Vibratory skiving preps coated strip for tube mill

摘要

Variable-frequency oscillating tools remove aluminizing from stainless steel exhaust pipe stock prior to laser welding. Process nets an annual material cost savings of 800,000 dollars, and a reject rate below 2 percent. Bringing a problem process in-house has cut piece-part costs by 53 percent for a Canadian Tier 1 automotive supplier. The Walker Exhausts Division of Tenneco Automotive produces 3(1/2)-in. OD, 0.0625-in. wall exhaust tailpipe tube that is laser-welded from aluminized 409 stainless steel. It previously purchased 66- and 76-in. lengths of tube from a supplier, but the tube mill operation at its Cambridge, Ontario, plant has cut material costs by 800,000 dollars (U.S.) per year. General Motors made the requirements difficult when it specified aluminized metal for the tailpipes on its full-size pickup trucks and vans. The tailpipes are visible, and the coating is purely cosmetic.