Case Study – 480923A (Tube Swaging Feeder Table)
The Problem: Guin Machine was presented with a unique challenge from a major tubing manufacturer; Improve the Safety and Efficiency of the Tube Swaging Process, which requires the re-shaping of a metal tube to either increase or decrease its diameter. Tube swaging is used on tubes in the manufacturing of many industrial, medical, automotive, and aerospace products. The process has essentially remained unchanged since the middle of the twentieth century. It’s usually a two-man job to feed the tubes into the dies and compress or expand the diameters with very tight tolerances. Aside from the obvious issue of a two-person labor cost, the process can be very dangerous, as an operator’s hands are in very close proximity to the steel-roller dies that could crush bone in an instant.
The Process: We worked closely with our customers engineers to immediately tackle the issue from a safety standpoint. With continual input from the customer, we designed an automated Feeding Table for a Swaging Machine. The design is based off using a heavy 30” x 48” I-Beam table as the base. We also incorporated adjustable feet so the customer could adjust the height with ease. We then used 4140 HT Ground plate for the base that the PBC Liner Rails set on. We used PBC Liner Ball Bearing Blocks to tie the sliding chuck assembly onto the table. On top of the bearing blocks, we placed another 4140 HT Ground plate that attached to the sliding chuck assembly. The sliding chuck assembly consists of two large bearing blocks that are dowel pinned and bolted to the large 4140 plate.
A spindle made from thick wall DOM tubing connects the bison chuck and the custom brake caliper assembly. On the braking assembly we decided to use with nylon brake shoes to eliminate the possibility of sparks and brake dust. Finally, we designed a mechanical lever arm which slides the chuck assembly from one end of the table to the other. On the arm, we incorporated a 2-1 ratio mechanical advantage, allowing a single operator to use less force to get the same results. To finish the project, we designed and built custom guards to conceal the rotating chuck assembly and braking assembly for unprecedented safety on such a machine.
The Solution: The custom designed and built feeder table, allows the customer to use the table to put the tubing in the swaging machine, instead of manually by hand. Goal: Improved Safety—MET! Also as important, by utilizing the table, the job went from a two man to a one-man job. Goal: Increased Efficiency—MET!
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Please browse through the series of pictures below, which show the evolution of this solution, from concept to finished product. (click any image to enlarge)
