GB1246056A - Improvements in apparatus and method for forming indefinite length tubular articles - Google Patents

Abstract

1,246,056. Continuously producing tubes. AUTOMATION INDUSTRIES Inc. 28 May, 1969 [3 June, 1968], No. 26911/69. Heading F2P. A mandrel device for making indefinite length articles, e.g. helically fabricated flexible tubing, comprises, a hollow, generally cylindrical, tubular member fixed at one end 13a, e.g. in a pair of supports 11, 12, and free at the opposite end 13b, at least one flexible belt 14 helically wrapped with spaced turns in a corresponding helical groove 20 formed on the outside of the tubular member, a guide, e.g. a groove 22, on the free end portion 23 of the tubular member for directing the belt 14 from the helical groove 20 around the free end 23 of the tubular member and into the interior thereof and pulley means 15a for directing the belt 14 from a track 25 on the interior of the tubular member back to the helical groove 22 adjacent the supported tube end 13a. A plurality of pinions 31 within the tubular member extend through apertures in the helical groove 20 and drivingly engage the belt 14 to maintain it as a sliding fit within said groove. The pinions 31 are keyed to a shaft 26, which is mounted in bearings 27, 28, 29, 30 within the tubular member, and is connected for rotation, through drive belts 35, 38 and an idler pulley 36, to a variable speed motor 39 the pinions having teeth which are disposed at an angle to mesh with teeth on the underside of the belt 14 and maintain the latter lifted slightly off the bottom of the groove 20 and proud of the outer surface of the tubular member. The belt can be tensioned, or replaced, by adjusting a pneumatic piston and cylinder unit 17, 18. A strip of fabric 40, slightly wider than the pitch of the belt 14, is drawn from a reel 41 and wrapped under, and around, the tubular member 13 and a length of wire 41, which passes through straightener and drive rolls 42, 43 is located along the edge of the strip over a turn of the belt, a continuous bead of adhesive being deposited over the wire from a nozzle 44. As the belt 14 advances the strip 40 about the mandrel the turns of the strip overlap and by the time the fabric reaches the end of the mandrel the adhesive is cured and the tube is produced in indefinite lengths. An outer longitudinal groove may be provided in the belt 14, to receive the wire 41; two belts 14, located in double lead helical grooves, may be provided in the mandrel; and auxiliary traction means may be provided, to draw the finished tube off the mandrel.