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| From left: Nattabhumi Laosathirawong, factory manager at Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe with Huan Soon Lee, Sales & Business Development Engineer at SIKORA SOUTHEAST ASIA |
Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe with its headquarters in Nakhonratchasima, Thailand, is a specialist in manufacturing HDPE pipes, fittings, corrugated pipes and microducts. Since its foundation in 1984, domestic customers and beyond have been relying on its high-quality products. These are used for diverse applications such as water transmission, electrical conduit and communication cable as well as for special projects in the area of mining. As the only company in Thailand, Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe offers the largest HDPE pipes with a product diameter of up to 2,000 mm. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the company uses SIKORA’s CENTERWAVE 6000 for quality control of pipes in its extrusion line.
For Thai-Asia P. E. the application of innovative measuring and control technology in pipe production is a matter of course. “During our 40-year company history the priority has always been on constantly delivering premium quality that our customers can rely on, says Nattabhumi Laosathirawong, factory manager at Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe. To meet these requirements, Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe selects the material, method of production and quality control from suppliers with highest standards. This also includes the CENTERWAVE 6000 from SIKORA, a system based on millimeter wave technology that continuously measures and monitors the diameter and wall thickness of pipes while they are manufactured. “A benefit of the system is that it is able to measure large product sizes up to 1,600 mm and wall thicknesses of more than 100 mm. Here other devices have limitations,” explains Nattabhumi.
In the line, the CENTERWAVE 6000 is installed directly after the first vacuum tank. Already after 12 meters the system measures gapless over the entire pipe circumference the diameter and wall thickness in real-time. The measuring values are clearly visualized, which enables a fast centering of the extrusion tools. “An early reliable measurement is essential, considering that large pipes are being produced at a line speed of 0.06 meters per minute,” says Nattabhumi. ”The outer diameter of our pipes is up to 2 m and the wall thickness is more than 100 mm. As the price of raw material is unstable and ever increasing, an optimized start-up process leads not only to time saving, it also improves pipe quality and saves material and costs during production. At the end this contributes to sustainable manufacturing and helps preserving the scarce resources on earth,” concludes Nattabhumi.
Another reason to include measuring equipment in the line is to ensure continuous quality control during pipe extrusion. Normally, for every standard pipe length, such as 6, 12 or more meters, the end user can only measure the wall thickness at the beginning and at the end of the pipe. The CENTERWAVE 6000 supports Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe to measure continuously 100 % of the pipe during production, which is only possible with this kind of technology. It ensures a consistent quality control of every meter of the pipe produced, providing trend and statistics for every section, which can also be recorded and printed out. Finally, this gives maximum confidence and safety to the end user.
The cooperation between Thai-Asia P.E. Pipe and the Germany-based SIKORA AG is driven by the same high-quality standards for a continuous improvement process. The key to success roots in the requirements and trust from the customers. “We have the ambition to further convince our customers with our products,” tells Nattabhumi. This is to be achieved by innovation, continuous improvements, and the use of future-oriented technologies within the factory. “Partners like SIKORA with the CENTERWAVE 6000 for quality control support us on our path to always provide our customers the best pipes.”
