Yorkshire, UK) was installed at Ølensvåg. Capable of generat- JOH
/tN PG DPOUJOVPVT TFSWP DPOUSPMMFE UPSRVF UIF
custom-designed machine can produce precision bends in thick-walled carbon steel pipes up to 273 mm in diameter. The company now intends to produce virtually all the pipe sizes it needs for its outfi tting, service and repair operations in-house, without having to use pre-fabricated bend sections. This application of all-electric bending technology to pipes up to a nominal 10" (254 mm) in diameter is without prec- edent. Although Unison’s bending machines are used by a number of the world’s leading ship and submarine builders to produce large pipe and tube assemblies, this is by far the most powerful that the company has ever designed and built. It highlights the inherent scalability of Unison’s machine architecture and underlying motion control technology—the company’s range of all-electric bending machines now extends all the way from 16 to 273 mm. The order for both pipe bending machines, which also called for Unison to supply CAD sup- port software, was placed through P. Meidell AS, the specialist machine tool company that acts as Unison’s representative in Norway.
Seeking the Lead in Pipe Bending In recent years, Westcon has invested heav- ily in its pipe fabrication operations for ship and rig outfi tting, with the intention of becoming a world leader in this industry. The Ølensvåg site now has a 3650-m2 purpose-built engineering workshop, with more than 1500 m2 allocated to pipe production. The new facilities include a fully automated materials handling system—based on 9-m high pipe storage racks and robotic feeders—together with an automatic pipe cutting machine and the Unison CNC-controlled all-electric tube benders.
Until the new pipe benders were installed, Westcon fabri- cated all pipes in sectional form, using multiple cut-to-length straight sections and bought-in preformed bend parts. The individual sections, bends and end connection fl anges were then welded together to create the fi nal assembly—with each weld requiring cleaning, inspection and nondestructive X-ray testing. This was an expensive and time-consuming process that was also heavily reliant on outside suppliers meeting tight delivery schedules. Rapid turnaround time is critical for repair organizations like Westcon, where the out-of-service costs of ships and rigs can be astronomical. The new bending machines have eliminated the need to buy-in preformed bend parts, and reduced substantially the
The world’s most powerful all-electric bending machine, was installed at Westcon Yard’s Ølensvåg facility in November 2015.
Most of the pipes that Westcon produces are one-off items for new systems, rerouting and maintenance purposes. They are typically manufactured from carbon steel, with each pipe spool normally being up to 6-m long. The pipes usually form part of fresh or sea water systems, hydraulic systems, diesel fuel distribution networks or other special systems. They often involve very tight radius bends, to as little as 1.5× outside diameter, and need to be constructed to millimeter accuracy.
number of cutting, welding and testing operations needed for each assembly. The pipes are currently cut slightly over- length before bending, to allow for any changes introduced by the process. After bending, they are remeasured, cut to fi nal length and welded to the necessary fl anges. As its ex- pertise grows, the company intends to improve the process further by cutting the pipes to length prior to bending.
Accuracy and Repeatability As Tommy Nilsen, head of Prefabrication at Ølensvåg,
said, “We have only been using our fi rst Unison machine extensively for a few months and are still on a learning curve. Despite this, we are already achieving superb bend accuracy
71 — Motorized Vehicle Manufacturing 2016
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