Tube Cutting System

The Tube Cutting System is intended as an ancillary device for the Jodon Tube Profiling System, Model TPS-2000. That system was originally designed to precisely measure critical physical parameters of heat exchanger tubes. More recently, users of the TPS-2000 have requested that the capabilities of the system be expanded to include imaging the end of the sample section with particular attention paid to the weld or fold region of the section. The region to be imaged must be greatly magnified for the graphical presentation to be practical. For that reason, the TPS-2000 was optionally equipped with a camera and lens system (ask for information concerning the Tube Imaging Subsystem, Model TIS-3) capable of macro-imaging (i.e., 80 times magnification or greater), frame grabbing and dimensional analysis of the captured images. Considerable enhancement of the system programming was added to permit this new capability to be easily selected and executed by the operator.

A pre-requisite to viewing a representative tube end is to have a very clean parting-off of the test sample from the full production tube length. Typically for the Jodon TPS-2000, a sample of about 100mm is taken from the full production length.

Use of the optional Jodon TC-3A Tube Cutting Subsystem provides a very clean cut of the sample, with no further end processing (e.g., EDM or polishing) necessary before it can be used in the TPS-2000 macro imaging subsystem. The time required to prepare such a sample is approximately 30 seconds.

Just recently, the Tube Cutting System has also been modified to cut stamped type fin strips for those measuring this style fin on the CPS-2500 system. This change is not meant as a permanent alteration to the TC-3A, rather as a variation to supplement the CPS-2500 system.