Apparatus and method for deforming a jacket tube of a honeycomb body

A method for deforming a jacket tube on a honeycomb body, which comprises:

• successively passing a honeycomb body with a jacket tube therearound through a plurality of calibrating stations to deform the jacket tube on the honeycomb body, while maintaining a single transport direction of the honeycomb body and the jacket tube through each calibrating station;
• providing each of the calibrating stations with a plurality of radially displaceable segments each having a wedge-shaped sliding surface with an arc angle, at least one annular, axially displaceable closing element surrounding the segments and having at least one oblique surface sliding on the sliding surfaces of the segments, and an actuating device connected to the closing element for performing closing operations of the segments, the actuating device having an annular shape defining an opening with two sides;
• maintaining said single transport direction through each calibration station by passing the honeycomb body with the jacket tube therearound into the opening from one side and out of the opening from the other side;
• and
• rotating the honeycomb body with the jacket tube about its longitudinal axis through an angle of rotation smaller than the arc angle of a segment, prior to entering at least one of the calibrating stations following another of the calibrating stations and between two of the closing operations of the segments, for producing a rotationally symmetrical honeycomb body.