Tube handling assembly for slit tube manufacturing machine

A slit tube manufacturing machine used to manufacture slit tubes each having a tube body and a slit extending a slit length along the tube body, the slit tube manufacturing machine comprising:

• a tube cutting assembly at a cutting zone of the slit tube manufacturing machine, the tube cutting assembly having a cutting blade configured to cut the tube body from a spool of tubing, the tube cutting assembly having a slitting blade configured to cut the slit into the tube body;
• a vision inspection system having a camera for imaging the tube body and the slit;
• and
• a tube handling assembly for handling the split tube for the vision inspection system, the tube handling assembly including a base and a tube support movably coupled to the base, the tube handling assembly including a pin actuator coupled to the tube support and including a pin configured to be inserted into an end of the tube body to hold the slit tube at the cutting zone, the tube handling assembly including a tube linear actuator configured to move the tube support and the pin from the cutting zone in a linear actuation direction, the tube handling assembly including a tube rotation actuator configured to move the tube support and the pin in a rotation actuation direction to move the slit tube relative to the camera in the rotation actuation direction.

A method of manufacturing a slit tube comprising:

• feeding tubing to a tube cutting assembly at a cutting zone of a slit tube manufacturing machine;
• cutting a tube body to length from the tubing;
• slitting the tube body to form a slit in the tube body;
• picking up the tube body using a tube handling assembly;
• rotating the tube body using the tube handling assembly to align the slit with a camera of a vision inspection system;
• moving the tube body away from the cutting zone using the tube handling assembly;
• and
• imaging the tube body and the slit for quality inspection of the slit tube.