Manufacture of metal tubes
AssigneePirelli General plc
InventorsJack Clark, Patrick B. Ryan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for forming metal tubes is shown in which a metal strip 2 is passed through the apparatus and is formed by a combination of rollers 17, 17', 19, and dies 15, 24 into a shape defining a tube. Prior to the completion of the formation of the metal strip 2 into a shape defining a tube, a brazing wire 1 is supplied through rollers 8 onto the metal strip 2 between two edge portions thereof to be bonded together. The edge portions are bonded together by means of a frictional wheel 27 rotating at high speed.
Claims28
An apparatus for manufacturing an elongate metal tube comprising forming means for forming an elongate metal strip into a shape which defines a tube, supplying means for supplying a brazing wire onto an edge portion of the metal strip prior to the completion of the formation of the metal strip into the shape defining a tube, means for aligning the brazing wire adjacent to and substantially parallel to the free edge of said edge portion such that the brazing wire becomes sandwiched between said edge portion and the edge portion of the metal strip opposed thereto, frictional means for forming a bond between said two edge portions at the location of the brazing wire, and means for causing longitudinal relative movement between said frictional means and the metal strip.
A method of manufacturing an elongate metal tube comprising the steps of forming an elongate metal strip into a shape which defines a tube, supplying a brazing wire onto an edge portion of said metal strip prior to the completion of the formation of said metal strip into said shape, aligning said brazing wire adjacent to and substantially parallel to the free edge of said edge portion such that said brazing wire becomes sandwiched between said edge portion and the edge portion of the metal strip opposed thereto, and causing relative longitudinal movement between a frictional means and said metal strip at the location of the brazing wire to form a bond between said two edge portions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.