Page 19 - Best of STIL 2018 English

piping. Many customers make highly exacting demands on the surface finish of the precision tubes. An automatic surface inspection process checks this aspect of the finished product. This work flow involves a sophisticated camera system scanning the surface of the tubes at speeds of up to 100 meters per minute.
Communication between the plant and custom- ers is vital for quality assurance. The supply and process chain is almost always set in cooperation with the customer and only changed by mutual agreement. All modifications have to be commu- nicated and approved again, particularly in the case of tubes intended for automotive applications, while all process steps have to be carefully docu- mented and all the test results stored.
Ultimately, quality can be defined as fulfilling the requirements that customers place on the charac- teristics of a product. These demands often extend well beyond common norms and standards. Sometimes a customer requires pipes exclusively made with one of the new steel grades. Moreover, customers also occasionally stipulate additional testing procedures for products. In cases like these, the MPT sites benefit from the intra-group support of Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH (SZMF). This mechanism perfectly illustrates a major advantage which Mannesmann Precision Tubes GmbH can offer its customers: Here, MPT provides the complete package, with all services sourced from within one group – from steel pro- duction all the way through to the scientific testing processes performed by SZMF.
At the surface treatment facility, hollows are dipped in 18% sulphuric acid as well as into a zinc-phos- phate solution several times
Top: Drawing line for fine tubes: The hollows are drawn here with a force of 60 tons. Bottom: Udo Liss, non-destructive testing expert, monitors the system testing for material errors using ultrasonic waves.
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