Seam Annealers

Seam Annealers

Heavy duty Stainless steel Rolls protect Inductor from any unexpected pipe movement.
Infrared pyrometer for accurate seam temperature measurement and optional inverter power control. Includes large, red, digital seam temperature readouts.
Pendant Station contains operator controls for positioning the inductor, “Heat On” status indicator and Emergency stop button.
Motorized Ball Screw actuator for proper inductor positioning, including automated flag actuated Quick lift feature for raising inductor quickly, if necessary.
Water cooled seam annealing inductor available in several standard configurations to cover a wide range of product sizes.
Sealed, rugged transformer cubicle designed for maximum protection of output transformer.
Motorized carriage with rack and pinion for positive positioning of the inductor relative to the pipe. Orbital seam tracking capability is available as an option.
Proven, rugged thermatool VIP series inverter power supply.

HF welded products, manufactured to API specifications for line pipe and oil well casing, require heat treatment in the weld zone. This process, known as seam annealing or normalizing is carried out to restore the grain structure in the weld zone to a finer structure which is equal to that of the parent metal. This refining process is done to prevent possible stress or corrosion cracking at the weld seam. Seam annealing units are available for inline and offline applications and for both longitudinally and spirally welded pipes. Recent advances in inductor design make it possible to seam normalize tubes as small as 0.75" (19.0 mm) and spiral pipe welds with any helix angle.

System include a mill mounted carriage for holding the inductor above the pipe, equipped with a quick lift feature to rapidly relies the inductor off the pipe to clear any damaging obstructions.

If desired the seam annealing system can be equipped with a fully automatic weld seam tracking. This system will ensure complete annealing of the weld seam even if it should vary from the vertical position due to cambered strip or incorrect mill set-up.

Thermatool powers its seam annealing systems with a rugged, reliable VIP Series inverter power supply, which are available in 500KW or 750KW outputs for operation at 1,3 or 6KHz.