Product Description
Acu-Tech sells Bead Removers to remove the bead left by butt welding. Also known as de-beaders, these poly pipe installation tools remove the weld bead on the inside, or outside of the pipe. A run-around planing tool is used for removing the exterior HDPE pipe bead, and a different tool with a long pole is used for removing the interior HDPE pipe bead. Removing the bead will allow better flow through the pipeline and reduce friction.
Acu-Tech can supply external debeaders, internal debeaders and bead gauges. Poly bead gauges are used to gauge the final bead width of a butt welded joint to ensure that the width is within the specified tolerance. A water corp poly pipe specification states “Removal of welding beads shall be only considered where there is a potential for process flows to be affected”. As fusion welding is an integral weld, removing the welding bead does not reduce the strength of the join.
An external debeading tool removes the outer bead that is formed on the exterior of the HDPE pipe when butt welding. External debeaders dig into the bead, and use a ratchet motion to cut the bead smoothly off the outside of the pipe. Outside debeaders are usually required for casing or slip-lining, which is a method of repairing leaks or restoring structural stability to an existing pipeline. Slip-lining involves installing a smaller carrier pipe into a larger host pipe, and the space between the two pipes is filled with grout or concrete, to stop movement. The smaller carrier pipe must have a smooth outside, and therefore the butt welding bead must be removed.
An internal debeader tool is used to remove the inner weld bead on the inside of a HDPE pipe. Unlike the outside debeader, the internal debeader has to reach up the length of pipe, sometimes up to 24 m. The internal debeader overcomes this by using a drive handle and a cutter head to reach in and cut the weld bead from the HDPE pipe. The inside debeader is usually used when the pipeline will carry slurry or other heavy fluids, where the internal bead will cause extra friction and sediment to build up. The standard internal de-beader suits pipe diameters from 90 mm to 450 mm, but larger internal debeaders are available for pipes up to 800 mm. Contact our equipment team for more information!
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