
kateb@thefabricator.com Associate Publisher: publication in The Tube & Pipe Journal’s, including ads for classes of products and
services not considered of significant interest to the readership.
Director The WELDER Editor: Jim Gorzek
The Tube & Pipe Journal’s is a trademark of FMA Communications Inc. All rights
Craig Kyle, Amanda Carlson, jimg@thefabricator.com reserved. Standard Rate & Data Service lists our advertising rates in Section 88.
George A. Mitchell Co amandac@thefabricator.com 815-227-8269 Consult SRDS or our current ratecard for full rates and data.

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Product Highlights
End forming machine creates beads on materials to 0.15 in. thick
Kaast offers beading machines for end forming applica-
tions in the aerospace, tank, and HVAC industries. These
machines create consistent, accurate beads that supply
strength and connectivity to materials up to 0.15 in. thick.
The machines, with mechanically (ZSM) or hydraulically
(ZSH) driven upper rolls, are available in 2.5 or 4.0 models.
The 2.5 model can handle up to 13-ga. material at up to
16 RPM. It features a 3.75-in. roll opening and 6.3-in. throat.
The 4.0 model beads up to 9-ga. material at 12 RPM and
offers a 5-in. roll opening and 7.8-in. throat.
The beading machines come standard with four sets of
dies for rolling the most common beads in the fabrication
industry. Eight other standard die sets are available, as well
as custom dies.
The twin foot pedal control pedestal offers an 8-ft.
connection. The heavy machine base helps minimize
distorting vibrations while maximizing stability during
operations.
Kaast Machine Tools Inc.

kaast-usa.com
Clamps hold angles up to

180 degrees for welding
Industrial Magnetics Inc. has introduced Magnetic
V-Pad Clamps for low-profile holding of workpieces
during welding. The clamps’ dual pivoting magnetic
heads can position and hold angles up to 180 degrees.
Each contains four magnets: two on the back and one
on each pivoting foot.
The clamps can be set up quickly on flat, angled, or
round stock. They are particularly suitable for cradling
pipe or tube, as they allow the tube to rotate for seam
welding of the pipe or tube ends.
Industrial Magnetics Inc.

www.magnetics.com

Introducing ByTube 130
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applications
Automated processing stations provide
productivity, safety for wind tower operation
Situation to generate 137 gigawatts (GW) of electricity. While wind

Founded in 2015, Torres Eólicas do Nordeste (TEN), Jacobina, generation represented a small share of that at 16.3 GW (2019
Brazil, specializes in manufacturing metal towers for wind power data), the amount from wind towers is expected to increase to
production. Located near the main wind tower projects in the nearly 30 GW by 2030.
state of Bahia, the company is in a region that has more than 80% When TEN was established, its goal was to become one of Brazil’s
of Brazil’s wind farms. It’s a fitting industry in a city that markets top steel tower manufacturers. As such, the company was interested
itself as a destination for ecological tourists. at the outset in partnering with equipment manufacturers that
Data from two sources—the Energy Information Administration, would help it establish reliable and safe automated manufacturing
part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy, and consulting firm Mordor processes that would allow it to grow to keep up with the nation’s
Intelligence—indicates that in 2016 the country had the capacity burgeoning demand for wind power.

50
Web Site: randolphtoolco.com E-Mail: info@randolphtoolco.com

Resolution fitting and welding of flanges to the wind tower and tower
Equipment manufacturer Pemamek has been a part of the foundation sections. The flange-fitting station doesn’t require
company’s journey since the beginning. In fact, TEN executives rotating the shell, and cranes can be released to other tasks.
paid a visit to Pemamek in Loimaa, Finland, long before TEN “Pemamek’s solution for handling flange fitting helps us to
opened for business. optimize the use of floor space and simplify our production,”
“We were really satisfied with the solutions we saw and said General Manager Carlos Konopatzki. “The need for overhead
received our first order [of equipment] in 2014,” said TEN’s cranes in minimized and moreover, the safety of the overall process
Manager of Operations Roberto Padula. “Our principles include improves, which is a benefit that we cannot put a price tag on.”
more productivity, more safety, and less manual work. We Padula noted that, just as each of its wind tower customers has
found Pemamek solutions to bring all these benefits to our its own unique specifications, the company can provide unique,
manufacturing.” customized, turnkey equipment and systems.
The first delivery included 12 heavy-duty assembly stations “We highly value our close cooperation with Pemamek,” he
integrated with six column-and-boom units for weld manipulation, added, and although the two companies are 6,000 miles apart,
facilitating longitudinal and circumferential seam welding of large- the distance doesn’t seem too great. “They help us during the
diameter structures. implementation process, answer any questions that we may have,
TEN took take another step toward better productivity in 2019 and we also have regular visits and phone calls,” he said.
and invested in a flange-fitting station for fast, safe, and accurate Pemamek Oy, www.pemamek.com

Tube and Bar Mill Technology Tube and Roll Forming Mill Technology Material Handling
+ Drawing Machines + Tube Welding Lines + Galvanizing Plants
+ Continuous Drawing Machines + Flexible Cold Forming Lines + Pickling and Pre-Treatment Lines
+ Straightening Machines + Roll Forming Lines + Automated Cranes and Hoists
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applications
Fabricating system achieves one-piece
flow for exhaust manifolds
Robotic system handles two manifold styles

using sophisticated forming processes
Situation Resolution
An exhaust manifold manufacturer looked for a way to make Equipment manufacturer transfluid Maschinenbau GmbH
exhaust systems in an uninterrupted flow. An assembly of parts developed a workcell that relies on a central robot for transferring
made from stainless steel, the manifold would require bending, each tube from station to station.
forming, and end calibration. More than performing bending, After retrieving a single tube from the magazine, the system
end forming, and cutting, the production system would provide uses an eddy current system to find the weld seam so the tube
parts for two styles of manifold, made from either four or six can be oriented properly. A linear handling system feeds the tube
unique tube lengths. Furthermore, if a single tube would fail at the to a bending machine, which uses one of four bending tools,
welding stage, the cell would generate a signal to cue the system then cuts the tube with a carbide cutter for a deformation-free
to produce a replacement tube. Finally, the system would reduce end. The first end of each component then is sized internally and
the cutting and trimming operations by forming up to 20 units externally at the same time with a finger expansion. After the
from a single length of tube, separating each component from the second end is deburred, the robot takes the component to a
mother tube after forming. combination forming machine for an axial forming process that
In other words, the customer wanted a versatile system that makes an asymmetrical geometry at the remaining end, and the
would provide true one-piece flow, including replacement parts, last step is a final cut to length made by a chipless orbital cutting
if necessary. system.

At this point the robot deposits the component into the ap- ing length, and the weld seam is more brittle than the parent
propriate container. material, so splitting the tube at the seam is a risk. The process
The workcell has one more step to go, one involving an ex- uses a progressive rolling technique that successfully flares the
haust gas recirculation tube bent by a separate process. Making a tube despite these challenges.
1.75-in. flange on this tube, which has been formed with a bend
near the end of the tube and which has a longitudinal weld transfluid Maschinenbau GmbH (Germany) and transfluid
seam, takes some finesse. The bend’s location limits the clamp- tube processing machinery inc. (U.S.), www.transfluid.net
The Tube & Pipe Journal_OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020 17

The Best Benders
for Tube Frame product NEWS
Fabrication
Fabrication Benders, Models 2650,2660 Laser tube cutting system
configurable to user requirements
NEW. Simple.
Tough. Powerful.
Fast-working.
• Steel I-beam construction rein-
forced with heavy steel framing
• Bends round, square,

rectangular tubing
BLM GROUP’s LT8.20 laser tube cutting system
allows users to choose their preferred laser
• Handles schedule/thick wall
pipe with ease
source, loader/unloader style, and positioning
of peripheral equipment to maximize floor
• Extra-large oil tank makes contin-
uous multi–shift usage easy
space.
Featuring a 3D tilt cutting head, the system
performs high-precision angular cuts in
round, square, triangular, l-beam, and other
special shapes, handling diameters up to 9.5
in. and bar weight up to 27 lb./ft. With a tilting
axis of 45 degrees, it can cut complex patterns,
Great for manufacturing … Trailers, Fencing/gates, Pole barns, Car ports,
Sporting equipment, Farm structures (feed rings, panels, saddle racks), reach hard-to-access locations, and is suited
Boat frames-lifts, Industrial racking … to name just a few! for weld prep cuts in thick-walled tubes.
800-558-7808 • Follow us on • Made in the USA The machine is available with a 3.5-kW CO2
laser source for cutting mild steel, stainless,
and some aluminum alloys, or with a 3- or
4-kW fiber laser that also can cut highly
reflective materials such as copper, brass, and
galvanized steels.
The machine accommodates step-by-
step loaders, single bar loaders, and bundle
loaders positioned in front of or behind the
machine. For unloading, users can choose
from standard, short part, and scrap styles.
BLM GROUP
www.blmgroup.com/en/lasertube/lt8.20
Automatic wire cutter can

be added to benchtop wire former
Pensa Labs has developed an automatic wire
cutter that bends wire up to 2.0 mm. It can
be added to the company’s D.I. Wire PRO
benchtop wire former to automate the wire
forming process.
The cutter, which comprises a bend head
and bend ring, is controllable via the bench-
top wire former’s WireWare software.
Pensa Labs
www.pensalabs.com

State-of-the-Art Bending Technologies
product NEWS
Faster Deliveries & Superior Service Tungsten carbide-tipped circular
saw blades can be resharpened,
Industrial Grade Plate Rolls 20 Ga to 6” Capacities, CNC Controls, retipped
Vertical Rolls, Tank Head Forming Machines Translating Geometry, Automated Systems & More!
New-Form Tools offers tungsten carbide-
tipped (TCT) circular saw blades, designed
to address the specifications of the tube and
pipe industry. According to the company, the
blades can last up to four times longer than
the average high-speed steel circular saw
blades.
The blades are suitable for a variety of sawing
applications and are manufactured to fit tube
mills and secondary sawing applications
including Rattunde, Sinico, Bewo, MTM, OTO,
VBH Series w/Stradivari 3D CNC Save on In-Stock Specials
Including “Field-Bus” & “Facile” Systems Technology while machines last! Nakata, and Kusakabe. Each blade features
advanced coating to increase blade life and
Angle Rolls 1” to 10” Capacities, 30 Models Available, Push Button or Graphic reduce cycle time, states the manufacturer.
CNC Controls, LED's & Universal Rolls Are Standard, Variable Pitch Coiling Solutions, The company’s Sharpening Program helps
Half Pipe Production Options, Custom Tooling for all Profiles turn throw-away saw blades into assets
through resharpening and retipping.
New-Form Tools
www.newformtools.com
erformance B
ity
&P ac
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Double-head bender performs two
bends simultaneously
l
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ua
Innovation, Q
By
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J&S Machine offers the YLM model T50D

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ty. Performing two bends at the same time
Ex
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Over 100+ Units in Stock Backed by Superior keeps the bends aligned and saves time
Warranties & Service……… compared to single-head NC benders, says
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Section Bending Machines The bender uses redundant safety relay
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and toggle lock-up followers help ensure the
100% American tube remains fixed and solidly held during
Owned & Operated
the bending operation. Each bending head
is adjusted independently. An optional mod-
el allows for head rotation for inside bending.
The manufacturer offers multiple ma-
chine lines for tube bending and finishing,
including YLM conventional, NC, and CNC
tube bending machines; 3C - C.L.O.M.E.A.
Visit Us Online or angle roll bending machines; Garboli tube
Call: (251) 937-0947
finishing polishers; and SIMASV horizontal
www.carellcorp.com • www.eaglebendingmachines.com bending presses.
sales@carellcorp.com • sales@eaglebendingmachines.com J&S Machine
www.jsmachine.com

case study
Tube manufacturer invests
in flexible, automated
mill technology

Weld mill uses one By Eric Lundin
tooling set to form
“
You see that guy over there?” asked Dale Monagin, former
owner of tubing manufacturer Dundee Products, Dundee,
48 distinct Mich. The year was 1986, he was pointing at a worker sweeping
tubing products the floor, and he was addressing his daughter, Lori, on her first day
of work at the company. “You’re no more important than he is,
and the day you forget that will be your last day at the company.”
This one sentence provided an old-school introduction to an old-
school workplace, a quick lesson in nepotism, and a summary of
all of the privileges that come with family ties.
The elder Monagin’s assessment of everyone’s value in the
workplace was more than a nice sentiment or a cliché. Running
a successful tube making operation isn’t all that easy during the
best of times, and it can be a harrowing experience during the
worst of times. Making tubular products profitably takes a lot
of input and cooperation from everyone in the organization,
especially when the organization is a small one, and Monagin was
intent on making sure his daughter understood this.
Although a small company making tube on just a couple of mills,
Dundee’s manufacturing capability was reasonably diverse then
as it is now. Founded in 1955 not far from Detroit, the company
was destined from the start to be an automotive industry supplier,
but it always had pursued other markets and continues to do so
to this day.
Although 2020 is a long way from 1986, Dundee Products’
market position is, in essence, similar to its market position when
Lori was hired. A small company in a big market, it still has quite
a bit of automotive work and it still keeps its eyes open for new
opportunities. A key component of its success is that it always
has been a nimble manufacturer, able to derive a great variety
of products from just a few conventional weld mills. Also, after
65 years in business, it has mill changeovers down to a science,
keeping the dreaded, unprofitable downtime to a minimum.
However, it recently got a big boost in mill capability and
changeover reductions when it invested in an unconventional
mill technology.
The FCF mill’s appearance is sleek and uncluttered. The mill builder
provides installation drawings that include every detail, including
the routings for electrical cables and the placement of floor drains, to
keep the mill area as tidy as possible.

Peaks and Valleys in the Automotive
Industry (and Others)
The founder of Dundee Products was
Curtis Brown, and the location was
Tecumseh, Mich., near Dundee. Possessing
a single mill capable of making tubing
for seat frames, Dundee made tubing
as fast as it could, shipping truckload
after truckload to many of the Big Three
suppliers in the Detroit area.
Dale Monagin joined the company
shortly after it opened for business. On a
hiatus from college, Monagin intended to
save up some money and return to school.
Stints as janitor, mill helper, and mill
operator led to a transition to a supervisory
role. His tenure as shop supervisor resulted
Changing the tool settings is a matter of calling up a new program at the control panel; the
in a promotion to materials manager, and
tools move automatically to the new positions in just a minute or so.
in 1980 he purchased the company. By
this time it was equipped with three mills
and two cutoff machines, and it had many
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more customers in many other industries,
making tubing for applications as diverse
as furniture, conveyors, gates, retail, and
s agricultural. Despite the growth, it was still
g small enough to take orders in volumes as
g small as 5,000 linear ft.
By 1989 Lori was at the helm. That
transition came a little sooner than
e expected—her father’s health played a
role—but nevertheless she continued
his legacy, guiding the company along
a as times changed, taking on new work
o as new opportunities came along. In the
early 1990s Dundee did some government
work, making 11/2- and 2-in.-dia. tubing
that subsequently was fabricated into
racks for supplies dropped to military Having a single tooling set for every tube size provides extraordinary savings in time for
troops to support Desert Storm. These changeovers and both time and money for tooling organization and maintenance. The
sizes were used to make rack systems for Dundee staff doesn’t have the usual headaches associated with installing and removing tools,
y
organizing them, storing them, and keeping track of a great number of regrind schedules.
the postal service as well. In the days of
y COVID-19, Dundee makes tubing for hand
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tubing, but eventually Dundee revealed
a second interest: making square and
rectangular tubing. This point changed
the conversation entirely.
Jost proposed a mill that would provide
two key benefits. First, it would form
square and rectangular tubing directly
from the incoming raw material rather
than going through the two-stage process
of forming round first, then the final
shape. Second, it would use a single set
of roll tools, positioned and repositioned
automatically, to make a substantial range
of tube sizes.
Neither of these technologies are
anything new, and while they have clear
advantages over their conventional
counterparts, they aren’t commonly used.
The first, forming a square or rectangle
directly from strip, conserves material.
When forming a tube round first, then
making corners to form the shape, the
material tends to thicken in the corners.
Direct forming prevents this tendency,
which the mill builder says reduces
material consumption from 2% to 5%.
The forming strategy gets assistance
On an FCF mill, just a few components require manual changeover. On the weld box, these from some fine points of mill design, such
include two rolls, the inductor coil, impeder, and impeder rod. as forming stands that are offset from
each other.
The second matter, automated tool
sanitizer stations for retail stores. Keeping Up with a Dynamic positioning, is a marvel of efficiency in an
Some applications come and go; others Environment industry in which downtime is extremely
come and stay. On one hand, Desert With all this in mind—a dynamic expensive and experienced personnel
Storm ended and so did that particular marketplace, a small player that has to are in short supply. The tooling doesn’t
contract, and the pervasive need for hand innovate to keep up with the large players, require removal and replacement or
sanitizer will likely fall off at some point. and a reputation built partly on its ability manual positioning. The mill operator
On the other hand, Dundee has been uses the machine’s interface to select
to make small product runs—in 2017 Lori
the appropriate set of tooling positions,
making tubing for the recreational vehicle Monagin began looking in earnest for
presses “Enter,” and the mill does the rest.
(RV) market for more than 10 years. mill technologies with more productivity.
Performing a process that the
Like hand sanitizer stations, this is an Dundee Products had sold one of its mills,
manufacturer calls Flexible Cold Forming
application strengthened by COVID-19 so it had some floor space to fill.
(FCF), Dundee’s mill is model 240, which
as people continue to take vacations but The company had three conventional makes products in sizes from 0.75 to 2.5 in.
try to minimize interpersonal contact. The mills and possibly would have purchased square, and rectangular tube from .75 by
RV Industry Association reported that the a fourth, but at some point the SEUTHE 1 in. to 2 by 3 in., in wall thicknesses from
June tally of wholesale shipments was the name came up in conversation, and before 0.040 to 0.120 in.
highest of 2020, 11% higher than June long the team from Dundee met with The Mill Experience. A size changeover
2019, and the best month since October president of its U.S. subsidiary, Jurgen Jost. isn’t without some manual labor. It’s a
2018. Initially the discussion concerned round matter of shutting down the mill and

d replacing a few hardware items, such as “Our first few changeovers ran about breakdown, forming, and sizing passes
d the weld coil, impeder, impeder rod, and 90 minutes, but even that was a big have to work together for the mill to run
d the cutoff die. The mill’s weld box has one improvement over the three hours properly,” he said. “This mill doesn’t need
bottom roll for all sizes, so it doesn’t need we need to change over one of our every drive to work.” The mill’s design is
to be changed; the only roll tools that conventional mills,” Yensch said. “Now robust enough that it can continue to
require manual change are the weld box’s
we’re less than half of that at 40 minutes.” make good tube when a drive is out of
top roll and side roll.
And while the FCF technology is very service. The Dundee team also found that
r A changeover with little in the way of
exacting in how it works, it actually has while the manufacturer provides setup
manual labor and time—less than 45
minutes of downtime—seemed too some latitude in what it does, Yensch instructions for 47 sizes, Dundee made a
good to be true. To drive the point home, noted. 48th size.
d SEUTHE arranged two tours for Dundee “On most mills, the driven stands in the “We ran a 1-in. by 3-in. rectangle, which
personnel.
“We visited two SEUTHE customers
running two similar mills, one in Greece WE BELIEVE IN
r and another in Germany. We saw a
ONE FOR ALL
38-minute changeover, and that included
time for a cigarette break,” said Production
AND ALL IN ONE
Manager Brian Yensch. The flexibility of BLM
Beyond the direct labor, savings all-electric benders lets you
n accumulate in indirect labor. A single configure a system with the
e tool set that remains mounted to the exact features and functions
you need. Get RH or LH
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in-process bending, fixed or
, that come with storing large numbers variable radius, manual or
of tooling sets, keeping all of the tooling automatic loading, and adapt
organized, and maintaining each set on its and add-on as needed over
own regrind schedule. No longer do the time. We’ve got a bender
to suit just about anyone’s
h mill operators need to use setup charts requirements.
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Or, integrate your bender with
is machined, nor do they need to deal
a BLM lasertube, saw or end
with varying passline heights and the forming machine to create
n associated shims. a fully automated workcell.
y The Dundee Experience. As far as A single solution for your
l efficiencies and capabilities, Dundee backs tube and pipe fabrication,
managed from a single
t up SEUTHE’s statements. First, the material control point made possible
savings noted by Dundee matches the by BLMelements™ software.
r mill provider’s estimate. At its largest size, Go from design to production
t a 2.5-in. square or a 2- by 3-in. rectangle, in one click, producing parts
right, right from the first part.
, the raw material width is a little more than
10 in., and Dundee uses material that is Find out more at
e right around 0.500 in. narrower than it BLMGROUP.com
g uses on its conventional mills. Of course,
ELECT BENDER
h this is just the icing.
. The cake is the uptime. Dundee
y Products has run conventional mills for WE ARE TUBE
decades and is accustomed to spending AND MORE.
at least three hours on a typical tooling
BLM GROUP USA
r change. Changing from one size of tube 46850 Cartier Drive, Novi, MI 48377 | Tel: +1 (248) 560-0080 | www.blmgroup.com
a to another on the new mill is right on par
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d with what the team saw in Europe.

is not in the documentation we received, have a lot of good people here.” In the Marge often starts a conversation with
and it worked,” Yensch said. depths of the Great Recession, Monagin Lori by asking, “How’s Dundee?” or “So, did
Overall productivity? Dundee doesn’t volunteered to help answer phones, do you make some tube today?”
divulge the maximum speed or estimated paperwork, and so on, and found out It goes beyond family and includes
annual output, but Monagin said that that she’s really suited to providing the everyone who works at Dundee. Lori’s
she’s extremely pleased with its capability. strategic direction for the company. confidence in her staff is illustrated in the
“The mill does everything Jurgen said it “It was like an episode of 'Undercover decision to purchase the new mill. Unable
would do,” she said. Boss', except I wasn’t under cover,” she to travel to Europe to see the two mills in
quipped. It was a specific reminder of the action, she sent two supervisors in her place.
Dale’s Legacy general advice her father provided on her The company has changed quite a bit
On Lori Monagin’s first day at Dundee first day. since 1986, having entered some new
Products in 1986, her father hadn’t owned A small business like Dundee Products markets and exited some along the way,
the company all that long, but he had is as much about family as it is about and while it has grown, it’s still small
been with the company since 1956. More business. Lori’s brother John worked for enough and nimble enough—more
than anyone, he knew that Dundee was the company for more than 20 years, nimble now, since the new mill was
anything but a one-person show and managing the inventory and the materials. installed—that it continues to take orders
therefore advised Lori not to think her And although their mother never worked in volumes as low as 5,000 linear ft. It’s a
position in the company was too lofty. She a day at Dundee, Dale’s success hinged legacy Dale would be proud of.
took that advice. on her support over the years. Although
Eric Lundin can be reached at ericl@
“I don’t take credit for much,” she said. the business kept Dale busy on many thefabricator.com.
“I sure didn’t do all of this by myself. nights and some weekends, she never
Dundee Products, www.dundeeproducts.
Our success is the direct result of our complained. Quite the opposite— com
employees’ dedication and loyalty, both she always took a keen interest in the
in management and out on the floor. We business—and even today, at age 82, SEUTHE, www.seuthe.com
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SA Tube-Pipe FPg-2020.indd 1 3/13/2020 9:44:49 AM
technology spotlight
Orienting the tube’s

weld seam on the mill
By Eric Lundin Keeping the Seam on the Up-and-up the laser’s spot position as the process
progresses. Still, the mill has to do the
In tube production, the first area of
E
very tube fabricator knows that concern for proper workpiece orientation heavy lifting, keeping the strip aligned as
getting the weld seam oriented is just before the weld box. As the two much as possible as it feeds through each
just right can be a critical part of a station.
edges of the soon-to-be-welded tube
Although other welding processes
successful fabricating operation, but the come together, they form a V shape. The
aren’t as exacting as laser welding, all rely
concern about good seam orientation location of the apex of the V is critical to
on good V positioning for making reliable
doesn’t start there. At the tube production the welding process, especially in laser
welds. Beyond welding, proper seam
welding. The spot size of a laser is tiny, so location is beneficial to scarfing the weld
stage, seam orientation can be just as
the apex must be positioned immediately bead along the ID and OD, quenching the
essential in making tubular products
below the laser and held steady. Some tube, and testing the integrity of the weld
successfully. For the most part, this means laser head manufacturers assist with this, seam. For these processes, the location of
putting the seam at the 12 o’clock position building systems that track the edges the seam isn’t quite as critical as it is for
and keeping it there, but not always. as they close in, making adjustments to welding, but good alignment helps.

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Seam orientation stand allows
mill operators to dial in seam location
Some other mill processes require a are designed with contours that impart a preferred to applying the force abruptly in
solid weld seam location after the weld twisting force to direct the seam location. a very short space.
is made. Inline seam annealing is one of The other way involves a seam Another benefit to a seam orientation
them. The process relies on the same orientation stand. Similar in appearance stand is that, for a given nonround size,
physical principle as induction welding, to a side-roll stand, it uses tools that can just one tooling set is necessary. For
using a tremendous amount of electrical be adjusted so the shafts are slightly example, if a tube maker makes quite a bit
power to induce current flow, and off vertical. The oblique angle provides of 2-in. square tubing with the weld seams
therefore to develop heat, in the steel. a twisting force that causes the tube specified in a variety of locations, a single
The process anneals the weld seam and to rotate. Minute adjustments provide tooling set can cover all of its orders of
the area near the weld seam, the heat- enough rotation to direct the seam to 2-in. square product.
affected zone. any location along the circumference
“Efficient inline annealing relies on between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. Manually Adjusted or
keeping the weld seam oriented with The former method, which uses Remote-controlled
the inductors,” said Glenn Hoffmann, vice football-shaped rolls, is the less expensive Some seam orientation stands are
president of engineering for T & H Lemont. of the two and is adequate for many designed and built to have two
adjustments, and some have three.
Another process involves the applications, but it has a few drawbacks.
The primary adjustments are lateral roll
manufacture of nonrounds formed “Football-shaped rolls contact the
position to accommodate various tube
from rounds. In some cases, the seam is tube over a very small surface area, so
sizes and tooling offset to determine the
supposed to be in the center of one of the amount of control is limited,” said
amount of twist. A third is vertical roll
the sides, coinciding with the 12 o’clock Warren Wheatman, vice president of
position so the stand can adapt to varying
location. In other cases, the seam must T & H Lemont’s Tooling Business Unit.
passline heights.
be at some other location: a specified Consistency and accuracy vary, Wheatman
The two main varieties of seam
distance left or right of center, or a location added. orientation stand are manual and remote-
relative to a corner or to some other tube Second, depending on the mill design controlled. Regardless of whether the
characteristic. and the tube’s characteristics, the former stand is manually or remotely controlled,
method might not be enough; the the tooling positions and the amount of
Use the Mill or a operator might try to get the mill to offset normally are set before threading
Supplemental Tooling Stand apply too much twisting force over too the strip through the mill.
For both scenarios—keeping the seam little distance. As with every forming and “The big advantage of remote control
steady at 12 o’clock or rotating it to a sizing process that takes place on a tube is in the amount of uptime,” said Jim
different specified location around the mill, finesse trumps brute force every time. Godzicki, lead mill service technician.
tube’s circumference—tube producers Brute force often works, but wrinkles and “When using the remote control, the
have two options. They can use specially defects are more likely to develop. operator can adjust the amount of
designed rolls in place of the first sizing “Using a separate stand, one designed twist on the fly without shutting down
pass, or they can use a roll stand designed with all of the other forming parameters the mill.”
for seam orientation. in mind, gives the operator more room
Editor Eric Lundin can be reached at ericl@
The most common way to orient the to work, rotating the tube over a long thefabricator.com.
tube seam is to use rolls designed for seam column,” Hoffmann said. Twisting it
T & H Lemont, thlemont.com
orientation in the sizing section. The tools gradually over an extended distance is

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company profile
Strategic investments,
shrewd business decisions
fuel fabricator’s 30 years
of growth, innovation
Entrepreneur finds the right
equipment, creates the right
opportunities to build a one-stop
tube fabrication shop and OEM
By Eric Lundin “Dave Nogalski and I purchased

$14,000 worth of used welding equip-
the two owners gave some thought to
branching out and finding a niche in the
T
he number of businesses that start ment and layout tables,” said Paul Kricke- metals industry to make semifinished
in garages is far too plentiful to berg, now the sole owner, president, and goods based on custom bending.
count—indeed, most businesses CEO of the company. The seller was clos- Still in the early stages of establish-
start as side ventures in garages, ing his shop, and while Krickeberg and ing the company’s new role, they didn’t
basements, or sheds—but the portion Nogalski were starting a new venture, it have a plan beyond intending to work
that lasts more than a few years isn’t large seemed to be a good fit for the existing hard and do right by the customers.
at all. About one-third fold after two years space. Krickeberg summed it up as “Do your
and half don’t make it past the five-year “We leased the same space in the best, serve the customers, and keep at it.”
mark. same building, so we didn’t have to Thirty years later, it’s evident that Kricke-
Sharpe Products, New Berlin, Wis., move anything.” berg grew into his role, providing the
differs from most businesses in two big Krickeberg was employed full-time leadership needed to guide the business
ways: It wasn’t a startup in a garage when elsewhere then, so he moonlighted at through the decades, riding high on the
it was founded in 1991, and it’s on the the business while his partner ran the peaks and surviving the valleys, keeping
cusp of its 30th anniversary (fewer than day shift. For the most part, it was a up with technology and business trends,
80% of all businesses go past 20 years). fabrication shop that made railings and improvising when necessary, and adapt-
The company’s story started in 1990, architectural products from stainless ing as the industry changed over the
before it was named Sharpe Products. steel, aluminum, and brass. Before long, years.

BLM’s E-TURN permits switching between left-hand and right-hand bending heads as many times as necessary, allowing complex shapes to be
fabricated completely without removing the tube from the machine.
Jump-starting a Business ing a family of six, Krickeberg gave up the the die sets, which numbered in the hun-
e
After Jumping Ship security of a steady paycheck. dreds. This purchase immediately provid-
After a few months of working away at Before long, the Sharpe owners real- ed Sharpe the ability to bend essentially
cutting and welding, using the company’s ized that they would have to embrace any common tube or pipe diameter up
- more processes to grow. Although they to 6 in. OD.
not-quite-fully-formed business plan,
t were in the vast swath of manufacturing The owners were prepared to do
Krickeberg came to realize that his future
lay with the new venture, not with his that runs from Cleveland to Minneapolis, custom bending, and advertised this
employer. He had been chatting with cutting and welding can take a company capability, but orders weren’t coming in
r only so far. Over the next several months, steadily yet.
Nogalski about some of his travails when
” two key decisions would form the blue- “Oftentimes an order was the only
he spontaneously decided it was time
- print for the company’s growth for the order, and if it got held up for some
to cut his ties. He put in his notice and
e next few decades. reason, we had nothing to do,” Kricke-
proceeded to dedicate 100% of his energy
to the fledgling company. First, the two owners debated pur- berg recalled. Not content to have idle
“It was an exciting time,” Krickeberg chasing a bender. After coming to a de- equipment and idle workers, Krickeberg
g said. “When we showed up at work, we cision, they found a seller who offered to directed the shop staff to start making
, didn’t know what was going to happen include a single die set. Rather than dip bends for future orders. He knew a thing
- that day. We just hoped that the good a toe into the water at the shallow end, or two about the handrail industry and
e days would outnumber the bad days.” It Krickeberg saw an opportunity to plunge the bends they’d likely need to fulfill
was a big risk. Although he was support- into the deep end; he offered to buy all of future orders, so cutting 100 lengths of

The TubeInspect equipment offers real-time diagnostics and For cutting complex 3D components, Sharpe relies on a Jenoptik
monitoring, allowing essentially immediate bend correction and Votan BIM, a fiberoptic laser machine with a robotic manipulator. It
decision-making. replaces processes such as machining, coping, and drilling, eliminating F
the capital investment, tooling costs, and material handling time 1
associated with such secondary operations.
pipe and making 100 bends for invento- and three-roll units provide substantial several years of service.
ry seemed like good preparation. diversity in bend radii. End Forming. An end former built
And that was it—suddenly Sharpe While each has a place in industry, and by Proto-1, model RAM-70, isn’t just an-
was both a custom tube bending com- Sharpe has all the available cold-bend- other CNC end former. Equipped with six
pany ready to make manufactured coming technologies, rotary draw bending heads, it can provide better results than
ponents, and a full-fledged supplier of is considered to be the gold standard a machine with a single head and six die
handrails and related hardware ready to for precise and complex bending. Like sets. It has to do with the speed at which
ship parts on short notice. many business owners in the industry, the machine works.
Krickeberg has had his share of early Materials can elongate only so much
Technology Trends in Tube Fabrication benders, built before CNC was available. before they fail; a 2-in.-thick sample of
After Sharpe branched out from sawing Companies like Pines and Eaton Leonard SAE 1010 steel can stretch about 20%
and welding to embrace bending, its built durable, robust machines that ran before it splits. Forming coil into a tube
technology portfolio became broader decade after decade, so even after CNC uses some of the ductility, leaving less
and deeper, encompassing end forming, became a trend in manufacturing, many elongation for subsequent forming op-
laser cutting, and sophisticated measur- companies like Sharpe still relied on pre- erations. Without annealing, the steel has
ing technologies. vious-generation machines that used only so much to give; every process that
In adding this equipment, Krickeberg hard stops. forms the material and creates a heat-
pursued one goal: to make Sharpe a one- “We bought CNC machines as soon ing-and-cooling cycle, which is a char-
stop shop for tube fabrication in sizes up as we could afford to,” Krickeberg said. acteristic of most fabrication processes,
to 6-in. diameter. He found two at a government auction uses up some of the remaining ductility.
Bending, Part I. Bending equipment on the West Coast; the asking price was Using a single-head end former for
for tubular workpieces takes many forms, $20,000, so a Sharpe employee went to several hits, changing dies between each
from a simple press-type machines to the auction site, looked them over, and hit, allows the metal to cool between
sophisticated rotary units that draw the determined that they were in like-new steps. If an identical series of forming
tube around a die, supported by a man- condition. The chance to move up the processes can be performed so quickly
drel to limit ovality and a wiper die to re- technology ladder at such a low price that the material doesn’t have a chance
move wrinkles. Twin-head units are great was attractive, and soon he took delivery to cool between hits, this process can
for high-speed production when making of two machines. Those machines served achieve a little more forming. The re-
symmetrical parts; induction units tackle Sharpe so well that Krickeberg had them sidual heat that remains in the material
heavy-wall, large-diameter workpieces; refurbished, rather than replaced, after enables some relieving of the built-up

For large-diameter bending, Sharpe Products relies on its 130- and Stamped parts, such as newel post caps, are part of Sharpe Products’
150-mm all-electric, multistack CNC benders from Unison. industrial handrail product line, which complements the company’s
custom forming and laser cutting business.
stress in the metal, meaning that the pro- accuracy, and bending consistency of ft., and it can cut parts up to up to about
cess makes better use of the material’s electric technology, Krickeberg couldn’t 3⁄8 in. in steel, stainless steel, aluminum,
- ductility. Of the two processes, the latter pass it up. Seventeen years later, the ma- copper, and brass.
x is more likely to result in a good part. This chine is still running, and over the years Sharpe soon purchased a second fiber
is the essence of the RAM-70. he purchased six more Unison units. laser from the same vendor and invest-
e Beyond this, forming up to six hits on Laser Cutting. Just as CO2 lasers rev- ed in a sheet laser for making a variety of
h one machine is really, really fast com- olutionized sheet metal fabrication, they parts, including laser-welded blanks for
pared to six distinct end forming pro- were a boon to tube fabrication as well. stamping many of the company’s hand-
cesses performed one at a time. While competing technologies often can rail parts.
“This machine is the key to high- make simple components faster than Bending, Part III. An unusual sort
speed end forming,” Krickeberg said. laser machines, lasers make up the dif- of bender—one featured as a concept
e Bending, Part II. Years after Sharpe ference with endless versatility and the in the July 2000 issue of The Tube & Pipe
s had invested in its first two CNC benders, elimination of time and cost associated Journal—feeds the workpiece through
- Krickeberg was looking through a vast with hard tooling. an articulating collet. Krickeberg saw
s overflow of email when he happened to When fiber lasers were introduced one in operation at the FABTECH trade-
t see another bender. Like his two initial to the marketplace, they offered quite a show in 2007, and while he didn’t have
- CNC units, this bender was used, but it few advantages over CO2 lasers—greater an immediate need for such a thing, he
- was a different technology. Rather than efficiency, faster cutting on thin-gauge purchased one immediately.
, using an electric-powered hydraulic sys- materials, and an ability to cut materials “I know a game-changer when I see
tem to develop bending force, the ma- that reflect the light generated by CO2 one,” he said.
r chine used electric power only. The year systems (red metals). In Sharpe’s pursuit Built by Nissin Precision Machines
h was 2003, so the technology was almost to cut as wide a variety of materials as Co., it carries out a process described
n 10 years old at the time, but it had been possible, it was an early adopter of fiber as freeform bending. Although it can
g somewhat slow to catch on, hindered by laser technology. make tight-radii bends and bends with
the machine cost. In this case, a single The company chose BLM’s LT Fiber, a continuously varying radii, it’s not a re-
used Unison machine was advertised at 3-kW machine that handles tubes from placement for other technologies. This
n $290,000, a fair bit more than the pair of ½ to 6 in. OD, which essentially match- machine complements other bending
- hydraulic machines Krickeberg had pur- es the diameters Sharpe can bend. Its technologies, excelling at making ex-
chased for $20,000. loader accepts tubes up to 24 ft. and the tremely complex bends on small-diam-
p Considering the setup time, bending unloader accommodates parts up to 14 eter material.

Krickeberg said.
In a side benefit, this system changed
the way Sharpe prepares part drawings,
simplifying the process. It provided a
different perspective on the process of
specifying a component’s dimensions
and features.
“Our drawings are scaled way down
these days,” Krickeberg said.
Bending, Part IV. Many tube or pipe
benders work on a left-hand or right-
hand bending principle only. Likewise,
some bend in just one plane, so a lengthy
component with several long legs might
risk crashing into the floor or the bender
itself unless the bends are planned care-
fully. In some cases, a partially bent part
has to be removed from one machine to
be finished on another, or rotated end-
for-end and reinserted into the same
machine.
A machine with two bending heads,
one each for right- and left-hand bend-
ing, that can bend horizontally or in-
clined is immensely helpful for such
applications. Sharpe found that BLM’s
E-TURN machines, which have these fea-
tures and provide fixed- or variable-radi-
The Proto-1 RAM-70 machine handles all manner of end forming processes, such as beading,
coping, flaring, reducing, notching, and swaging. It can perform up to six processes without us bending in diameters up to 2 in., are
removing the tube from the machine. a good fit.
Stamping. Most metal fabricators do
Automated Inspection. Tools and such as degree of bend, the locations of a little bit of everything, including stamp-
systems abound for checking the dimen- tangent points, and center-to-center di- ing. Many rely on small hydraulic presses,
sions and feature locations of fabricated mensions. It also can be set up as a go/ hand-fed and manually actuated. Setting
tubular components and assemblies, no-go gauge for a fast, no-frills interpre- up a full-blown stamping line and feed-
from straightforward check fixtures to tation of the part’s dimensional integrity. ing the press from coil might be unusual
fairly sophisticated coordinate measur- And, like other digital systems, it provides for most small tube shops, but this is a
ing machines. feedback for bend correction. central technology at Sharpe. Stamped
Sharpe invested in a TubeInspect “Regardless of how far off the first parts make up an integral part of its
P16, a photogrammetric system made piece is, the second is spot-on,” Kricke- handrail offerings, which provide about
by Hexagon that combines speed, ac- berg said. “We used to write every quote 25% of the company’s revenue.
curacy, and versatility. The user lays the to cover the cost associated with four or The company recently upgraded its
part on the machine’s bed and a system five lengths of scrap. That’s now down press capability with two servo press-
of 16 cameras takes 16 unique images, to two. Furthermore, we used to guess- es, which allow extraordinary control
which the software stitches together in a timate the causes of tolerance problems. over the motion profile. The company
minute or two to make a composite. For Now we know where they lie.” uses Komatsu model H1F presses, one
long, lightweight tubular components, Sharpe’s main motivation in buying each with 80-ton and 200-ton capabil-
the system compensates for sag caused the system? Measurement speed. ity. They provide control over the slide
by gravity. “It doesn’t make sense to fabricate velocity, stroke depth, and dwell while
The system provides quite a bit of data, something quickly and inspect it slowly,” delivering about three times the working

energy and consuming about one-third a repair doesn’t throw the production extreme precision; tight-radius bends
the power of a comparable mechanical schedule into turmoil. made with sophisticated tooling and
, press. And, “in some cases, we make tooling long, sweeping bends made on rolling
a Bending, Part V. “We still have some before we need it,” he said. machines; end-forms that stretch the
Pines machines, but we’re phasing them material right up to its limits; laser-cut
out,” Krickeberg said. It’s not that hydrau- Building Expertise in Capabilities, parts with endless combinations of holes,
lic machines aren’t necessary; indeed, this Materials, and Markets notches, and slots; and—because it has
technology was the mainstay for bend- Along the way, Sharpe has expanded its a Jenoptik-Votan BIM 5-axis laser cutting
ing tube and pipe for decades and still is capabilities to embrace essentially any system equipped with a fully articulated
viable. The situation is one of economics. and all processes in tube fabrication. It can robotic arm—elaborate parts that don’t
- Sharpe relies on its older machines for furnish complex bent parts made with necessarily appear to be tubular in nature.
high-volume orders, and this work isn’t
y as common in the U.S. as it once was.
t “Larger orders are going overseas,” What Buyers Expect
r Krickeberg said. “Domestic fabricators From Fabricators:
- have to focus on small orders and fast
turnarounds.” 2020 Survey Results
o Storage Strategies. For companies This webcast was recorded on October 20, 2020
- that have a lot of vertical space and little
horizontal space, a storage tower can be As a fab shop, you rely on your buyer relationships.
a big help. For a company that does a lot
You want more business, and new buyers are where you are going to find
, of stamping work, storing sheet metal on
it. Keeping buyers satisfied is key to success. Trends show that the buyer
- a tower system can help relieve congest- profile is changing, and their expectations also have evolved. Paperless
- ed floor space and simplify the process of Parts surveyed 350+ parts buyers, to understand their expectations, so that
h retrieving material. fabricators are better equipped to meet them. Join Paperless Parts as they
reveal the survey results and give you insight into what your buyers expect
Krickeberg invested in a tower unit
from you. They will discuss the profile of the buyers today and:
from Kasto, but he didn’t stop there.
• How/when/where buyers look for new manufacturing partners
When he saw how well the system keeps
• What characteristics a buyer looks for in a fabricator
e an assortment of raw materials orga-
• What expectations buyers have of their supply chain partners
nized and easy to recall, he bought an-
• How to gauge price sensitivity and upsell where appropriate
other one for the items Sharpe has in the
thousands: bender tooling sets.
When to Invest. When’s the right You’ll hear from:
g time to invest in a new technology? This Jason Ray is the Co-Founder and CEO of Paperless Parts,
- is probably a cornerstone in the founda- the platform for manufacturing that enables machine shops
tion of Sharpe’s success. Although some to streamline communications, quote faster and more
accurately, improve customer experience, and grow their
of Krickeberg’s decisions seem to be business. Jason found his passion for manufacturing while
made on the spot, such as buying the serving at the Pentagon in the United States Navy as a supply
s Nissin bender right off the show floor at and logistics officer, where he led advanced manufacturing implementation.
Seeing the negative impacts associated with ineffective sourcing of short-
McCormick Place, this doesn’t mean that
run production components, Jason was determined to solve this critical
he’s impulsive or that his purchases are problem that plagues manufacturing. Jason has a B.A. from Trinity College
whims. He pays close attention to tech- and MBA from Babson College.
nology trends and avails himself of op-
portunities that others pass up. This free webinar is brought to you by:
“We invest in technology before we
e need it,” he said. He also invests in just
a little more capacity than he really
e needs, especially in the critical role of Register today at
e bending. Having a little slack means www.thefabricator.com/webcast
g that taking a machine out of service for
OctNov 2020 TPJ.indd 39 PaperlessWebcast_PostHVOctNov20TPJ.indd 1 10/1/209/29/20 10:13 AM

9:44 AM
Many of the original employees still work at Sharpe Products, including (from left) Bob Pihringer, lead fabricator; Connie Byal, sales and purchasing
manager; Paul Krickeberg, president & CEO; David Nogalski, lead estimator; and Randy Krickeberg, plant manager.
Embracing steel, stainless steel, alu- That area of expertise encompasses metal to be drawn. Because the tool-
minum, and red metals means that the no small understanding of metallurgy. room is in-house, die tryout and trou-
company can serve diverse markets such The company makes many catalog parts bleshooting can be carried out more or
as medical, dental, agriculture, aero- in carbon steel, stainless steel, and alu- less immediately. This, combined with
space, architecture, marine, retail, furni- minum. To a nonmetallurgist, that might the speed at which a tool and die set can
ture, recreation, and commercial truck. sound easy, but making identical parts be produced—usually a week, as op-
It also means that Sharpe is as much a from various materials takes quite a bit posed to the four- to six-week lead time
technical school as it is a company. of understanding of material properties. Krickeberg estimates he’d need other-
“We build bending and forming “Carbon steel, stainless steel, and alu- wise—provides distinct advantages over
knowledge,” Krickeberg said. “Once in a minum all draw differently,” Krickeberg fabrication shops that don’t have captive
while, we get a call from another bend- said. tool-and-die departments.
ing shop asking for help in setup or trou- Having fabrication equipment opera-
bleshooting. Some manufacturers might tors, machinists, and tool- and diemakers Splitting the Company Into One
make 10 parts, so they know 10 setups, in-house means that Sharpe has a sub- Like many fabrication shops, Sharpe
and they usually don’t have much trou- stantial amount of metals knowledge had much of its equipment segregated
ble, so they’re light on troubleshooting under its roof, and it just keeps accumu- by function—saws and laser cutting
knowledge. Some of our machine oper- lating. Such a reservoir of knowledge machines in one area, benders in another,
ators do 10 setups in the span of three about the various metals and how they stamping presses in yet another. Like many
days, so we have a substantial amount of form is instrumental in making the dies executive teams, the leaders at Sharpe
accumulated forming knowledge.” to draw them properly, regardless of the realized that they were sinking far more

time and money into indirect labor than quote for a high-volume part,” he said. pursued a second goal, one that concerns
necessary, moving parts around the shop. The difference boils down to prof- the service-quality-price triad.
Sharpe was supposed to be a fabrication itability. Nobody wants to make thou- “To be competitive, you have to be the
shop, not a material handling shop. sands of parts, or tens of thousands of best at one of these and very good at the
So in 2019 the company embarked on parts, if the quote was a little low and other two,” Krickeberg said. A business
an ambitious plan to create workcells. It owner can’t simply purchase these capa-
profits are too slim to make the contract
bought several new saws and put all of
worthwhile. bilities; Krickeberg can invest in all of the
its saws, old and new, on casters for flexi-
equipment that he wants, but the ma-
bility. This move put Sharpe in a position
to create cutting-and-bending cells and
Credit Where Credit is Due chines don’t run themselves. High marks
While Paul Krickeberg’s main goal was to from customers in quality, service, and
modify them without much trouble.
At the same time, Sharpe’s leaders return Sharpe into a one-stop shop, he also price come from good technology in the
alized that maximizing efficiency would
be a matter of segregating the handrail
division from the custom bending divi- I D FLASH REMOVAL
sion. Initially just four or five stock-keep-
ing units (SKUs), the handrail portion SYSTEMS FOR TUBE
of the business now comprises a fully
formed product line that has SKUs in the & PIPE PRODUCERS
thousands.
It would be a stretch to say that
Sharpe Products is two companies under
one roof—especially because it’s under
two roofs—but strategically it makes
sense that the company has two sepa-
rate facilities.
“We use two specific sets of process-
es: high-volume and low-volume,” said
Plant Manager Randy Krickeberg. The dif-
- ference is far more than just order quan-
- tity and affects essentially every step in
r writing a quote. Determining the pro-
h cess steps, estimating the machine time,
procuring the material, and establishing
-
e
the price per piece are much more ex-
acting exercises when the order quantity GUARANTEED
is in the thousands. The staff even runs
PERFORMANCE!
-
r through what-if scenarios, doing a sort
e of pre-emptive troubleshooting before
trouble has a chance to emerge and Contact Us Today For
throw plans into disarray.
“On high-volume parts, we have to
Complete Information
work through every step of the process
e
much more thoroughly, eliminating any
d
potential trouble spots,” he said. For a NELSON TOOL CORPORATION
g 388 NORTH COUNTY LINE ROAD, SUNBURY, OH 43074
low-volume part, quotes often have to
y
,
be turned around in a matter of hours. PH: 740-965-1894
e
On the high-volume side, it’s a complete-
ly different story.
FAX: 740-965-5081
U.S. PAT NO. 5.055972 • Nelson Tool Corp
“It can take an entire week to write a

Sooner or later, everyone involved with tube or pipe learns that round is an adjective, not a specification.
hands of a good staff, and Krickeberg ac- else in the early days, both in the office before it sinks in. Krickeberg nearly lost a
knowledges that he’s in debt to the 24 or and on the shop floor,” Krickeberg said. contract over this.
so people on Sharpe’s production floors, These days, in addition to procurement, The customer was unsatisfied with an
the folks who work on the administrative she oversees the inventory of catalog
out-of-round part and apparently was
side, and the many who have worked at parts that Sharpe produces. She also has
Sharpe in the past. also unsatisfied with Krickeberg’s expla-
an instrumental role in new part devel-
In the early days, the staff was small, opment, beginning with soliciting cus- nation of ovality. After finding a different
and the two owners’ wives helped build tomer input and ending with creating fabricator willing to make the part, the
the business, working in customer ser- new part numbers when drawings are customer persisted in using the vague
vice and in some cases helping to get finalized. round rather than the specific percent-
jobs out the door. Each of the Krickeberg In terms of the company’s culture,
age of ovality, and he received a not-
children have worked at the business, Sharpe’s leadership always has stressed
contributing to the company’s long quite-round part from that fabricator
balance. Krickeberg credits a former
history as it grew and evolved. Notable boss for his tendency to limit the hours too. The message finally took, and when
are Robbie Krickeberg, former machine worked by most of the staff, keeping it to he contacted Sharpe again, Krickeberg
operator, and Randy Krickeberg, who as 40 when possible. Even when the com- was able to coax him to place his next
plant manager is particularly hands-on pany is running full-tilt and working ad- order with Sharpe, maintaining the
regarding both the custom bending and ditional hours, he never requires anyone
relationship.
the handrail fittings side of the business. to work on a Sunday. Krickeberg recalls
Thirty years of leadership, an eye for
One of Paul’s brothers, Tom Krickeberg, delivering parts on a Sunday once in the
was also part of the business in the early distant past, a one-of-a-kind delivery good technologies, a willingness to in-
days and still works in both bending and made at the last minute so the custom- vest in them continuously, an interest in
fabrication. Daughter Stacy Cramer, who er would have it first thing on Monday embracing the risks that are necessary
was formerly vice president, also spent morning, but that’s it. He started making to get ahead, and an understanding of
many years learning the business from efforts to protect the work-life balance
round versus ovality—not bad consid-
bottom to top and eventually had re- long before it was a common theme in
ering that Krickeberg himself has never
sponsibility for overall operations, includ- the workplace.
ing the company’s computer systems. “My old boss used to say that if any- bent a length of pipe.
Although Nogalski sold his share of one was going to work additional hours, Eric Lundin can be reached at
the company to Krickeberg some time it should be the boss, not the staff,” ericl@thefabricator.com.
ago, as lead estimator he still has a critical Krickeberg recalled.
role in the company, and is a point person BLM GROUP USA, www.blmgroup.com
for technical consultation on customer Did You Say Round?
Hexagon AB, hexagon.com
projects. Also instrumental in the com- Sooner or later, everyone involved with
pany’s history is Connie Byal, currently tube or pipe learns that round is an Jenoptik, www.jenoptik.us
the sales and procurement manager and adjective, not a specification. Unless a
Kasto, www.kasto.com
known otherwise for her knowledge and fabricator purchases extruded products
involvement in many roles over many or drawn-over-mandrel material, some Komatsu America Industries LLC,
years at Sharpe. To hear Krickeberg de- amount of ovality is a fact of life at the raw www.komatsupress.com
scribe her career, she often supplement- material stage, and it’s almost always a
Nissin technology is available from
ed the job she was hired to do with any- characteristic of fabricated tube and pipe
J. Neu GmbH, neu-gmbh.de
thing else she felt like doing, which was components and assemblies.
a lot. Imagine a hub around which most Every tube fabricator has had to ex- Proto-1 Manufacturing LLC,
of the activities take place, and you’ve just plain this, probably hundreds of times proto1mfg.com
imagined Byal’s role at Sharpe. over a career, and on occasion a cus-
“She did sales and, well, everything tomer has to hear it two or three times Unison Ltd., www.unisonltd.com

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FORMING, FABRICATING, WELDING
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laser cutting
With tube cutting, the

operator needs to be
aware of the other side of
the tube and the effect the
laser will have on it while
processing the cut,
particularly as it relates to
thermal expansion.
Today’s tube lasers offer a

A guide to done-in-one system for fast
laser
and efficient cutting
By garrett peterson
tube L
aser cutting technology has significantly moved the
needle for fast processing of flat sheet metal. But
what about cutting tube and pipe? Today’s laser tube
cutting
cutting machines are specifically designed to cut a large
range of mill-length tube and pipe, whether round, square,
rectangular, or triangular. Some of the more advanced
options can process I- and H-beams, C-channel, angle iron,
and other user-defined shapes.
Cutting tube and pipe using a laser is similar in a lot of ways
to processing flat sheet metal. A lot of tube is made from the
same material as the flat metal, as it starts out flat before

it is formed into the tube. However, there cut on the stick separates the part from Weld Seam
are some significant differences between the raw stick, which makes it necessary Infrequently, some parts require the weld
the two. With tube cutting, the operator to ensure good cut quality. If the end seam to be located on a certain side, or its
needs to be aware of the other side of the cut does not separate from the part, the location is sensitive to the overall design.
tube and the effect the laser will have on machine cannot continue to cut the next In these instances, laser tube cutting
it while processing the cut, particularly as part. machines can include a seam detector
it relates to thermal expansion. Those who have experience cutting that will locate the seam so cutting can be
When cutting flat material, a laser will tube know that the tubes themselves are adjusted accordingly. This is particularly
throw off sparks, debris, and slugs, which not always straight. For those just entering significant in parts where bearings are
generally land on the table or into a chip the laser tube cutting sphere, it is certainly being placed in the tube, if tapped holes
bucket. But with laser tube cutting, those something that needs to be considered will be introduced, or when another part
sparks, debris, and slugs often fall inside from both the operator and programmer needs to attach to that area. However, in
of the tubing. That could be an issue for perspectives. today’s material market, shops have the
some fabricators, which is why they need When ordering tube, shops may opt option to spend a little more money and
to be aware of this and learn how to deal for a less expensive material, and this purchase seamless tube or pipe so it no
with it effectaively. It’s always important will directly correlate with the quality longer is an issue.
to keep in mind how to properly manage of the final product. Fabricators need
scrap material, dross, and slugs. to be concerned with whether or not Maximizing Efficiency
To deal with the sparks going inside
the tubing is straight. If it is not straight, With many systems available on the
the tube, fabricators can precoat the
they need to determine if the machine market, finding the right laser tube cutting
inside of the tube with an antispatter
has the capability to correct for non- machine requires some thought. Tube
to help prevent the sticking of the cut.
straight tubing. While it is not only the lasers are based on the size it can handle,
They can also use a sacrificial tube on
machine operator’s duty to know tube so a shop needs to know what tube
the inside to absorb the laser beam to
straightness, it is also the programmer’s. dimensions it is expecting to cut. This will
prevent heat buildup and damage to the
When an engineer has designed a part,
other side. In some cases, fabricators can
programmers, supervisors, and managers
opt for a secondary process to clean the
all have to take into account how well the
inside of the tube once it's been cut. This
drawing matches up to the material being
all depends on the fabricator’s industry
used and the accuracy of the cutting
standard and application.
processes.
For example, if a shop is working with
Tube Cutting Basics
There are some significant differences a 4- by 4-in. square tube in mild steel, the
between laser cutting tube versus flat material will typically have corner radii.
sheets. Operators need to be aware that Before cutting, it is important to know
cutting tube requires an ideal finished cut how accurate the corner radii are. This
so the machine can move on to the next is especially relevant for programming,
part. With laser cutting sheet metal, the which needs to ensure that the digital
machine is not affected by the previous print matches the reality of what is being
part and can simply move on to the next cut on the shop floor. If it the material
sheet regardless of the quality of cut. If the and the digital print are not the same,
finished cut of a tube is not done correctly, the end result may not be as expected.
it will significantly affect the quality of the For example, bevels may not meet up
, next part, if it can perform the next cut at because the corner radii are different.
all. There are loose standards and tolerances
, One of the most basic things operators on standard tubing. Many advanced
Tube lasers can be used to cut shapes and
can do to ensure that the machine is laser tube cutting machines include
features that can’t be made with other
s efficiently cutting tube is to visually compensations for feature overrides like a methods. The more features on a part, the
inspect the cut to make sure it has been corner radius to ensure the part can still faster the return on investment a fabricator
e done properly. With end cuts, the last be cut correctly. will get from the tube laser.

MC3 TAKES ON LARGE PROJECTS WITH TUBE LASER
Founded in 2000, Master Conveyors specialized in the including a large underground scrap system.
production of conveyor systems. Over the years owners Abe and “We’ve changed our design so that all of the structural
John Klassen grew the company to include additional services components can be put through the tube laser, which allows
in design and building as well as custom fabrication. As they us to be more productive,” said Abe. “We also developed a
gained more and more work outside of the conveyor segment, particular kind of conveyor for a customer that was entirely
the duo opted to rebrand the company as MC3 Manufacturing made out of structural tubing. It was extremely modular and
in 2015. Today the Kingsville, Ont., shop is approximately 47,000 would be very expensive if not impossible to make without the
sq. ft. and employs around 45 workers.
tube laser. In the end, this product has done really well for us and
our customer.”
As for the process, the shop does everything in SolidWorks
and has developed a plug-in that automatically separates sheet
metal and structural parts. All of the structural components go
into a particular folder. They then use SigmaTube to nest the
parts, and the code is stored on the company’s network for the
operator to come and pull the run sheet. Once he has gotten
the right material and staged it on the tube laser, the machine
takes care of it from there.
The shop had never really worked with a tube laser before, so
Since rebranding, Abe and John have continued to expand when it first integrated the machine, there was a bit of a learning
the shop’s fabricating capabilities with the purchase of new curve.
equipment.
“We have a Mazak 4,000-watt sheet laser with a 20-shelf
stocking system, which allows us to run lights-out,” said Abe
Klassen. “We are currently considering adding a second laser to
that cell so that we'll be running two sheet lasers. However, two
years ago we decided to invest in a tube laser and opted for a
Mazak 3D Fabri Gear 400 III, which is capable of handling larger
pieces of material compared to regular CNC machines. These
capabilities have given us better accuracy and faster turnaround
times.”
The shop also runs a number of press brakes, welders, CNC
machining centers, and powder coating equipment to produce “Knowing how to program effectively in 3D was a bit of a
a range of projects. challenge,” said Abe. “With the moving head and number of
Prior to investing in the tube laser, the shop used a saw to cut axes on the machine, it took some time to get used to. Our
the tube and the operator then had to perform other operations
programmers did a good job learning the capabilities. We
on it to finish the part.
switched software to better suit the tube laser. And now we are
“This machine changed our efficiency when it comes to
able to run a variety of parts, particularly low-volume parts, with
cutting tube,” said Abe. “Now several processes are all done
ease.”
on one machine, and it allows us to add features and designs
Overall, the system allows the shop to laser-cut tube upwards
that can only really be done on a tube laser. It has also helped
our welding department. With the tube laser, everything is cut of 40 ft. long, which is unusual for the region.
cleanly and fits together so much better than before.” “I don’t think I know anybody who has a machine that can do
Surprisingly, adding the tube laser also helped the shop deal 40 ft. in and 40 ft. out,” said Abe. “That’s a really big deal, especially
with a lack of skilled labor. The machine was able to increase the when we are now taking on large housing projects with lots of
shop’s production volume without needing additional workers. long structural beams. We have the confidence to know that we
Today MC3 uses its new machine for many applications, can do them on the tube laser.”

ensure that it can cut the largest-diameter shapes and features that can’t be made
tube the shop will be working with. with other methods. These features will
To determine the required machine help fabricators expand capabilities to take
size, a fabricator needs to know what tube on a wider range of customer projects.
diameter will be cut, how much power is The more features on a part, the faster the
needed, and the length of the tube. return on investment a fabricator will get
In addition, finding a tube laser system from the tube laser.
that has proper support for the raw stick A laser tube cutting machine acts as
can make all the difference in part quality. Most tube laser machines today have the a done-in-one system by performing a
The more chucks on a system, the greater capability to tilt the head to allow for bevel number of processes, including material
the accuracy will be when the tube is cutting and countersinks. A machine with a handling, cutting, machining, drilling,
rotating. The ability to support tubing 3D torch maximizes flexibility and the range tapping, and punching. This eliminates
of movement.
on both sides of the cut is important the operator’s need to work through
because inaccuracies can occur if the multiple steps moving from machine to
tube is hanging and unsupported. Having want to invest in one just to cut raw stick machine.
a third or fourth chuck can help hold the that could be cut faster on a band saw.
finished part. Also, with four chucks, chuck Some shops don’t want to use a band saw
Garrett Peterson is a senior application
one and chuck two can be cutting raw because it tends to be less accurate than a engineer at Mazak Optonics Corp., 2725
material while chuck three and chuck four tube laser and the tube can require post- Galvin Court, Elgin, IL 60124, 847-252-
are removing the finished part from the processing like grinding. 4500, www.mazakoptonics.com.
cutting area, enabling higher throughput. But tube lasers can be used to cut
Most tube laser machines today have
the capability to tilt the head to allow
for bevel cutting and countersinks. A
machine with a 3D torch maximizes
flexibility and the range of movement,
which expands the range of applications
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possible. Fabricators are able to cut any
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fit-ups. • Variable up to 30 ft/min processing speed
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Automation is also something that can • Deburring, End Finishing, and Tube Notching
make laser tube cutting more efficient.
Something as simple as raw material
length detection on the machine can Angle Roll Benders
measure the length of stick using sensors • Vertical or Horizontal Orientation
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for better material management. Features • Add-on devices available for bending
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systems, seam detection, and spatter

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Programmable Punch and Back
Some misconceptions about tube lasers Gauge Available
are common. Many operators are unaware

of how much faster it is to cut tube on J&S Machine, Inc.
a laser cutting system than with other
methods. A laser tube cutting machine
is expensive and some fabricators don’t


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executive perspectives
Planning for a full-

scale derailment or a
high-speed trip on
Read more from Lisa Wertzbaugher at
www.thefabricator.com/
lisa-wertzbaugher.
a bullet train
Making business preparations for
the uncertain year ahead
by Lisa Wertzbaugher
U
sually the fourth quarter of every fiscal year is the time I refuse to give up. With that said, after some pep talks and attitude
work with clients on planning exercises for the next fiscal adjustments, mostly with myself, I have push forward with 2021
year—creating budgets, developing sales projections, planning exercises.
making organizational chart adjustments, and so on. We study
the economy as a whole, look at industry-specific trends, budget Strategic Plan
for capital expenditures, analyze health costs and increases, The company strategic plan must be updated before the end of
assess projected employee absences, and update the company’s the year. Each member of the company’s leadership team, the
strategic plan. The goal is to develop an executable strategy that C-level folks, should have three to five measurable goals each
will deliver results in spite of unplanned events, political activities, year that move the business along on a five-year strategy. These
and economic fluctuations throughout the year. get rolled out to departmental managers so they can develop
Are you laughing at me yet? At this point in 2020 (mid- deliverables to support goal achievement. All needed activities
September) is anyone willing to step forward with a road map for and tasks should be documented in departmental strategic plans
2021? Is anyone willing to sign their name to a list of goals and that support the overall company road map.
performance expectations? Ok, I understand, and, frankly, I am
feeling the same frustration. But, my clients hire me to push their Sales Projections
business forward, and I don’t compromise on planning. To quote This is the activity most often absent from company planning
Benjamin Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” exercises. Many businesses do not complete revenue projections,
I am a firm believer that persistence always wins the day. Many but sales-driven organizations certainly do. The revenue outlook
accomplished professionals get to the top because they simply drives decision-making in all other areas of the business, so

projecting income is critical.
Sometimes this is driven from the top. In some cases, business
owners have a desired percentage of growth and assign quotas
to the salespeople, who assign them to specific customers.
I recommend a bottom-up approach. I look at customers
individually—paying attention to historic performance, current
industry trends, and customer-specific projects that will increase
revenue— then assign an expected revenue target to each. Once
a projection is completed for each customer, this is rolled up to
the overall company growth number.
I also recommend breaking the annual projection down to
monthly projections. Many customers exhibit a seasonality in
demand, so their buying behavior ebbs and flows throughout the
year. Taking these trends into account helps to preserve cash flow.
Budgeting
Once you have estimated the annual revenue, you can budget for
spending and set margin goals. I’m a fan of zero-based budgeting,
but there are many effective approaches. Define all projected
expenditures by department and roll them into the company
profit and loss projection. The executive team should analyze
margin on a monthly basis at a minimum. Having a set budget
and disciplined analysis allows the team to make decisions
throughout the year as things change. And they will.
COVID-19 in 2021
At this point, the impact of COVID-19 should be included in all
e
planning discussions. How will we sell digitally? What added
1
expenses will be incurred for workplace safety? What are options
for bench strength during employee absences? How do we host
customers on-site safely? What resources do we need to add for
sales? Print? Digital? What if COVID-19 cases increase to the point
f
that the company must shut down for 30 days? What reserves are
e
necessary and available to cover expenses if revenue is cut off
h temporarily? This will likely be at least 50% of the discussion.
e The feedback I’m getting from clients and industry colleagues
p is “Optimism for 2021.” I agree. I mean, why not? I hate to even
s suggest this, but can it really get worse? Beyond that basic
s observation, data-driven analysis of the economy and business
climate is generally pointing to recovery for next year.
My advice for next year? Push forward, and plan as if this could
be your best year yet.
g
, Lisa Wertzbaugher, founder of
k Wertzbaugher Consulting, can be reached
at wertzbaugherconsult@gmail.com.
o

Business Brief 4
h
Maintaining the
c
e
l
momentum of innovation
a
w
s
W
D
3
U.S. manufacturers were forced to t
innovate during the early c

i
Visit www.alliantgroup.com for more

stages of the pandemic— p
e
information. a trend that must continue i
by neil shah W
t
I
a
f one thing is certain about the with the necessary resources to mass Manufacturing companies in the U.S. c
coronavirus pandemic, it’s that produce health care supplies in record time,” should keep two things in mind when the
uncertainties are a given. The U.S. according to the ORNL website. pandemic begins to abate. First, it’s crucial
manufacturing industry is no exception to to embrace a culture of innovation by
this rule as firms across the country pivoted A Culture Shock Works prioritizing Industry 4.0 technology; second,
quickly to adjust to the demands wrought Other firms have wholly upended worksite it’s even more important to leverage
by the pandemic. What is most exciting, culture to implement social distancing available tools and incentives to ensure a
however, is that many U.S. manufacturing measures, sometimes by removing continuous work flow that embraces this
companies have seen the pandemic not “floating” workers and dedicating innovative mindset.
just as a hurdle, but an opportunity to employees to a single production line.
innovate. This is the mindset that should They also are leveraging technology Taking New Tech to the Next Level
be harnessed even after the pandemic like Zoom to conduct shift handover Long before the pandemic upended
has run its course. meetings while minimizing the number nearly everything, Industry 4.0
Looking at the numbers, despite the of employees on the shop floor. technology was making an impact on
fact that the industry’s overall productivity A survey conducted by MC Machinery U.S. manufacturing firms. For example,
contracted in the initial months of the Systems, for example, found that 60% 39% of industry leaders had implemented
pandemic—the PMI fell to 48.5 in March of manufacturing employees think the a “nerve-center” approach to increase
from 50.7 in February— U.S. manufacturing pandemic revealed opportunities for supply chain transparency.
has shown both resilience and the ability collaborative manufacturing—which in- Through connectivity, computer
to adapt to shifting consumer needs. For volves companies forming partnerships power, lighting-fast data analytics, the
example, the Department of Energy’s to bundle ideas and improve processes— latest engineering, and the partnership of
Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and and automation technologies. The type of humans and machinery, Industry 4.0 has
Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Oak collaborative manufacturing established helped to bolster the sector in this time
Ridge National Laboratory used its “materials during the pandemic may or may not of need. According to McKinsey, its recent
science, fiber production, and additive survive after the coronavirus is finally gone, survey of manufacturing professionals
manufacturing expertise and capabilities to but again, it would be best if the willingness “found that 93% plan to focus on resilience
produce tooling such as custom molds for to embrace new ideas, processes, and of their supply chain, and 90% plan to invest
injection molding to provide U.S. industry technologies would remain. in talent for digitization.”

Any skeptics of the power of Industry tools for deeper insight into operations, effectiveness, even suggesting doubling the
4.0 need to take a look at the impact it has sales, and supply chain disruptions, chief credit to leverage it as an economic recovery
had during the pandemic and consider its information officers and observers say.” tool. U.S. manufacturing firms have been
continued effects in the postcoronavirus It’s obvious that capital is required to able to use the credit to invest in company
environment. It’s tough to see the silver embrace an innovative mindset effectively infrastructure, new employees, and new
linings in the face of such a disastrous health through the leveraging of new technologies. technologies.
and economic environment, but the industry Despite Congress’s best attempts to help Doubling the credit would be a boon
will undoubtedly come out the other side American businesses weather the storm, to industry, but manufacturing companies
stronger. there were still hiccups with available loan shouldn’t wait for that to happen; they should
programs. proceed now to claim any tax credit they can
Where Things Are Headed get to reinvest in the necessary innovation
Despite the negative toll on the sector, Tools for Capital Already Available efforts to prepare for life after the coronavirus.
37% of manufacturing firms believe that U.S. manufacturing firms should strongly U.S. manufacturing firms are a core facet
the pandemic’s revenue impact on their consider government incentives that are of our country’s economy. The industry has
customers will be mild and short-lived. Now already available, especially ones that proven its resilience during the pandemic
is the time for manufacturing companies to don’t need to be paid back. The R&D Tax and will have a great opportunity use the
plan for a resurgence of productivity and Credit offered under Section 41 of the U.S. lessons learned to thrive once we get back
ensure that their operations can handle an Tax Code allows companies of all sizes to to “normal.”
industry upswing. significantly reduce their tax liability if they
According to a June 2, 2020, article in The are working to improve any product or
Wall Street Journal, many already are planning process.
Neil Shah is managing director
to spend “far more on data management Manufacturing companies make up for alliantgroup lp, 844-898-3280,
and analytics tools in the aftermath of the one of the largest groups to claim the www.alliantgroup.com.
. coronavirus outbreak and will be using those credit, and Congress has recently touted its
e
l
y
,
e
a
s
d
0
n
,
d
e
r
e
f
s
e
t
s
e
t

tube & pipe market update
recovery continues, but
risk of a stall is growing
Data indicates growth, but an additional
boost from Congress is needed
Visit https://prestonpipe.com for more information.
By paul vivian, ph.d., and rick preckel manufacturing jobs because of poor trade deals and unfair
trading practices rather than advancements in technology.
Manufacturing Performance
T
U. S. Steel and Nucor announced steel sheet price increases
he durable goods manufacturing index in August in the last week of August of a minimum of $40/ton. The price
increased by 0.7% but remains 8.0% below year-ago levels, increases were effective immediately. EXLTUBE, a Kansas City,
according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Motor vehicles and Mo., producer of construction and manufacturing-related pipe
parts manufacturing, having fully recovered to prepandemic and tube products, announced a price increase of $50/ton
levels, declined modestly in August, but gains in other sectors for all products during the same week. On Sept. 14 U. S. Steel
more than offset that sector. Growth was strongest in August
announced another price increase on sheet products of $60/ton
in primary metals (+2.1%) and aerospace and miscellaneous
and EXLTUBE announced another increase of $50/ton on A500,
transportation equipment (+4.2%). These industry segments
A513, and A53 products. In late September US Steel announced
remain 21.6% and 18.3% below year-ago levels, respectively.
a $75/ton price hike on seamless oil country tubular goods.
The August Manufacturing Report On Business, as published
by the Institute for Supply Management, indicated that the
Shipping & Imports
Purchasing Managers’ Index was 56.0%, up 1.6 percentage points
Overall pipe and tube shipments for the sectors of the market that
from the July reading of 54.2%. The New Orders Index improved
we cover decreased in July from June by 9.5% as both domestic
to 67.6%, which is up 6.1 percentage points from the July tally of
61.5%. The Production Index registered 63.3%, up 1.2 percentage
points compared to the July posting of 62.1%. These indices
turned positive (greater than 50%) in June after steep gains in Preston’s Research
May, and they continue to improve. For more information, visit The primary pipe and tube category that Preston analyzes
www.ismrob.org. that is of interest to The Tube & Pipe Journal readership is
mechanical tubing. This category includes conduit, off-the-
Domestic pipe, tube and steel mill news welder tubes with wall thickness less than 0.156 in., hot-
Global pipe producer Tenaris announced an $11 million finished seamless, cold-drawn seamless, and drawn-over-
investment in its recently acquired Koppel melt shop to expand mandrel products.
the plant’s billet size range to match its North American seamless According to Preston’s data, the sum of all pipe and
tube shipments from domestic mills in 2019 approximated
pipe mills’ size ranges. Tenaris has seamless mills in Ambridge, Pa.;
the amount of steel used in the automotive sector, a clear
Bay City, Texas; and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The funds also will be
indication of the significant contributions pipe and tube
used to upgrade safety, information technology, and automation
products make to the steel economy.
systems at the plant. Founded in 1982, Preston Publishing Co. is a market
Zekelman Industries has launched a national advertising research and consulting firm that provides steel tube and
campaign called “Life Reinforced” advocating more manufacturing pipe market data, statistics, and analysis in the monthly
in the U.S. The domestic manufacturing sector suffered a steep Preston Pipe & Tube Report. Additional services include
decrease, about 28% from 2000 to 2018, making it the hardest- other monthly reports, custom research, consulting, expert
hit employment sector. Many economic experts have come to witness services, and speaking engagements.
share Zekelman Industries’ perspective that America is losing
54 The Tube & Pipe Journal _OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
OctNov20TPJ_TubePipeMarketplace.indd 54 9/30/20 9:18 AM

and import shipments declined. July shipments were 32.6%
below year-ago volumes. Imports decreased from June 2020 Hot-rolled Band and
to July 2020 by 21.8% and were 51.1% below year-earlier levels.
Domestic shipments in July 2020 fell by 5.1% from June 2020
Mechanical Tube Price Indices
July 2004=1
and by 33.6% from July 2019. It is worth noting that most of the Hot Rolled Band & MechPreston
Tube Price Indices Co.
Source: SteelBenchmarker, Publishing
shortfall is occurring in oilfield-related products. Base Period, July 2004 = 1
Source: SteelBenchmarker, Preston Publishing
In mechanical tubing products, July shipments decreased by 1.70
5.2% from June and by 19.0% from July 2019. Imports decreased 1.50
1.30
by 14.7% from June 2020 and were 35.0% below July 2019 1.10
volumes. Domestic shipments dropped by 2.7% and 14.1% for 0.90
0.70
the same periods. The year-to-date mechanical tubing shipment 0.50
Oct-18
Dec-18
Sep-18
Nov-18
Jan-19
Feb-19
Jun-19
Jul-19
Oct-19
Dec-19
Sep-19
Nov-19
Jan-20
Feb-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-18
Apr-19
Aug-19
Apr-20
Mar-19
May-19
Mar-20
May-20
deficit is growing as recent months’ shipments represent an
unfavorable comparison to year-ago levels.
HRB Price Index
HRB Price Index
Outlook Mechanical Tube Price Index Carbon ERW 0.065" - 0.156"
Mechanical Tube Price Index, Carbon, ERW, 0.065 - 0.156 in.
Mechanical Tube Price Index Carbon SMLS 0"- 4 1/2"
Preston has begun to track the CNN/Moody’s Analytics Back- Mechanical Tube Price Index, Carbon, Seamless, Up to 4½ in.
r to-Normal Index, which is a combination of 37 metrics that
measures the health of the U.S. economy. As of this writing (in
s mid-September), the index is 80. The low point was 59 on April
e 17; note that 100 represents the prepandemic level of activity.
For more information, visit cnn.com/business/us-economic-
e recovery-coronavirus. Mechanical Tube Volume Index
n According to the OECD’s most recent Economic Outlook July 2004=1
Forecast, published in September, global gross domestic Mechanical Tube Volume Index
l Source:Base
Preston Publishing
Period, July 2004 = 1 Co.
product (GDP) is expected to decline by 4.5% this year which Source: Preston Publishing
n
is a 1.5 percentage point improvement from the June forecast. 1.00
, 0.95
Growth for next year is predicted at 5.0%. For the U.S., GDP is
0.90
forecast to decline by 3.8% this year and grow by 4% next year. 0.85
The U.S. unemployment rate fell in August to 8.4%, down from 0.80
0.75
10.2% in July.
0.70
Manufacturing gains have slowed, pandemic aid to businesses 0.65
and the unemployed has virtually dried up, and talks of another 0.60
Sep-18
Feb-19
Jun-19
Sep-19
Feb-20
Jun-20
Aug-18
Oct-18
Nov-18
Dec-18
Apr-19
Aug-19
Oct-19
Jan-19
Nov-19
Dec-19
Apr-20
Mar-19
May-19
Jul-19
Jan-20
Mar-20
May-20
Jul-20
boost from the federal government are at an impasse. The
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and
the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have been credited by
many for the sharp rebound in economic activity so far, but
without further action from Congress, it appears that the recovery
is likely to stall.
From a pipe and tube perspective, import shipments, based
on licenses for August, continue to decline, as do domestic
shipments reflecting pandemic-influenced order patterns. While
HSS Volume Index
January
HSS Volume 2010=1
Index
shipments in all products continue to weaken, pipe for the oil and
Source: Preston
Base Publishing
Period, January 2010 = 1 Co.
gas sector has taken the biggest hit. Source: Preston Publishing
1.80
Hot-rolled Steel 1.70
According to data from the SteelBenchmarker, the index for base 1.60
hot-rolled band prices fell to 63 in July from 67 in June. Demand 1.50
continues to improve, and the most recent price patterns in 1.40
mid-September reflect that, along with rising scrap and iron ore 1.30
costs. 1.20
Sep-18
Feb-19
Jun-19
Sep-19
Feb-20
Jun-20
Aug-18
Oct-18
Nov-18
Dec-18
Apr-19
Oct-19
Apr-20
Jan-19
Aug-19
Nov-19
Dec-19
Mar-19
May-19
Jul-19
Jan-20
Mar-20
May-20
Jul-20
Paul Vivian can be reached at pvivian@prestonpipe.com;

Rick Preckel can be reached at rpreckel@prestonpipe.com.
The Tube & Pipe Journal _OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020 55
OctNov20TPJ_TubePipeMarketplace.indd 55 9/30/20 9:18 AM

TRADE SHOWCASE
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
EXPERIENCE MATTERS
ITEC is committed to putting over 250 year’s experience
building Tube & Pipe Benders to work for you.
While other tube & pipe bender manufacturers or distributors
will often times under or over sell you based upon their own
agenda, ITEC is committed to using the over 250 years of
experience building tube and pipe benders at our disposal
to help you find the right machine to help you solve unique
challenges or expand your capabilities to bring in new potential
opportunities to add value to your customers.
With our uniquely transparent and highly educational sales
process coupled with our extensive and unmatched range of
CNC tube and pipe benders, ITEC puts you back in the driver’s
seat and gives you the confidence to make the best and right choice for your company.
From 3-axis single stack hybrid electric/hydraulic rotary draw to 13-axis multi stack all electric R/L rotary draw CNC bending machines
with 3D free form bending capability we have got you covered!!
ITEC’s founding philosophy isn’t just simple, it’s the only way we do business –
“Treat people the way you want to be treated”.
It is the reason why our customers become our
best salespeople – and don’t just take our word
for it: www.tube-equipment.com/testimonials

TRADE SHOWCASE
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
For over 35 years, New-Form Tools has been offering the

highest quality cut-off blades & over the last decade has become
the most innovative supplier of carbide tip circular saw blades
(TCT) . We provide cost saving metal cutting solutions for the
tube and pipe, roll form, and coil processing industries, helping
partners worldwide achieve a more efficient manufacturing
operation. We revolutionized the metal cutting market with
unique re-sharpening technology for TCT and HSS sawblades
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 Visit www.continentalcutoff.com for more information
Contact: Teri Rozycki 800-264-5950 teri@continentalcutoff.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX
Airmo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 MTM/Kent Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
www.airmo.com www.kentcorporation.com
AM Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Nelson Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

www.amindustrialgroup.com 740-965-1894
Amob Maquinas E Ferramentas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 New - Form Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,57

www.amob.pt www.newformtools.com
Asmag USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Paperless Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

www.asmagusa.com www.paperlessparts.com
BLM Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Pat Mooney Saws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

www.blmgroup.com www.patmooneysaws.com
Bystronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Randolph Tool Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,59

www.bystronicusa.com/en/Products/tubing www.randolphtoolco.com
Carell Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Scotchman Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

www.carellcorp.com www.scotchman.com
Continental Pipe & Tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Solar Atmospheres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

www.continentalcutoff.com www.solaratm.com
FABTECH® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Steelcraft Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

www.fabtechexpo.com 734-522-7130; www.steelcrafttool.com
HGG Profiling Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Thermatool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

www.hgg-group.com www.thermatool.com
Huth - Ben Pearson International . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Trilogy Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

www.huthbenders.com www.trilogymachinery.com
Innovative Tube Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,56 TRUMPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

www.tube-equipment.com info@us.trumpf.com
J & S Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,47 UNIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

www.jsmachine.com www.unist.com
Kent Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,51 Universal Tube & Rollform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

www.kentcorporation.com www.utubeonline.com
Mazak Optonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 WAFIOS Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

www.mazakoptonics.com www.wafios.us
The Tube & Pipe Journal® (ISSN 1091-2479) is published monthly except Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Jul/Aug and Oct/Nov when it is published
by-monthly by FMA Communications Inc. 2135 Point Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123. The Tube & Pipe Journal is circulated free upon request
to those who qualify and who are involved in the tube and pipe industries. Subscription to all others is $55.00 per year. Foreign
subscription is $85.00 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Elgin, IL, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address
changes to The Tube & Pipe Journal, 2135 Point Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123, 815-399-8700, FAX 815-484-7700.
Copyright 2020 by FMA Communications Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
58 OCT20TPJ.indd 58 9/30/20 8:47 AM

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Web Site: randolphtoolco.com E-Mail: info@randolphtoolco.com

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• Robust Vertical Saw Head with
Ball Screw Feed and Control
• Auto Loading of the tube in auto cycle
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• 3" x 3" Capacity at 45 Deg
• Scrap Minimzation Cycle while in Angle Mode
• Index and Cutting Axis are Servo Controlled
• Large HMI for Machine Set up and Monitor
BSS 360 AR Automatic CNC Miter Band Saw

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• 9" x 9" Capacity @ 90 Degrees
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• Cutting Angle is Servo Controlled
NISHIJIMAX NHC-100M Miter Carbide Saw
Full CNC Set Up and Operation • PLC control of the trigonomic functions of angle cutting
High Production Rates in Structural Tubes • Optional Loading Table for More Production
Helping companies maximize sawing performance through

innovation, application insight, and dedicated technical support.
patmooneysaws.com | 800.323.7503 | email: sales@patmooneysaws.com

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Maximizing

Oct/Nov 2020 TPJ.indd 1 9/28/20 10:21 AM

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22 Photo courtesy of SEUTHE GmbH, Hemer, Germany

Cover story columns

FEATURES shrewd business decisions fuel

54 Tube & Pipe Market Update

4 The Tube & Pipe Journal_OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020

OctNov 2020 TPJ.indd 4 10/1/20 11:05 AM

We’ve been making cut-off blades better and

Proudly Made in USA

call 734.522.7130 fax 734.522.1134

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TWISTER2 16-18 RL RBV 25 R

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Director Contributing Editor: Senior Account Representatives:

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Thermatool Corp. • info@thermatool.com • +1 (203) 468-4100

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Kaast Machine Tools Inc.

Clamps hold angles up to

Industrial Magnetics Inc.

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• Powerful Bystronic ByVision Tube Cutting interface

Contact us today to discuss your tube and profile

Experience the Bystronic difference with world-class automated

See the ByTube 130 in action during our Competence Days

Bystronic: Best choice.

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Situation to generate 137 gigawatts (GW) of electricity. While wind

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14 The Tube & Pipe Journal_OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020

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YOUR PARTNER ASMAG USA, Inc.

FOR MACHINERY AND

COMPLETE LINES info@asmagusa.com

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Robotic system handles two manifold styles

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The Tube & Pipe Journal_OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020 17

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• Bends round, square,

Automatic wire cutter can

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J&S Machine offers the YLM model T50D

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