Application:
Trimming automotive seat frames prior to welding operation
Solution: A leading tube producer and fabricator in the automotive industry, and longtime
Haven customer, asked Haven to develop a process that combines length trimming and radius coping
into a single operation. When welding two round tubes together to make a T-connection, coping is
the preferred way to condition one tube end for a tight fit. For this application, the customer
is required to trim both ends of a tube after bending to obtain matching finished lengths. Coping
is usually a separate operation, so the challenge for Haven was to combine the trim-to-length and
the coping into one operation, thus saving the customer time and money. The basic action of this
process is no different than that of a standard dual-blade shear cutoff – clamp, nick and shear.
The width of the blade removes an equivalent amount of material (kerf) from the tube, but is
greatly increased when coping. The design of the clamp die and shear blade had to be changed.
Standard design has a flat, two plane interface between the shear blade and the clamp die, making
a square cut. For this application, the blade’s outgoing side, or scrap side, remains flat, while
the incoming side is profiled to match the cope radius and depth. Likewise, the clamp die is
designed with a concave profile to match that of the shear blade. As with a square cut, the
profiled die and blade interface creates the shearing surface that parts the tube. Put all of
these innovations together into a self-contained modular style package and you get a very capable
dual-action trimming and coping process.
Results: Haven provided our customer the innovation, accuracy and reliability needed to
improve their production and cost. Haven has the ability to design and manufacture application
specific machines, providing our customers the depth and breadth needed to solve almost any
tube related challenge.
Line of Business
Automotive
Target Markets
Automotive Seat Frames
Haven Products in Use
• Customized Dual-Blade Shear Cutoff
• Customized Coping process