Solving problems on the tube mill

Tube mill machine line face a variety of challenges every day in their

effort to produce high-quality tubing in a cost-effective and productive way.

This article examines some of the typical problems producers encounter, some common causes of these problems, and some ideas for how to solve these

problems.

Lost Mill Time During Operation and Changeovers

Often, excessive downtime during normal operation or tooling/job changeover can be attributed to one or more of the following causes:

1. No written procedures for setup. Every mill should have written procedures for all operators to follow. The machine, tooling, and steel are fixed

factors in the mill setup equation; the only variable is the human factor. This is why it is so important to have written procedures in place to control the

process. Written procedures also provide a tool for troubleshooting when problems arise.

2. No setup chart. Tweaking the mill during setup loses valuable setup time. Operators must work the tooling the way it was designed. This means setting

up to the parameters of a setup chart.