Tee Forming Machine | IMTS Digital Platform

Tee Forming Machine Guide

There are a lot of verities in the metal forming sector when people are talking about forming, but tee forming is a kind of piping and plumbing fitting process that is specifically focused on certain applications. For fastening, a fitting or adapter is used in pipe systems to connect straight sections of pipes or tubes, making it adaptive to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes such as regulating liquid current. These fittings are used in plumbing process to manipulate the conveyance of liquid body such as water, gas, or waste liquid in both domestic and commercial circumstances, within a system of pipes or tubes connected.

Fittings require a series of resources such as money, time, materials and tools to install, and are an important part of piping and plumbing systems. Tees are the most common pipe fitting forms used in all kind of environments. Tee object is used to combine or divide liquid flow, making the flow to the targeted direction with ideal form, granting the best use of the devices for operators.

The tee forming machine is a type of hot metal forming machine used for constructing pipe tee structures in various sizes. The tee structure of metal piping refers to the metal pipes with the T shape configuration. Pipe tee is a type of pipe fitting with two outlets at ninety degrees to the connection to the main line. In other words, pipe tee serves as the joint that connects three pipes so that the fluid flow can be combined or divided. With such pipe fitting, the tee can connect pipes of different diameters or change the direction of the fluid flow. To form a pipe tee, the tee forming machine is needed.

The tee forming process can be either a cold forging process sometimes or mostly a hot forging process. A tee forming machine applies the hot metal forging method to form a pipe tee. A tee forming machine is able to work with a number of metal materials; yet it is stainless steel, carbon steel or other steel-based alloys that are typically utilized as the raw material to construct the pipe tees with fine quality. The working principle of the tee forming machine is not much different from that of a hot forging press which involves heat, pressure, and time in the making or metal products.

Hot Metal Forging

Hot metal forging is also called hot forging or hot forming. It is essentially a metal shaping process where a malleable metal workpiece. In such a process, the metal workpiece will be heated to the required temperature before or during the forming process. Once the required temperature is reached, the forming approach will be taken to deform and reshape the metal work piece. The possible shaping approaches include hammering, upsetting, pressing and more. The main shaping approach the tee forming machines apply is pressing.

Approaches for Tee Forming

Since it is pressing that a tee forming machine performs, the dies, or molds, are one of the necessary components in a tee forming machine. Tee forming is the forging process in which heat treatment is required during the process regardless of the approach the tee forming machine applies. Though the approaches may vary based on the actual machine that is involved in the process, the basic steps are similar.

A metal pipe, often a stainless steel pipe, is placed into the machine. The molds press the pipe while heating it at the same time. If the machine applies the hydraulic bulging method, a hydraulic fluid is needed to form the tee and a heat treatment is required to form the tee. The three major tee forming approaches include hydraulic bulging method, hot extrusion method, and single- and double- seam method.

Hydraulic Bulging Method

The hydraulic bulging method is the tee forming process that applies hydraulic fluid as the main approach to create the pipe tee. After a metal tube is cut into the predetermined length, it will be placed into the tee forming machine. The blank inside the pipe will be filled with high pressure hydraulic fluid, usually water. As the dies squeeze the pipe, the pressure of the fluid further rises and the fluid forces the pipe to bulge to the fixed opening of the die. Heat treatment is then added to stabilize the form. The hydraulic bulging method offers good finishes to the end product.

Hot Extrusion Method

This method is ideal for manufacturing tees with larger diameters and thicker walls and it works better with challenging working materials. The branch outlet is extruded from the pipe with the help of an extrusion tool. The dimensions of the pipe body and the branch can be adjusted by pressing the die if necessary. During the process, a small hole is drilled at the center of the pipe as the reference of the branch outlet. The extrusion tool, a ball, will be placed into the body and later extruded out of the body from the pre-drilled hole and hence the branch is formed. Instead of heating the whole pipe, the heating can be localized to the branch area only so that the cost can be reduced.

Single/ Double Seam Method

Large pipe tees are formed with this method. In this way of tee forming, a mold is needed to form the two halves of the tees. After the two halves are formed with the mold, the two pieces will be welded together. Compared to the hydraulic bulging method and the hot extrusion method, the single-seam and double-seam method are relatively simpler.

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