News, Events, and Blog | Rafter Equipment

Rafter Ships RT-3000 HFI Weld Bead Trimmer/Winder Combo

3/30/2018

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, March 30, 2018 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped an RT-3000 Single-Tool HFI Weld Bead Upset Trimmer with Bead Winder to a North American custom roll form parts producer. The equipment includes a cam actuated quick-lift feature to raise and lower the trimming tool automatically when the mill stops or manually when a coil end joint passes underneath. The use of a cam motion locks the tool in the down position mechanically. It also returns the tool to the preset trimming position automatically after it has been raised. The lower support roll tool was contoured to match the direct-welded profile section.

RT-3000 Single-Tool HFI Weld Bead Trimmer with Winder

Rafter RT-3000 Single-Toll HFI Weld Bead Trimmer with Winder

The Bead Winder is mounted to the top surface of the trimmer. It includes a variable speed motor with a slip clutch mechanism for optimum tension control. This feature greatly reduces bead breakage during winding. A pneumatic push-off mechanism breaks the cooled bundle free of the winder tines for easy disposal.

Rafter Ships RT-4000S Sgl Turkshead with Motor Adjust

2/16/2018

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, February 16, 2018 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped an RT-4000S single-sided turkshead straightener with 2-axis motorized adjustments to a major North American heavy-wall tube producer. The turkshead is capable of straightening up to 3.500" OD x 0.300" wall (88.9mm OD x 7.6mm wall) tubing. It includes motorized up/down and left/right adjustment so that tube straightness can be controlled from a remote downstream position using a simple joystick device. Linear displacement transducers (LDTs) indicate movement and position for optimum straightness control on the included remote operator's console.

The turkshead includes a removable faceplate design that allows for the roll tooling to be exchanged offline while laying down. A second faceplate was included for enhanced quick-change capabilities.

RT-4000S Single-Sided Turkshead Straightener with 2-Axis Motorized Adjustment

RT-4000S Single-Sided Turkshead Straightener with 2-Axis Motorized Adjustment

Rafter 3-Roll HFI Weld Boxes Continue to Please

2/5/2018

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, February 5, 2018 – Rafter Equipment Corporation continues to please customers with the company's robust 3-roll HFI weld squeeze boxes. The unique heavy-duty design has successfully replaced scroll-chuck and other various designs because of its ability to handle both heavier wall thickness and/or high strength, low alloy (HSLA) steels.

RT-2000S HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll) - Front

RT-2000S HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll) - Side

Rafter Ships RT-2500S Driven Reshaping Roll Stands

12/28/2017

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, December 28, 2017 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a pair of RT-2500S Driven Reshaping Roll Stands to a major North American stainless steel tube manufacturer. The equipment was the final piece of a series of mill upgrades the customer used reconfigure an old TIG welded mill into a new HFI welded mechanical tube mill. The stands will reshape round tubing formed with a bottom-of-tube constant datum into equivalent squares & rectangles with a constant centerline datum. The maximum reshaped tube will be 2½” square x 0.135” wall thickness.

The stands represent a new design with increased robustness and easier setup and operation. The company worked with the customer to determine what improvements could be made over the previous design while still keeping within the original budget.

Rafter RT-2500S Driven Reshaping Roll Stands

Rafter RT-2500S Driven Reshaping Roll Stands

Rafter Upgrades Yoder QVW-250 Tube Mill [UPDATE 2]

2/27/2017

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, February 27, 2017 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a new RT-2000S strip entry table, HFI weld squeeze box, and double-sided turkshead straightener to a North American tube producer. The equipment will replace equipment on a Yoder Manufacturing QVW-250 tube mill that was not robust enough for the tubular products being produced.

RT-2000S Strip Entry Table

RT-2000S Strip Entry Table

Rafter RT-2000S HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

RT-2000S HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

Rafter RT-2000S Double-Sided Turkshead Straightener with 2-Axis Motorized Adjustment

RT-2000S Double-Sided Turkshead Straightener with 2-Axis Motorized Adjustment

Rafter Ships RT-2500 Tandem Weld Upset Bead Trimmer

2/3/2017

Rafter RT-2500 Tandem HFI Weld Upset Bead Trimmer

Rafter RT-2500 Tandem HFI Weld Upset Bead Trimmer

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, February 3, 2017 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped an RT-2500 Tandem HFI Weld Bead Upset Trimmer to a major North American custom roll form parts producer. The equipment includes a cam actuated quick-lift feature to raise and lower the trimming tool automatically when the mill stops or manually when a coil end joint passes underneath. The use of a cam motion locks the tool in the down position mechanically. It also returns the tool to the preset trimming position automatically after it has been raised. The tandem tool arrangement allows for the continued production after the first tool becomes dull or damaged.

Rafter Ships RT-3000 Turkshead for Step-Beam Profiles

12/2/2016

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, December 2, 2016 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a RT-3000 double-sided turkshead straightener for the production of welded step-beams profiles used for the manufacture of industrial pallet storage racks and shelving. It is sized to run common step-beam sizes from 4" to 6-1/2" (102 to 165 mm) tall.

Rafter RT-3000 Double-Sided Turkshead Straightener

Rafter RT-3000 Double-Sided Turkshead Straightener

Rafter Upgrades Yoder Tube Mill [UPDATED]

11/29/2016

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, November 29, 2016 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a new RT-2500 forming and sizing "tube mill re-top" to a North American mechanical and sprinkler tube producer. The equipment will replace older Yoder and home-made tube mill equipment that is worn, difficult to maintain, and has outlived its useful life.

Rafter RT-2500 Raft for Yoder Mill Re-Top

Rafter RT-2500 Raft for Yoder Mill Re-Top

Rafter Ships RT-2500 Turksheads with 3-Axis Servo Adjustment

11/7/2016

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, November 7, 2016 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped three (3) RT-2500 single-sided turkshead straighteners each with 3-axis servo motorized adjustments to a major North American custom roll former of direct-welded profiles. These units included the raft sub-bases designed to fit the existing Dreistern roll forming machine.

Rafter Turkshead Straighteners

Rafter RT-2500 Single-Sided Turkshead Straighteners with 3-Axis Servo Adjustments

Rafter Ships RT-8000 Weld Box Head Roll Assembly Retrofit [UPDATED]

10/11/2016

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, October 11, 2016 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped an RT-8000 weld squeeze box head roll assembly retrofit to a major South American producer of direct-welded HSS tubular products. The customer approached the company to help solve the rigidity issues with the head roll assembly on their existing Chinese-made 5-roll HFI/HFC weld squeeze box. The existing unit was incapable of welding the heavier wall thicknesses. It was determined that the existing side and lower roll assembly was sufficient, so Rafter proposed a head roll retrofit solution.

Rafter RT-8000 HFI/HFC Head Roll Assembly Retrofit

Rafter RT-8000 HFI/HFC Head Roll Assembly Retrofit

Rafter Ships RT-3000 Weld Box & TH for Profiles

7/12/2016

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, July 12, 2016 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has delivered welding and straightening equipment to a major North American custom roll form parts producer. The equipment included a RT-3000 high-frequency induction (HFI) 5-roll weld squeeze box and a RT-3000 double-sided turkshead straightener.

The equipment will be used for the production of HSLA welded seam profiles up to 3" square x 0.160" thick for an automotive application on the customer's existing RLM Manufacturing roll former. Rafter was chosen for this project because of the company's strong reputation for providing the kind of heavy-duty mill equipment necessary for this application.

Rafter RT-3000 HFI Weld Box (5-Roll)

RT-3000 HFI Weld Box (5-Roll)

Rafter RT-3000 Dbl-Sided Turkshead Straightener

RT-3000 Dbl-Sided Turkshead

Rafter Upgrades McKay Tube Mill

5/20/2016

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, May 20, 2016 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a new RT-3000 "tube mill re-top" and drive train upgrade for a major North American automotive tube producer. The equipment will replace older McKay tube mill equipment that is worn, difficult to maintain, and has outlived its useful life.

Rafter RT-3000 Driven and Idle Side Roll Stands on Plate

Rafter RT-3000 Driven and Idle Side Roll Stands on Plate

R-600U and D-60 Forming Worm Gear Reducer Section with 4-Speed Transmission

R-600U and D-60 Worm Gear Reducer Forming Section with 4-Speed Transmission

Rafter Ships Yet Another 3-Roll HFI Weld Box

12/10/2015

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, December 10, 2015 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped yet another of the company's popular 3-roll HFI weld squeeze boxes to a major North American sprinkler pipe and mechanical tubing producer. As stated before, the newer design has become the choice replacement for heavy-duty applications where traditional "scroll chuck" weld box designs fail to perform.

Rafter RT-2500 HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

RT-2500 HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

Rafter Ships Another 3-Roll HFI Weld Box [Updated]

11/18/2015

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, November 18, 2015 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped another of the company's popular 3-roll HFI weld squeeze boxes to a major North American automotive and mechanical tubing supplier. The relatively new design has become the choice replacement for heavy-duty applications where traditional "scroll chuck" weld box designs fail to perform. This particular unit included two design challenges. The first was making a unit that would fit into a relatively small space. The short 10" passline height (or metal line) and the limited footprint area on the existing Asian-made mill required a custom designed lower roll adjustment and main support frame.

Rafter RT-2500S HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

RT-2500 HFI Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

Rafter Ships Seam Orientation Unit [Updated]

7/16/2015

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, July 16, 2015 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a RT-5500 Seam Orientation Unit (SOU) to a major North American tube producer. The equipment will be added to the customer's existing tube sizing mill for the purpose of positioning the weld seam prior to reshaping the tube into squares and rectangles. The SOU is adjusted electrically and can be controlled remotely from a downstream position if desired.

Rafter RT-5500 Seam Orientation Unit

Rafter RT-5500 Seam Orientation Unit (SOU)

Rafter Upgrades Abbey Etna 2KU Mill

7/6/2015

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, July 6, 2015 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a new RT-2000 raft set for a major North American tube producer. The equipment will replace older Abbey Etna 2KU tube mill equipment that is worn and has outlived its useful life. With a future second raft set, the customer will be able to take full advantage of the "rafted" mill quick-change concept.

Rafter RT-2000 Tube Mill Raft Set

Rafter RT-2000 Tube Mill Raft Set

Rafter Delivers Three Newly Designed RT-2500S HFI Weld Boxes [Updated]

1/27/2015

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, January 27, 2015 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has delivered three (3) RT-2500S HFI weld squeeze boxes for a major North American mechanical tubing producer on their Kusakabe tube mill. The new boxes will replace the customer's existing 3-roll "scroll chuck" style boxes that were not strong enough for the heavier wall thicknesses and higher yield strength materials that needed to be produced. Because the boxes needed to be more robust but still occupy the same footprint, a new design was required.

Rafter RT-2500S HFI Weld Squeeze Box

RT-2500S HFI Weld Squeeze Box (front)

Rafter RT-2500S HFI Weld Squeeze Box

(side and rear)

Rafter Completes RT-7000 HFI Welder Mechanicals Upgrade

1/23/2015

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, January 23, 2015 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has completed a RT-7000 weld squeeze box for a major North American tube producer. The box is part of an upgrade to the customer's existing HFI tube/pipe mill. It is sized for up to 8.625" OD x 0.500" wall (219 mm OD x 12.7 mm wall) HSLA steel pipe. The design includes motorized push-on-center squeeze roll adjustments, linear displacement transducers, high-capacity tapered roller bearings within the roll tools, and a removable head roll assembly for quick-change. A second removable head was included to speed the changeover process even more.

Rafter RT-7000 Weld Squeeze Box

Rafter RT-7000 HFI Weld Squeeze Box

Rafter Ships RT-2000 Weld Squeeze Box for Yoder M-2 Tube Mill

12/22/2014

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, December 19, 2014 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a RT-2000 HFI weld squeeze box to a North American producer of mechanical tubing. The box is part of an upgrade to the customer's existing Yoder M-2 tube mill. The purpose was to provide stronger, more reliable design that was better able to survive the customer's relatively harsh environment and run higher yield-strength materials.

Rafter RT-2000 HFI Weld Squeeze Box

RT-2000 Weld Squeeze Box (3-Roll)

Rafter Ships Refurbished T&H Mill

10/17/2014

Strongsville, Ohio, USA, October 8, 2014 – Rafter Equipment Corporation has shipped a refurbished Turek & Heller (T&H) model WU-20 tube mill to a North American producer of electrical conduit tube. The owner of the mill approached the company to rebuild the machine which had been sitting in their warehouse for several years.

T&H WU-20 Tube Mill Before Refurbishing

T&H WU-20 Tube Mill as Received at Rafter

In addition to the rebuild, the company made several upgrades to the mill. These included new idle side roll stands, single-point adjustments (SPA) for the top roll shafts on the driven roll stands, a new drive train necessary to achieve 1,000 FPM production speeds, and a new mill drive electrical package.

T&H WU-20 Tube Mill After Refurbishing

Refurbished and Upgraded T&H WU-20 Tube Mill