CHICAGO (June 18, 6:20 p.m. EDT) — Pipe Coil Technology Ltd. (Booth E13936) is unveiling equipment that it says can reduce injuries and improve productivity at flexible-pipe plants.
One of its products is an automatic coiling system that can coil polyethylene pipe up to 24 feet per minute without any manual assistance. The machine also automatically applies polypropylene straps to hold the coil together. A pipe guide table with integral accumulator keeps pipe off the factory floor. The system is designed for pipe sizes of 1-3 inches.
The company, based in Wallsend, England, claims that automating the coiling process pays back the investment in about a year, and in some cases, as short as six months. Automation means pipe-line speed usually can be increased without adding another extruder.
Workers applying ties manually to coils can suffer from carpal-tunnel syndrome, the largest-single worker medical claim for pipe producers, according to Kraloy Inc., the Dallas-based firm that represents Pipe Coil in North and South America.
Pipe Coil also is introducing to North America a twin-head, fully automatic coiler that can package pipe coils in two ways. The coiler can apply PP straps at six positions on the coil, or it can wrap the coil with low density PE stretch film. Changeover between the packaging systems takes only a few seconds at the operator-interface screen, and no change is needed in the machine configuration.
