Butt fusion machine

In a butt fusion machine for fusing two sections of large diameter plastic pipe wherein one of said sections is clamped between upper and lower semicylindrical shells hinged for swinging relative to one another to form a clamp which is fixed against linear movement and one of said sections is clamped between upper and lower semi-cylindrical shells hinged for swinging relative to one another to form a clamp which is linearly movable relative to said other clamp, said clamps being axially aligned and spaced from one another, said machine being adapted to accommodate a facer and heater successively between said clamps and between butt ends of the sections of pipe held therein, the improvement comprising an L-shaped frame having a base section defining a base reference plane, and an upright section;

• two, axially aligned, spaced clamps mounted on said frame, each of said clamps comprising a lower semi-cylindrical shell having a mouth with one part more remote from said reference plane than another part, whereby the said mouth lies in a plane at an acute angle to said reference plane, hinge means at said part of said mouth more remote from said reference plane, and at least one swinging upper semi-cylindrical shell connected to said hinge means, one of said clamps being fixedly mounted on said frame against linear movement, the other of said clamps being movably mounted on said frame for linear movement toward and away from the fixedly mounted clamp;
• a carriage mounted on the upright section of said frame above the hinge axis of the upper and lower hinge shells for movement parallel to the axis of said clamps;
• a facer hingedly mounted on said carriage on an axis radially outboard of and substantially parallel to the axis of said clamps for selective swinging between a position intermediate said clamps and a position totally outboard of them;
• and a heater hingedly mounted on said carriage on an axis radially outboard of and substantially parallel to the axis of said clamps for selective swinging between a position intermediate said clamps and a position totally outboard of them independently of said facer.