There is disclosed an apparatus for performing conditioning operations including cutting operations such as beveling for welding, chamfering to aid in starting thread cutting, thread cutting and lead cutting and inspecting operations such as bevel or chamfer inspection and threads inspection on the ends of seamless steel pipes or round bars transferred from the preceding forming stage such as the rolling stage. The apparatus comprises a plurality of end processing multifunction machines each capable of performing by itself the above-mentioned processing operations and a plurality of end inspecting multifunction machines each capable of performing by itself the above-mentioned inspecting operations and these machines are arranged on one side or both sides of a single-line transverse transfer system. Each steel pipe or round bar to be processed is subjected to the end processing operations at a single fixed position and to the end inspecting operations also at a single fixed position.
In order to simplify, and to render easier, and to avoid manipulating difficulties of small-diameter pipes, which have to be separated and singled in the processing at a separating distance (6) and which have to be transported after the processing either within a factory or to different manufacturing or treatment stations or between factories, and in particular of pipes (1) with the bulges present or to be applied at their ends, such as pipe-connection nuts (26), protective caps (27), it is disclosed that the pipes (1) are separated continuously with a fixed distance (6, 6a) in between the pipes and are disposed at such a distance in a direction parallel to their axis, and are further separated on a moving support (10). then each pipe (1) is provided, during the continuous motion in a direction perpendicular to the pipe axis (1a), with a neighboring or with a more remote pipe in a parallel axial position by way of hinged disengageable connection members (12) which, in each case, correspond to the fixed distance (6, 6a) and wherein the pipe mat (19) of pipes (1) and hinged connections members (12) is continuously withdrawn and possibly wound to a bundle (20).
An assembly machine forms structural elements for false ceilings. Structural elements are cut to size and sent to two series of lateral stations. A press forms inserts which are applied to the ends of the structural elements.
A transfer line apparatus for performing multiple machining operations on each of a plurality of workpieces in a transfer line. The apparatus includes a plurality of different kinds of machining units disposed at respective machining stations along a transfer path. A workpiece transporter moves workpieces along the transfer path to position each of the workpieces at each of the machining stations and allow each of the machining units to machine each of the workpieces as the workpieces move along the transfer path. A controller connected to the machining units responds to an inspection command by causing all machining units downstream from a designated machining unit along the transfer path to allow a workpiece selected for inspection to pass by without being machined by the downstream units. This allows the workpiece to be inspected in a form that the remaining machining units have not altered.
