Pipe and Tube Mills

Accurate Length and Speed Measurements Significantly Increase Productivity, Quality and Profits

Aluminum pipe and tube production plants are tough environments for measurement devices used to control processing operations. The use of mechanical contact encoders or tachometers to measure the length and speed of moving products provide 1% or greater accuracy at best due to slippage and mechanical issues. This creates real product quality issues, waste and downtime -- costing manufacturers significantly. As such, manufacturers are replacing their mechanical contact encoders with the LaserSpeed® Pro non-contact gauge to obtain higher precision length and speed measurements.

The LaserSpeed Pro gauge uses laser technology to directly measure the length and speed of pipe and tube products with better than +/-0.03% accuracy, +/- 0.02% repeatability and without making contact. In continuous pipe and tube production applications, the LaserSpeed Pro gauge is positioned perpendicular to the product and at a specified distance. As the product moves through the measurement region created by the intersecting laser light, the LaserSpeed Pro gauge translates the product speed and produces pulses to determine the product length. A signal is sent to a counter to display the length data.

LaserSpeed Pro Enables You to Precisely Control of the Process
Mills requiring cut length accuracy use the LaserSpeed Pro gauge to obtain precise and reliable pipe and length measurements for controlling a flying cutter, shear or other cutting device. Once length is determined, a pulse output is sent to a control system such as a PLC to trigger the precise cuts. This higher level of accuracy and control eliminates the need for constantly checking the product length and cut accuracy, as well as recalibrating mechanical encoders and tweaking the control system. Other proven applications include:

• Continuous length measurement
• Speed measurement
• Discrete product measurement
• Differential speed control
• Cut-to-length control
• Product positioning for marking/printing
• And more...

LaserSpeed is a direct replacement for mechanical contact encoders. It has no moving parts and is permanently calibrated, enabling manufacturers to realize the lowest cost of ownership. Manufacturers typically realize a return on their investment in a matter of weeks.

Check out our gauging solutions below.