FIBER LASER WELDED TUBE MILL

Yoder Manufacturing of Cleveland, Ohio, has recently received supplied a QVW-150 Fiber Laser Welded Tube Mill for producing decorative stainless components up to 1-1/2” (38 mm) diameter. The complete system consists of an entry end, forming machine, fiber laser welder with twin-spot welding head, sizing machine with integrated double cut shear system, brush de-burring system and a triple head center-less finishing system - all fully integrated for ease of operation. The mill also includes a unique ID marketing system, so the tubing coming off the mill will be complete, ready to be accurately located and welded into the customers fabricating assembly.

By de-coupling the finishing system, after the cutoff, and utilizing centerless brush technology, instead of an inline solution, the customer will be able to easily vary their type of polished or brushed finish, for the various products and brands that they supply to different end markets. This can be done with the tube mill still in operation, and accumulating in process tubes, effectively maintaining continuous throughput of the overall system. This method of finishing, combined with the laser welding system, will enable the customer to have one system instead of two TIG welding tube mills, furthing shortening their return on investment. The efficiency of this solution has enough available production capacity that the customer will be delay the need for additional tube making equipment by several years.

Yoder has provided similar systems, in recent years, for the chemical, oil & gas, and automotive markets, which require the integration of non-destructive testing and/or annealing equipment, depending on the specific application.

Yoder continues to advance its decades of experience as a leader in continuously welded tube production systems. For this latest tube mill, Yoder developed its new fiber-based fusion welding system with twin-spot welding optics. With these latest developments, laser welding is becoming more economical, more robust for the tube mill environment and less costly to operate when compared to their CO2 counterparts as well as TIG/Plasma welding. With Yoder’s new fiber laser welding system, there is no theoretical limit to tube diameter and with this system the wall thickness capability has been practically expanded up to 0.375” (9.5 mm).

Yoder is a Yoder is a designer and builder of equipment, tooling and systems for metal forming, tube and pipe and heavy industrial material handling applications. Yoder can provide engineered to order and off-the-shelf manufacturing solutions that increase production capacity and efficiency of your factory through integrated, streamlined processes, automation, and faster machines. Yoder is part of the long-established companies that make up the Formtek Group, each with a well-known name and a history of providing innovative, reliable equipment to the metal forming and metal processing industries. As a single source provider, Formtek, www.formtekgroup.com, continues to supply our customers with the highest quality equipment, parts and service available in the industries it serves.

Visit the Yoder website (www.yodermfg.com) for further information on their tube and pipe technologies, email yoder@formtekgroup.com or call +1 (216) 292-4460.