Extrusion International 5-2017

35 Extrusion International 5/2017 customers can be assigned to a corresponding recorded measuring value. “This is an essential element of our Quality Assurance”, emphasizes Kipping. “Naturally, we are not the only manufacturer who is using X-ray devices from SIKORA, but hardly any businesses are on the same quality level as we are. Furthermore, we have a very low customer complaint rate, which is constantly below one percent. Sometimes it is just wiser to invest in a higher- quality product right from the start. I always tell our cus- tomers: It is not a tube you’re investing in – you’re invest- ing in safety. These are not gardening hoses with which you water the lawn, but tubes where a breakage can be very costly and can have severe consequences”, explains Kipping. In addition to the continuous inline-dimension measurement, material saving is an important topic for APT. “Ultimately, we have a relatively low material waste – effectively, we have little to dispose of”, says Kipping. “This is always desirable considering the comparatively high costs of raw material for fluoropolymer.” SIKORA’s X-ray measuring devices help to reduce waste, as measur- ing values are available immediately after the start-up of the line. Therefore, the start-up process is relatively short and is carried out without significant material loss. Erich Kipping is especially pleased with the cooperation with SIKORA; not only regarding the measuring technol- ogy and the accompanying benefits, but also with the customer support. “In SIKORA, we have found a reliable and competent partner who is available at any time and offers perfectly customized solutions. Therefore, we will continue to use measuring devices from SIKORA in our lines in the future.” products, quality can be quicker assessed, controlled and reproduced”, explains Kipping. Measuring devices do not just serve for quality control, but also assist the machine operator to operate his equipment efficiently. An eccen- tricity of the wall thickness, for example, is displayed on the monitor as an eccentric ring, whereas the position of the thinnest wall thickness is highlighted in color. With this information, the operator can intervene and control the process much sooner and prevent the production process exceeding the tolerance limit. Therefore, with the automatic control of the line speed or the extruder rpm in consideration of the minimum values, the devices from SIKORA ensure an optimal process control. Recording is also a crucial element of Quality Manage- ment, as customers usually require a measurement re- port. Each centimeter of tubing that APT delivers to SIKORA AG www.sikora.net Picture 2: Close cooperation between APT and SIKORA: Peter Huegen, SIKORA Area Sales Manager (l.) and Erich Kipping, APT Managing Director (r.)