Hawkeyepedershaab Machines New Equipment

With an eye to the 2010 Precast Show (February, Phoenix) and Bauma (April, Munich), HawkeyePedershaab has added product and cage fabrication machinery.

With an eye to the 2010 Precast Show (February, Phoenix) and Bauma (April, Munich), HawkeyePedershaab has added product and cage fabrication machinery. The KastMaster (right) linear production sequence ensures operational efficiency for manhole output, the manufacturer asserts, including monolithic bases with cast-in flow channels, concrete pipe, and specialty units. Easily installed as a stand-alone unit or integrated as part of an automated process, the KastMaster produces, demolds, and distributes manhole components.

Separately, HawkeyePedershaab’s new CageFlex 260 incorporates latest control and welding technology based on proven cage-making concepts, the company affirms, to provide more efficient pipe reinforcement fabrication. In contrast to open loop-based welding machines, CageFlex utilizes a closed-loop control system that continuously provides feedback to the welding drive, ensuring application of consistent current to the weld and allowing automatic adjustment to such variables as differing steel conductivity and worn contactors. Moreover, its 1,000 Hz welding system frequency, versus conventional 50- or 60-Hz welding systems, decreases dwell time at the weld point to maximize cage output. Additional CageFlex benefits include extended life of copper wear parts for reduced maintenance costs; a wider range of acceptable steel types and qualities to minimize material expenditures; and, a lower connected energy load and peak for lower energy consumption.

The CageFlex 260 produces 13- to 102-in.-diameter cages in any length up to 106 or 161 inches. Possible cage configurations include round, arch, and oval. Further, the machine’s user-friendly control system and nonproprietary electrical control program are designed for worldwide serviceability. A standard PLC stores operating programs for various cage sizes and configurations, while a touch-screen interface permits machine settings and inputs to be easily adjusted. Û www.hawkeye-pipe.com