New standards in the production of plastic-metal composite pipes: battenfeld-cincinnati and Templet Deutschland are continuously expanding their technological cooperation and customer service

battenfeld-cincinnati and Templet Deutschland have been setting standards in the production of complex plastic-metal composite pipes for over 20 years. Through their close cooperation and the know-how, both companies have established themselves as leading market players and innovation drivers in extrusion and aluminum jacket technology.

Thanks to many advantages, plastic-metal composite pipes are becoming increasingly important in the fields of hot and cold-water installation, drinking water supply and gas supply, among others. The production of these pipes, which usually have a five-layer structure with a diffusion-tight oxygen barrier made of aluminum, requires highprecision coordination between the plastic extrusion and metal jacket system.

The two technology leaders offer demanding customers worldwide tailor-made solutions for precisely this purpose. Thanks to modular production systems, even highly individual requirements can be fulfilled flexibly. At the same time, energy and production costs are reduced and plant availability is increased. Manual interventions in the production process which were previously necessary as well as operating errors and accidents at work are effectively avoided thanks to clever detail solutions. With success: Since 2001, numerous production lines for aluminum composite pipes have been successfully established. Advanced lines with laser welding technology in particular are becoming increasingly popular and now account for around 80% of the lines delivered.

A decisive advantage of the system technology from Templet Deutschland lies in the fully automatic strip guiding system, which ensures optimum positioning of the aluminum strip during the welding process without manual intervention. Side guide rollers are no longer necessary, and there is also no longer any damage to the strip edges. In addition to other innovative solutions such as the Fault Control System "FCS", this intelligent technology in particular offers decisive added value in contrast to other available systems in the market. In addition, the laser welding systems from Templet Deutschland convince with their precise welding results and high process reliability.

To ensure process reliability even at high speeds, not only the forming and welding process itself is enormously important, but also the feeding and preparation of the aluminum strip. With the newly developed and fully automatic laser transverse seam welding system, Templet Deutschland sets new standards in this area as well. High-precision linear robots guide the new aluminum strip into the production level and weld it without operator intervention. Thus, operator errors caused by humans are eliminated for all time.

battenfeld-cincinnati, in turn, has just recently introduced a significant innovation in the field of plastics processing with its latest generation of extruder technology, the "NG" and "XNG" series. The highly advanced processes provide energy savings of up to 15% compared to earlier models. In addition, they reduce the axial pressure curve and thus the load on the overall system.

The patented VSI die head design from battenfeld-cincinnati offers additional advantages in aluminum composite pipe production, especially when processing PE-RT materials. The helix II VSI die series sets new standards in terms of end product quality, throughput and handling. The sophisticated three-stage distribution system ensures excellent melt homogeneity, outstanding layer distribution and, as a result, creates almost perfect pipe surfaces. The compact, lightweight and modular design makes fast color changes and rinsing times possible, as well as short heat-up times. This ensures considerable savings in material and energy costs as well as significantly reduced maintenance and setup times. All production-relevant data can be recorded and documented in real time for the control and constant monitoring of pipe quality. Individual Industry 4.0 solutions can thus be realized at profitable product costs.

Continuous investments in research and development will ensure the highest availability and process reliability of the machines in the future as well. battenfeld-cincinnati and Templet Deutschland also offer their customers comprehensive customer service far beyond the warranty period: In this way, machines already in operation continue to be kept at the latest technical level. The worldwide service network of the two companies is available to customers around the clock for this purpose - on the phone as well as via video chat and, of course, directly at the machine.

With customized solutions and their combined innovative strength, battenfeld-cincinnati and Templet Deutschland continue to achieve the highest product quality and measurable increases in line efficiency.