safe-tube-unloading

Rotating-Head Tube Cutoff Safer Than Conventional Lathe

Fred HautauCustom Systems, RC Compact Tube Cutoffs, Tube Handling, Tube Loading Systems

One of the biggest concerns of any business, and particularly those that handle heavy or sharp materials, is safety.  Finger and hand injuries can be life-changing for employees, and can result in lost productivity and may end up increasing insurance costs.  Even a minor injury can cause serious issues.  Not only do you want to keep your workers safe because it is the right thing to do, but also because the repercussions of any workplace injury can be so far-reaching.

If you operate a business that uses tube cutoff machines, there are several safety issues that you must address on your factory floor.  One is the loading and unloading of your metal tubes.  This is an important safety concern, as large tube bundles can be very heavy and cause serious injury if dropped.  However, there is another aspect of safety that many do not consider: the sharp edges of tubes that don’t have inside chamfers or bevels.  Traditional lathe cutoff machines tend to leave a sharp inside burr as the tool completes the cut. If tube edges are not chamfered or beveled, they can cause serious finger cuts when handled, even with gloves.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem:  the rotating-head tube cutoff machine.

How Can A Rotating-Head Cutoff Machine Keep My Workers Safe?

Rotary-head tube cutoff machines are considered to be much safer than conventional lathe-based cutting machines for several reasons.

  • A rotating head cut-off machine moves the cutting head around the tube rather than having the tube spin in the machine. As a result, there are no safety concerns about an operator coming in contact with a rotating tube. And because the tube still gripped and is stationary after cutting, the cut tubes can be automatically gripped and transferred by customized unloading and packing equipment.
  • It is easy for a tube to be chamfered on one or both ends, grooved and bored in a single setup. This removes sharp edges and prepares the tube for assembly or secondary operations.
  • Better beveling, chamfering and other finishing processes. Because a servo-driven rotating-head cutoff machine can be programmed to do so many different things, it is easy to setup facing, boring, deep weld preps, grooving and other applications.  This makes this one of the safest ways to apply multiple processes to batches of tubes of any size.
  • Reduced handling time. Because the rotating-head cutoff machine does all your chamfering and beveling in one step, there is no need to move tubes from one process location to another.  This has two benefits:  first, it reduces handling, cutting down on opportunities for injury; and second, it reduces overall production time, making your process more streamlined and efficient.

At Hautau, we are dedicated to finding the right solutions for your tube cutting, beveling, chamfering, boring and other applications.  Our standard machines handle tubes of all sizes, and we specialize in building custom loading, cutting and unloading systems. Call us at 765-647-1600 to discuss your needs.