MP100: TUBE MIRROR POLISHING MACHINE
The international magazine for the tube and pipe industries, TUBE & PIPE Technology March 2016 Edition, was released.
On this edition, NS Máquinas has published an article (page 54) about the new MP100 – Mirror Polishing Machine:
“Stainless steel tube polishing is an important process for manufacturers. Polishing stainless steel tube creates a uniform and consistent surface finish, which is often essential both for aesthetic and technical reasons.
Industries such as stainless steel furniture, bull bars and bumpers for off-road cars are some examples which often require tube mirror polishing. Although stainless steel is much more resistant to corrosion than ordinary carbon or alloy steels, in some circumstances it can corrode.
Coastal line tube constructions require a smooth finish so it gets harder for the corrosion to stick to the tubes. A similar effect happens in process industries such as food and pharmaceutical. Many solutions for mirror polishing stainless steel tubes have been centreless machines.
This technology forces the tube to spin while it passes through the polishing wheels. Although effective, this method brings some restrictions on the types of tube which can be polished.
Within this range of products can be enhanced long tubes which tend to vibrate unless supported in bulky guiding tables, and curved tubes which, due to their geometry, cannot be turned around the polishing wheels. MP100 is a revolutionary concept that is able to mirror polish tubes by inverting the existing model of the tube polishing market.
Instead of forcing the tube to spin so the contact is made with the stationary polishing station, MP100 has changed the existing technology by making the polishing wheels rotate around the tube. Producers of curved tube products in stainless steel commonly face the problem of applying the final mirror polishing in their bent tubes.
This job typically uses manual machines, which end up being time consuming and labor intensive. With the MP100, three planetary polishing wheels rotate around the tube, creating a high pressure and delivering a high gloss mirror polishing on straight or curved tubes.
The operator simply needs to transport through the polishing head, while the cotton wheels do their job on the complete external diameter of the tube, completing a consistent finish on the outer side as well as the inner side of the bend.
The machine also features an automatic feeding system, which transports straight tubes safely through the polishing units, enabling a consistent and high mirror polishing quality in a vibration-free process. The feeding systems are assembled with hinges and can be assembled or removed in a few seconds, making the machine flexible for multiple operations.
The design of MP100 assures that, as opposed to centreless machines where a work rest is used, no tube support is located in the polishing area. As a consequence, the NS Máquinas tube polishing machine assures no marks, no scratches and a perfect polished tube surface.
The machine features brush pressure control by foot pedal, which enables the operator to control the applied force during the tube polishing operation. In order to achieve a shiny surface, the machine is equipped with an automatic solid polishing compound system.
The operator can define the quantity of compound to be applied and simply start the process when it is required. MP100 has a working capacity on straight tubes up to Ø114mm and was developed to polish different geometries for curved tubes.”
