Tank maker improves manufacturing processes with innovative equipment

Rexarc is serving customers needing custom pressure vessels with improved manufacturing processes and innovative manufacturing equipment. “Our reputation in acetylene plants and cylinders is well-earned over our long history of innovation and safety,” said Rob Moyer, CEO of Rexarc, “Serving custom pressure vessel customers was a natural step for us and now we’ve invested in the equipment and processes to do so.” Rexarc manufactures carbon and stainless-steel pressure vessels with diameters up to 8 feet with a thickness up to 1.75 inches for commercial and industrial AMSE applications.

Rexarc recently streamlined manufacturing processes and added innovative equipment from KAAST Machine Tools to ensure quality and safety. The team now uses a new 40’ KAAST Plasmasonic CNC plasma cutting system to trim plate sections to size. They take these sections (up to 2” thick) form them into the side sheets of vessels. The Rexarc team is working to expand their forming experience with both of their new, factory-fresh KAAST four-roll plate rolling machines. The first is an RBD-4HD 2550/30 (99”x1.15” capacity) with a hydraulic overhead crane to support the cylindrical pieces as they are rolled, and an NC control for repeatability. The second plate roll is an RBD-4HL 2550/6 (99”x0.25”). “Two plate rolls were needed to be able to roll the range of material thicknesses we could handle with our overhead equipment. As we looked at capacities, it became evident that one set of rollers would not provide the production envelope we desired to offer to our customers as well,” Moyer tell us, “We can easily roll 2” up to ~3’. We are a job shop so each day, production capacity is different, ranging from 1 to 3 hours. We purchased this equipment to enable us to provide more competitive pricing with the goal of expanding the business. We are seeing steady increases in equipment utilization which is resulting in better deliveries and improved operational efficiency.”

For medium and heavy bending tasks, the frame of an RBD is solid welded construction featuring all rollers mated with high-quality, heavy-duty ball bearings, which ensures minimum friction and even rotation of the bending rollers. The hydraulic roller is driven by independent drive motors and planetary gearboxes. Because the planetary gears are mounted directly on the rollers, the transmission of force takes place without loss of force or power. The simultaneous use of torsion bars and hydraulic units ensure maximum rolling accuracy and production flexibility. These state-of-the-art hydraulic 4 roll benders use top brand components like Siemens, Rexroth, Bosch, Parker, Atos, Telemechanique, SKF, NSK and FAG to ensure high-quality lifelong performance. “They are easy to operate and we are continuing to learn through the process,” Moyer tells us, “the inputs are easy to make and the machine operates with ease.”
During the fabrication re-set, team members at Rexarc leveraged learning gained over years of innovation in other vessel and tank manufacturing areas to refine processes, eliminating unnecessary steps whenever possible without decreasing quality. All the while, every team member worked to improve their knowledge and efficiency of every step.
“While this is a relatively new line of service for us, we’ve been delivering all along. It always has been and always will,” said Moyer. “This team’s work ethic and immense pride in what they produce is palpable. You know you have a Rexarc product when you take delivery of your custom product.”

Now that Rexarc has the machines to do the cutting and forming in-house, they are able to have completed vessels out the door and on their way to Rexarc customers faster and more efficiently.

Images courtesy of Rexarc.com

“In the highly competitive ASME pressure vessel market, KAAST was the vendor that allowed the efficiency to lower cost due to high yield throughput and the quality integrity of the finished product,” Moyer finishes, “We liked the range of machines offered through KAAST. It made it easier to source the equipment that met our needs. We’re very pleased with the quality of the machinery we purchased from KAAST.”