US3610016A - Unitized tube end forming machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A MACHINE FOR PERFORMING A WIDE VARIETY OF FORMING OPERATIONS ON THE END OF A METALLIC TUBULAR ARTICLE. THE MACHINE COMPRISES A FRAME FOR RECEIVING AND HOLDING VARIOUS UNITIZED ASSEMBLIES WHICH MAY BE ASSEMBLED IN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS IN ORDER TO PERMIT A VARIETY OF END FORMING OPERATIONS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE SAME BASIC MACHINE.

Description

Oct. 5, 1971 F. H. BULTMAN 3,610,016

UNITIZED TUBE ENDS FORMING MACHINE Filed Aug. 12, 1969 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 'III (Il 50 101|Nm 103 l l; 95 i 91 NIUHWHH i a9 i 90 11am ofi/w O O 4f UW! .QZIHWW 105mill 107 MM2 Hulmza 1mm?.

5 M17 l @mw 0ct. 5, 1971 F. H. BULTMAN 3,610,016

UNITIzED TUBE ENDS EoEMING MACHINE Filed Aug. 12, 196s 6 sheets-sheet s 1 32/ IIHHHHI Oct. 5, 1971 F. H. BULTMAN 3,610,016

UNITIZED TUBE ENDS FORMING MACHINE Filed Aug. 12, 1969 e sheets-sheet 4Vim 1|) Hlllll' HMH H III Egg. 7 160 156 f6] 162 164 155 f5! 155 105 5mm/4L BALL FORM ExPA/w/NG 'FME/N6 l BUBBL/N f` Filed Aug. l2, 1969 F. H. BULTMAN UNITIZED TUBE ENDS FORMING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent Office Patented Oct. 5, 1971 3 610,016 UNITIZED TUBE END FORMING MACHINE Frederick H. Bultman, Racine, Wis., assgnor to Tenneco Inc., Houston, Tex. Filed Aug. 12, 1969, Ser. No. 849,804 Int. Cl.B21d 39/02 U.S. Cl. 72-317 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for performing a wide variety of forming operations on the end of a metallic tubular article. The machine comprises a frame for receiving and holding various unitized assemblies which may be assembled in various combinations in order to permit a variety of end forming operations to be accomplished by the same basic machine.

BACKGROUND vOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to metal working machinery for forming ends of tubular articles.

There are in existence a wide variety of end forming machines for tubes which are generally specialized for performing individual end forming operations such as swaging, expanding, nibbing, dimpling, flanging and ilaring. These and other operations performed by end operation machines utilize various metal forming tooling devices such as punches, rollers, mandrels, reducing dies and elastomeric expanding tools. Additionally there must be provided means for releasably clamping the tube in the machine.

Commonly, a specialized machine was required for each type of operation or group of similar operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a unitized end operations machine for tubular articles which machine is adaptable to perform a wide variety of end forming operations by providing a variety of interchangeable and removable operation performing sub-assemblies which may be inserted into the machine assembly. The machine may thereby be quickly and easily adapted to perform a variety of operations using a common basic assembly iiicluding a frame and power source.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a unitized hydraulically powered end forming machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the machine shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the machine shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a machine similar to that shown in FIG. 1 together with an auxiliary hydraulic power supply;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 5 with certain upper components removed;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the frame casting of the assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 5;

FIG. 9 is a top view of a portion of the clamping subassembly of the machines shown in FIGS. l and 5;

FIG. l0 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top view of a sub-assembly suitable for use in the basic machine as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on line FIG. 11; and

FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 are cross formed by the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown hydraulically powered apparatus for forming the end of a pipe ortubular article 2 which might for example be a section of automotive exhaust pipe. The apparatus comprises generally a hydraulically operatedend operations machine 3, a stand 4 upon whichmachine 3 is mounted, and ahydraulic power supply 5. FIG. 5 additionally illustrates a portable device 6 which includes an auxiliary hydraulic power supply 7 and a coolant supply 8.

End operations machine 3 rests upon and is fastened to stand 4 which comprises a framework ofangle iron members 9 topped by aheavy steel plate 10. Stand 4 rests at its four corners upon fouradjustable legs 14. Acoolant return trough 15 is provided beneathplate 10 to return liquid coolant when used to coolant supply 8 as shown in FIG. 5. The coolant flows fromend operations machine 3 through apertures (not shown) inplate 10.

.Hydraulic power supply 5 rests upon the floor beneathplate 10 of stand 4 and within the framework of stand 4.Hydraulic power supply 5 comprises an electric motor 1.7, ahydraulic pump 18, and al'luid reservoir 19.Hydraulic power supply 5 is conventional in its construction and operation.

The auxiliary coolant and hydraulic power supply unit 6 as shown in FIG. 5 comprises the auxiliary power supply 7 and the coolant supply 8. Coolant supply 8 is conventional in its operation and includes an electrically powered coolant pump (not shown).Coolant return trough 15 discharges into the open upper end of coolant supply 8.

Theend operations machine 3 itself is an assembly, the basic member of which is aframe 22 which is best illustrated in FIG. 8.Frame 22 is a channel shaped rigid casting having a generally U-shaped cross section.Frame 22 comprises abase portion 23 andsides 24 and 25 which extend upwardly from the lateral edges ofbase 23. In theirconstruction sides 24 and 25 bear a mirror image relationship to one another.

A pair of longitudinal ways orgibs 27 are provided on thebase 23 offrame 22 to provide sliding support for machine elements to be assembled within .frame 22. Simisectional views of tubing `larly, a pair of machinedgibs 28 are provided on the inner surface ofside 24 andgibs 29 are provided on the inner surface ofside 25 to laterally support elements assembled withinframe 22. As shown in FIG. 10 a pair ofwear strips 30 made out of a good bearing material such as brass are mounted on top of thelower gibs 27.

Fourholes 31 are provided through the lower flangededges 32 offrame 22 through which machine screws 33 pass to threadingly engage tapped holes (not shown) inplate 10 to fastenframe 22 to stand 4.

A similar pair of Lshaped brackets 34 are fastened to thesides 24 and 25 offrame 22 adjacent the front end offrame 22 by means of sixmachine screws 35 which are threaded into tappedholes 36. The inwardly extendingshorter lengths 38 are spaced from thefront surface 39 offrame 22 to provide vertical slots to accommodate the ends of aretainer plate 40.Retainer plate 40 slides vertically within the slots so formed and when in place rests at its lower edge upon the top sur face ofplate 10. A pair of oppositely extendinghandles 41 project from the top edge ofplate 40 to facilitate 3 the lifting ofplate 40. Set screws 42 are threaded through the inner ends oflegs 38 and may be turned to firmlysecure plate 40 in place.

The front edges ofsides 24 and 25 offrame 22 are provided withrecessess 44.

A vertically operablehydraulic cylinder 45 of conventional construction and operation is mounted on the top offrame 22 adjacent the front end offrame 22.Cylinder 45 is bolted to atop plate 46 which is in turn bolted to the top front edges ofsides 24 and 25 by means ofmachine screws 47 which are threaded intoholes 48.

Apiston rod 49 extends downwardly from the end ofpiston 45 and throughtop plate 46. A pair ofsimilar guide plates 50 are bolted to the lower side oftop plate 46.

Aclamping module 52 is assembled withinframe 22 beneathupper plate 46 and guideplates 50 as best shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Clampingmodule 52 includes supporting means comprising a U shapedweldment 55 havingside plates 56 and 57,bottom plates 58, 59, and 60, and vertically aligned guides 61 and 62.Guides 61 and 62 are Welded to the inside faces ofside plates 56 and 57. A stationarybottom jaw 64 rests uponbottom plate 59. A vertically moveabletop jaw 65 Iis slidingly mounted between guides .61 and 62.Top jaw 65 is fastened to anadaptor block 65 by means ofbolts 67.Adaptor block 66 is in turn removeably fastened to the lower end ofpiston rod 49 by means of a pair of pull pins 69 which pass throughadaptor block 66 to engage acircumferential groove 70 formed adjacent the lower end of piston rod `49.

A pair of verticalparallel keys 70 and 71 are slidingly fit intokeyways 72 and 73, respectively, which keyways 72 and 73 are formed in the inward facing edges ofguides 61 and 62, respectively.Handles 74 and 75 are provided adjacent the upper ends ofkeys 70 and 71 to facilitate reremoval ofkeys 70 and 71. When in assembly,keys 70 and 71 slidingly engage aligned grooves on the sides of adaptor block 6.6,upper jaw 65 andbottom jaw 64. Thus key 70 slidingly engagesgroove 76 inadaptor block 66, groove 77 inupper jaw 65 andgroove 78 inlower jaw 64. Similarly, key 71 engagesgroove 79 inadaptor block 66,groove 80 injaw 65 andgroove 81 inlower jaw 64. Thus it may be seen that the tooling withinframework 55 may be removed simply and easily by the lwithdrawal ofkeys 70 and 71 which permitsjaws 64 and 65 andadaptor block 66 to be then withdrawn from the front offramework 55 of clampingmodule 52.Adaptor block 66 can easily be removed from the lower end ofpiston rod 49 by the withdrawal of pull pins 69. The outer ends of pull pins V69 are joined together by apull plate 84 and are furnished withrings 85 to facilitate the removal of pull pins 69.

A pair of oppositely extending locating pins are provided onside plates 56 and 57 to engage the inner end ofrecesses 44 to prevent the inward movement of clampingmodule 52.

-It can therefore be seen that the entire clampingmodule including framework 55,jaws 64 and 65, andadaptor block 66 can quickly be inserted or removed from the front end of frame 22 -whenretainer plate 40 is removed and whenadaptor block 66 is disconnected from the lower end ofpiston rod 49 by removing pull pins 69 and retractingpiston rod 49 to its upper position.

At the back end offrame 22 there is furnished another hydraulic cylinder for the purpose of horizontally moving operating modules withinframe 22.Hydraulic cylinder 87 is fastened to aback plate 88 by means ofmachine screws 89. Backplate 88 is in turn fastened to the rear edges ofsides 24 and 25 of fra-me 22 by means ofmachine screws 90. As shown in FIG. 6, apiston rod 91 extends from the front end ofhydraulic cylinder 87 and throughback plate 88. The front end ofpiston rod 90 is furnished with aT slot 93 to accommodate one end '4 of a roughly dumbbell shapedpull plug 94 which serves to mechanically connect piston rod to operating modules withinframe 22. Ahandle 95 extends upwardly frompull plug 94 to facilitate removal and insertion ofpull plug 94.

Acontrol rod 97 is attached to the lower side ofpiston rod 90 adjacent its front end and extends rearwardly throughplate 88. A pair of axiallyadjustable collars 98 are attached to the rear-wardly extending end ofcontrol rod 97 to engage limits which is 99 to thereby limit the extent of the axial movement ofpiston rod 90.

The variety of operating tooling which might be placed withinframe 22 and moved bypiston rod 90 is almost limitless. For exemplary purposes, three types of tooling are herein shown and described. Tooling for flaring by spinning is shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. Expanding tooling is shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Tooling for bubbling is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The tube end forms resulting from expanding, flaring, and bubbling are shown in FIGS. 13, 14, and l5, respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 there is shown tooling for performing an expanding operation on the end of atube 2 to obtain the tube end form shown in FIG. 13. Thebottom jaw 64 and the top jaw `65 have oppositely facing grooved areas 64A and 65A, respectively, for grippingtube 2 whenjaws 64 and 65 are pressed together byhydraulic cylinder 45.Lower jaw 64 andupper jaw 65 have oppositely facing enlarged portions 64B and 65B, respectively, to accommodate and form the expanded end portion oftube 2. A partly conical expandingtool 101 is forced into the end oftube 2 whentube 2 is gripped byjaws 64 and 65 to expandtube 2 outwardly into the cavity portions 64B and 65B.

Expander 101 is mounted on the front face of arectangular spacing weldment 102 which consists of afront plate 103, arear plate 104, abottom plate 105 and twoside plates 106.Expander tool 101 is mounted in an aperture in the approximate center offront plate 103.

Spacer 102 is reciprocally slidable withinframe 22 ongibs 27, 28, and 29. A pull plate is fastened to therear plate 104 ofspacer 102 and aT slot 108 is formed therein to accommodate the other end ofpull plug 94.Spacer 102 is thereby mechanically connected topiston rod 90. Actuation ofhydraulic cylinder 87 will therefore causeexpander tool 101 to be moved into and out of contact with the end oftube 2.

Whenspacer 102 is in the position shown in :'FIG. 2,spacer 102 andexpander 101 may be quickly and easily removed or inserted into the assembly either through the open top offrame 22 or through the front end offrame 22 when clampingassembly 52 is removed.Spacer 102 is disconnected frompiston rod 90 simply by pulling onhandle 95 to removepull plug 94.

Apparatus and tooling used to accomplish ball form bubbling to form the shape shown in FIG. 16 is illustrated in lFIGS. 11 and 12. Abottom jaw 109 and a top Jaw are furnished with cavities 109A and 110A, respectively, which form a cylindrical portion fitting closely around a pipe when inserted therein. 'Ihere is also formed therein a spherical cavity comprising upper portion 110B and a lower portion 109B. In other respectslower jaw 109 andupper jaw 110 are similar to the previously described lower jaw I64 andupper jaw 65.

Immediately behindjaws 109 and 110 there is astop assembly 112 comprising aplate 113, a cylindrical sleeve 114, abushing 115 and an internalcylindrical bushing 116. Thebushing 115 is welded toplate 113. Internal bushing 11'6 is pressed into sleeve 114 and may -be reremoved and replaced with a bushing with a different internal diameter for use with a different size tubing.

Plate 113 is prevented from moving forwardly or rear- 'wardly bykeys 118 which engagekeyways 119 formed in the lateral edges ofplate 113 and the corresponding keyways formed on the inner faces ofside plates 61 and 62 of clampingmodule 52.

A pair of stop blocks extend rearwardly fromplate 113 and are removably assembled thereto by the engagement of the T shaped portions 122A ofblocks 122 with corresponding T shapedslots 123 formed inplate 113.Slots 123 are open at the top ofplate 113.Blocks 122 may therefore be easily inserted or removed by sliding the T shaped portions 122A withinslots 123.

The male portion of the bubbling tooling comprises an assembly mounted on the front face of the slidingspacer 102. Abase 124 has a rearwardly extending cylindrical portion which fits closely within an aperture centrally located within thefront plate 103 ofspacer 102. The base124 further comprises a ange 124B lwhieh overlies the front face ofplate 123. A plurality ofclamps 125 engage the periphery of flange 124B and are fastened to plate 103 to hold base 124 in place.

Extending forwardly frombase 124 are anupper plate 127 and alower plate 128. Aplate 129 is welded between the ends ofplates 127 and 128. Acylindrical bearing 130 is supported in the center ofplate 129. Both upper andlower plates 127 and 128 are slotted to provide for the relative movement therein of apin 131.Pin 131 is provided withhandles 132 to facilitate the removal thereof. The lower portion ofpin 131 is flattened slightly on each side and whenpin 131 is in assembly a pair of shoulders supportpin 131 in the position shown in FIG. 12 by the engagement ofshoulders 133 with the upper surface ofplate 127.

An elastomeric expandingmember 135 of cylindrical form is supported by apin 136. The elements assembled onpin 136 are assembled in the following order. First awasher 137 is placed overpin 136 and moved alongpin 136 until it engageshead 140 ofpin 136. Next theelastomeric sleeve 135 is placed overpin 136 followed by one or more cylindrical loosely fitting sleeves such assleeves 141 and 142. Awasher 143 is then placed over the end ofpin 136. The small end ofpin 136 is then inserted throughbearing 130 and across piece 144 with a central aperture is placed over the end ofpin 136 in a position as shown in FIG. l2.Pin 131 is then inserted through the alignedapertures 145 ofcross piece 144 andaperture 146 adjacent the end ofpin 136.

In operation atube 2 is inserted into the cavities 109A and 110A from the front ofend operations machine 3 until the end of the tube .2 hits the front surface ofbushing 116.Hydraulic cylinder 145 is then actuated to bringupper jaw 110 downwardly to griptube 2.Hydraulic cylinder 87 is then energized to move slidingspacer 102 toward the front ofmachine 3. When the bubbling tooling shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 reaches the position shown therein and crosspiece 144 contacts stopblocks 122,pin 131 holdspin 136 from further movement while plates 1'27 and 128 are pressed further towards the front ofmachine 3. A force is thereby exerted againstwasher 143 and throughwashers 141 and 142 against the back end ofvelastomeric sleeve 135. Since -washer 137 holds the front end ofelastomeric sleeve 135 against further movement,elastomeric sleeve 135 is compressed and expands outwardly to presstube 2 outwardly into the spherical cavities 109B and 110B thereby forming the ball form as shown in FIG. 16. Reversal of the movements ofhydraulic cylinders 87 and 45 reverses the above described process to permit the end oftube 2 to be withdrawn from theI machine.

A third exemplary type of tooling which may be used inmachine 3 is illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. The tooling there shown is of the spinning type where fourrollers 148 are pressed while turning into the end oftube 2 to form the spherical flare as illustrated in FIG. 14. This apparatus comprises anhydraulic motor 149 with itsshaft 150 connected to ashaft 151 by a key 152. Arotating tool holder 152 is fastened to the forward end ofshaft 151 by abolt 153.Shaft 151 is supported by three sets of ball lbearings 154. Each ofrollers 148 is supported byball bearings 155.Ball bearings 154 are supported by anenclosure 156 in which a lubricant may be placed. The forward end ofenclosure 156 is closed by acover plate 157 and a seal 15-8.Hydraulic motor 149 is fastened to the other end ofenclosure 156.

Enclosure 156 is supported by afront plate 160 of a slidingsupport 161. Sliding support 1'61 further comprisesside plates 162, abottom plate 163 and aback plate 164. Pullplate 107 is bolted to theback plate 164. Slidingsupport 161 slides withinframe 22 and is connected to piston rod in the same manner as the slidingspacer 102 previously described.Support 160 together with the toolin'g mounted thereon may also be easily removed through the front or top offrame 22.

The entire apparatus used for the spinning operation is illustrated in FIG. 5. A liquid coolant is delivered to the vicinity ofrollers 148 through a tube 166 and ahose 167 from coolant supply 8.Hydraulic cylinder 45 may be operated in either direction by hydraulic pressure delivered by means ofhoses 168 and 169 through ahydraulic control 170 fromhydraulic power supply 5. Similarly,hydraulic cylinder 87 may be operated in either` direction by hydraulic pressure delivered through hoses 171 and 172 through ahydraulic control 173 from hydraulic power supply 5'. Hydraulic power is supplied tohydraulic motor 149 by means ofhoses 176 and 177 throughhydraulic control 178 from the auxiliary hydraulic power supply 7. Limit switches 99 are connected tohydraulic control 173 byelectrical cables 180.

I claim: 1. A machine for forming ends of tubular articles comprising the combination of:

frame means comprising an open topped channel shaped elongated member having a front end and a back end and having a generally U shaped cross section;

clamping means for gripping a tubular article when the end of said tubular article is inserted in said front end of said frame means, said clamping means comprising jaw means movable to grip said articles and support means for supporting said jaw means, saidjaw means and support means comprising a unitary module removably mounted within said frame adjacent said front end of said frame means;

first operating means for operating said jaw means and being removably assembled to said frame on the top of said frame over said clamping means;

operation performing means for performing a forming operation on said end of said article within said machine comprising tooling means for engaging said end and tool supporting means for supporting said tooling, said tooling means and said tool supporting means comprising a unitary operating module removably assembled within said frame and reciprocally movable therein toward and away from said front end to engage said end of said tube; and

second operating means for reciprocally moving said operation performing means and being mounted on said back end of said frame.

2. The invention as defined inclaim 1 wherein said first operating means comprises hydraulic cylinder means.

3. The invention as defined inclaim 1 wherein said second operating means comprises hydraulic cylinder means.

4. The invention as defined in claim I1 wherein said operation performing means comprises hydraulicallyv powered spinning means.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 together with an auxiliary hydraulic power source for furnishing power to said spinning means.

6. The invention as defined inclaim 5 in which said auxiliary hydraulic power source is part of an auxiliary unit which further includes a coolant supply which furnishes liquid coolant to said spinning means.

7. The invention as defined inclaim 1 in which said jaw means comprises a plurality of jaw members, at least one of said jaw members being slidable within said UNITED References Cited STATES PATENTS Reynolds 727-316 Gordon 72-322 Crockett 72-316 Hartley et al. 72-316Franck 72--322 8 g 3,299,691 -.1/1967 Pahl etal. 72-317 3,411,338 11/1968 Carlin 11 72-316 FOREIGN PATENTS 5A, 738,708k 10/ 1955 Great Britain 72-62 ,SjRICHARD I. HERBST, Primary Examiner U.s. C1. X.,R.

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