Method and apparatus for shaping thermoplastic tubes

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming a bend in a tube 1 of thermoplastic material by heating a pre-formed bend to a pre-determined temperature and maintaining the temperature substantially constant by the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation from one or more infra-red sources 2 in response to the surface temperature of the tube 1 detected by a remote temperature sensor 5.

Description: This invention concerns an improved method and apparatus for shaping thermoplastic tubes. As used herein, the term "tube" includes hoses, pipes and similar conduits, whether of single or multi-layer construction. EP-B-0486237 discloses a method and apparatus for shaping a thermoplastic tube by contactless heating a pre-formed bend region of the tube with a pulsed emission of infra-red radiation to conform the tube to a required bend configuration followed by cooling to retain the required bend configuration whilst the tube is supported on a former. The pulsed emission is effected by switching one or more remote infra-red sources on and off to provide a series of separate pulses of which the duration of each pulse and the interval between successive pulses is timed. For a given pulse duration and pulse interval, the overall number of pulses to achieve the required heating can be calculated. For example, a heating cycle may consist of 20 pulses of which the duration of each pulse is 1.2 seconds and the interval between successive pulses is 2.0 seconds. Although the method and apparatus disclosed in EP-B-0486237 generally performs satisfactorily, it has been found that such time based control of the heating cycle can cause problems if substantial differences in ambient temperature occur requiring "running changes" to be made to the number of pulses. It is an object the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for shaping thermoplastic tubes to remedy this drawback. It solves the problem of time based control of the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation disclosed in EP-B-0486237 by employing a temperature based control of the pulsed emissions which compensates for changes in the ambient temperature. More particularly, the invention provides a method of forming a bend in a tube of thermoplastic material by contactless heating of a pre-formed bend region of the tube with a pulsed emission of infra-red radiation to conform the tube to a required bend configuration followed by cooling to retain the required bend configuration whilst the tube is supported on a former characterised in that the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation is controlled in response to the temperature of the tube for heating the tube to a pre-determined temperature and maintaining the pre-determined temperature substantially constant for conforming the tube to the required bend configuration. Preferably, the tube is heated to the pre-determined temperature by a single pulse of infra-red radiation with one or more subsequent pulses, typically of shorter duration, being used to maintain the pre-determined temperature substantially constant. Advantageously, the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation is responsive to the surface temperature of the tube. The pulsed emission of infra-red radiation may be responsive to the surface temperature of the tube at one position. Alternatively, the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation may be responsive to the average surface temperature of the tube at a plurality of positions, preferably spaced apart circumferentially. The invention also provides apparatus for forming a bend in a tube of thermoplastic material by contactless heating of a pre-formed bend region of the tube with a pulsed emission of infra-red radiation to conform the tube to a required bend configuration followed by cooling to retain the required bend configuration whilst the tube is supported on a former characterised in that means is provided for controlling the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation in response to the temperature of the tube for heating the tube to a pre-determined temperature and for maintaining the pre-determined temperature substantially constant for conforming the tube to the required bend configuration. Preferably, the control means includes a remote sensor for producing an output representative of the temperature of the tube and a controller responsive to said output for controlling at least one infra-red emitter. Advantageously, the output is representative of the surface temperature of the tube detected by the sensor at at least one position and more preferably is representative of the average surface temperature of the tube detected by the sensor at a plurality of positions, for example spaced apart circumferentially. The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings from which the features and attendant advantages of the invention will be readily understood. FIGURE 1 shows prior art apparatus for heat forming a thermoplastic tube to a required configuration; FIGURE 2 shows control means for temperature based control operation of the apparatus of Figure 1 in accordance with the present invention; and FIGURE 3 is a graph comparing temperature and time based control of the apparatus of Figure 1. Referring to the accompanying drawings, a brief description will first be given with reference to Figure 1 of the method and apparatus for heat forming a thermoplastic tube 1 disclosed in EP-B-0486237 followed by a description with reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the improvements thereto according to the present invention. The apparatus shown in Figure 1 comprises a plurality of infra-red emitters 2 such as tungsten halogen lamps having a peak energy emission at short wavelengths for heating the tube 1 to conform the tube 1 to a required configuration and a plurality of outlets 3 for a fluid such as blown air for cooling the tube 1 to retain the required configuration. As described in detail in EP-B-0486237, the tube 1 is externally supported and held stationary in the required configuration on a jig 4 by a plurality of formers with the emitters 2 and outlets 3 being arranged for localised contactless heating and cooling of pre-formed bend regions of the tube 1. The tube 1 may be supported in any selected one of a range of different configurations according to the required end use by adjusting and/or changing the formers, and the number and/or position of emitters 2 and outlets 3 can be altered to suit the required configuration of the tube 1. The tube 1 is heated by a pulsed or intermittent emission of infra-red radiation from the emitters 2 which provides a dwell time between successive pulses or bursts of infra-red radiation allowing thermal conduction through the mass of the tube 1. In this way, the thermoplastics material is uniformly heated around the circumference of the tube 1 to soften the thermoplastic material for conforming to the required configuration without causing the tube wall to collapse. The tube 1 is then cooled to set the thermoplastic material for retaining the required configuration by blowing air over the exterior of the tube 1 whilst supported and held stationary on the jig 4. Alternatively or in addition, cooling may be effected by blowing air through the tube 1. The pulsed or intermittent emission of infra-red radiation is controlled for time based operation of the emitters 2 to set the number and duration of each pulse or burst of infra-red radiation and the interval between successive pulses or bursts to obtain the desired heating for the wall thickness and thermoplastic material of the tube 1. Referring now to Figure 2, control means is shown for temperature based operation of the emitters 2 to provide a pulsed or intermittent emission of infra-red radiation to heat the tube 1 according to the present invention. The control means includes a temperature sensor 5 for monitoring the surface temperature of the tube 1 and generating an output signal representative of the surface temperature which is fed to a controller 6 for controlling operation of the emitters 2 via an external solid state relay 7. Where the relay 7 controls two or more emitters 2, a heat sink (not shown) may be provided. In this exemplary embodiment, the temperature sensor 5 is an OS37-10-K non-contact adjustable range infra-red thermocouple having a minimum spot size = 13mm and a field of view = 10:1 available from Omega, and the controller 6 is a CN76000 series microprocessor based temperature controller also available from Omega. The sensor 5 is positioned a distance 10d from the outer surface of the tube 1 where d is the measurement spot diameter and the controller 6 is arranged for operation of the emitters 2 to heat the tube 1 to obtain and maintain a pre-determined surface temperature for a period of time sufficient to conform the tube 1 to the required configuration. For such temperature based control, the tube 1 is initially heated by a single main pulse or burst of infra-red radiation until the pre-determined surface temperature is detected with subsequent supplementary pulses or bursts of infra-red radiation being used to maintain the pre-determined surface temperature substantially constant. The controller 6 switches the emitters 2 on and off according to the surface temperature of the tube 1 detected by the sensor 5 so that changes in the ambient temperature are automatically compensated by adjusting the duration of the main pulse or burst to achieve the pre-determined surface temperature. The emitters 2 may have 4-axes of movement for adjusting the position of the emitters 2 to heat different tube configurations. For example, the apparatus may be adapted to read an identification code such as a bar code corresponding to each tube configuration and to adjust automatically the position of the emitters 2 using electric motors or pneumatics or hydraulics to the correct position for heating the tube 1. The emitters 2 may be arranged to form more than one bend simultaneously in one stage. Alternatively, the emitters 2 may be arranged to form multiple bends in separate stages with the former jig 4 being indexed or moved by any suitable means such as a conveyor from one stage to the next. Referring now to Figure 3, a graph is shown comparing temperature based control of the emitters 2 according to the present invention with time based control of the emitters 2 disclosed in EP-B-0486237 to achieve a target surface temperature of approximately 135°C for conforming the tube 1 to the required configuration. As can be seen, with the temperature based control of the present invention, the target surface temperature is achieved in approximately 13 seconds by a single main pulse with supplementary pulses of much shorter duration being used to maintain the target surface temperature substantially constant. In comparison, with the time based control of EP-B-0486237, the target surface temperature is achieved in approximately 40 seconds by a plurality of separate pulses each of relatively short duration. As a result, as shown by the shaded area of the graph, much more energy is added to the thermoplastic material of the tube without increasing the overall heating cycle time with temperature based control of each pulse of infra-red radiation according to the present invention compared to the time based control of each pulse disclosed in EP-B-0486237. Alternatively, for certain applications, the overall heating cycle time may be decreased improving efficiency without reducing quality. Furthermore, by using temperature based control of the pulses, the duration of each pulse and the interval between successive pulses is automatically adapted to the ambient temperature. As a result, problems caused by substantial differences in the ambient temperature are avoided. In addition, by using shorter pulses after the initial long pulse, the pre-determined target temperature can be more accurately controlled and the soak time for absorbing the energy to uniformly heat the tube is optimised. As a result, quality control of the heating cycle is greatly improved. The present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment above-described and includes modifications to the method and/or apparatus without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims: A method of forming a bend in a tube (1) of thermoplastic material by contactless heating of a pre-formed bend region of the tube (1) with a pulsed emission of infra-red radiation to conform the tube (1) to a required bend configuration followed by cooling to retain the required bend configuration whilst the tube (1) is supported on a former (4) characterised in that the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation is controlled in response to the temperature of the tube (1) for heating the tube (1) to a pre-determined temperature and maintaining the pre-determined temperature substantially constant for conforming the tube (1) to the required bend configuration. A method according to Claim 1 characterised in that the tube (1) is heated to the pre-determined temperature by a single pulse of infra-red radiation. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterised in that the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation is responsive to the surface temperature of the tube (1). A method according to Claim 3 characterised in that the surface temperature is detected at a plurality of positions, preferably circumferentially spaced apart, and the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation is responsive to the average surface temperature at the plurality of positions. A method according to Claim 1 characterised in that a plurality of bends are formed, preferably simultaneously, by localised contactless heating of pre-formed bend regions of the tube (1). Apparatus for forming a bend in a tube (1) of thermoplastic material by contactless heating of a pre-formed bend region of the tube (1) with a pulsed emission of infra-red radiation to conform the tube (1) to a required bend configuration followed by cooling to retain the required bend configuration whilst the tube (1) is supported on a former (4) characterised in that means (5,6) is provided for controlling the pulsed emission of infra-red radiation in response to the temperature of the tube (1) for heating the tube to a pre-determined temperature and for maintaining the pre-determined temperature substantially constant for conforming the tube (1) to the required bend configuration. Apparatus according to Claim 6 characterised in that the control means (5,6) includes a remote sensor (5) for producing an output representative of the temperature of the tube (1) and a controller (6) responsive to the output for controlling at least one infra-red emitter (2). Apparatus according to Claim 7 characterised in that the output is representative of the surface temperature of the tube (1).

Inventors: BOWKETT TREVOR GEORGE, BOWKETT, TREVOR GEORGE
Applicants: MCKECHNIE COMPONENTS LTD, MCKECHNIE COMPONENTS LIMITED
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B29C53
IPC codes: B29C35, B29C53