New line for tunnel pipe extrusion said to double output

A new system for corrugated plastic drainage pipes is said to offer throughput of up to twice as much as conventional systems. PVC, PE, and PP all can be processed on the new systems.

The manufacturer of these systems is Unicor (Hassfurt, Germany). Tunnel-shaped drainage pipes have been in use for nearly 35 years and are a means for city planners to cope with huge amounts of water. These pipes typically are extruded from PVC. The flat bottom of the pipe, in contact with the soil, makes for a better drainage than single-walled pipes with fully circular corrugation. The German DIN standard defines these tunnel pipes as Type C1 with profiled inner and outer surfaces and a smooth flat flow bottom.  

Unicor's work has been to develop new tools for its corrugators types UC 250 and UC 315. The newly developed perforating process allows these machines to corrugate tunnel pipes with an outer diameter (OD) of DN 100 at a rate of up to 11 meters per minute. The manufacturer says this is twice the production speed of tunnel pipes lines in current use.  

Using the UC 250 and UC 315 equipment, processors also can produce sockets at a constant high speed and inline, dispensing with the need for a separate production step. 

Unicor officials say the first of these new tunnel pipe lines are being put into operation in processors' facilities in Southern Europe, with further machines on order and now in production.