Fully Automatic Double Head Threading Machine

Product Overview

The TSAD-DN20-65 is a fully automatic double head threading machine built for one job: putting clean, repeatable threads on both ends of steel fire water pipe before it leaves the prefabrication shop. It is a shop machine, not a site machine. An automatic feeding system takes each pipe to the two threading heads, both ends are threaded in the same cycle, and the pipe is released to the outfeed — no second pass, no turning the pipe end for end.

The machine is assembled from two systems: an automatic feeding system and a double head automatic threading system. Every station between those two ends exists to keep a pipe moving in one direction — in at the racks, through the heads, out to the platforms. Pipe lengths are handled on the machine rather than by hand.

Who runs it: fire protection pipe prefabrication plants supplying risers, mains and branch lines to installation crews; MEP contractors who prefabricate in their own workshop instead of threading at the installation face; and equipment distributors building out a fire pipe shop for their customers. What these operations share is a pipe schedule with several line sizes and a daily target that hand threading cannot hold.

Compared with single-head threading, the change shows up in labour and consistency. One operator loads and supervises, while the machine decides where the thread starts and where it stops. On a manual or semi-automatic threader that decision sits with the operator's eye and the die head, and it drifts over a shift.

As an automatic pipe threading machine manufacturer, we build our fire pipe prefabrication equipment around the pipe schedule a plant actually runs — the calibers, the lengths and the thread engagement your fittings need. Send those with your enquiry and the configuration is checked against them before anything is quoted.

Machine Layout and Working Stations

• Two threading heads. A pair of heads faces each other along the cell, one for each pipe end, working as a matched set rather than as two separate machines.
• Two discharge racks. Cut lengths are stacked at the loading end, so a buffer can be built and the cell fed steadily instead of one pipe at a time.
• Three translation mechanisms. Pipe is carried between the loading, threading and unloading positions on the machine itself, which keeps the lifting and dragging off the operator.
• Four receiving platforms. Threaded pipe is collected at the outfeed in layers, ready to be capped, bundled and moved to the next operation.
• Five fixture sets. The clamping fixtures that hold pipe during threading are supplied as a set, so several line sizes can run on a single piece of fire pipe prefabrication equipment.
• Automatic loading and unloading. Feed and discharge run on the machine cycle; the operator's job is to keep the racks full, watch the heads and clear the platforms.
• A straight-line arrangement. The stations sit in a line, so the infeed can face the cutting area and the outfeed can face the next operation without a change of direction.
• One control point. A single PLC cabinet runs the whole double head threading machine, so the threading parameters for each pipe size are set in one place instead of at each head.

Threading Control and Accuracy

Thread length decides whether a joint seals, and on this machine it is a number in the control rather than a mechanical stop on a die head. A PLC runs the pipe threading cell, and servo motors drive the feed of each threading head, so the starting and ending points of the thread are set, stored and repeated without an operator judging the depth.

The heads travel on high-precision, high-strength ball screws. That is what allows one machine to serve different threading lengths — a short engagement for one fitting, a longer one for another — while holding machining accuracy across the batch. Change the figure in the program and the next pipe follows it.

Head opening and closing is done by a cylinder rather than a hand lever, so each pipe is engaged the same way as the one before it. Together with servo feed, that removes the two places where manual threading goes wrong: an inconsistent start and an over- or under-threaded end.

In fire water pipe threading for factory prefabrication, that repeatability is the whole point. Threads are checked once at the start of a batch and then trusted, because the machine is not varying between pieces. It also means a new operator can take over a size after a short instruction instead of serving an apprenticeship on a die head.

What the control does not do is decide your engagement. That comes from the fittings you use, so the thread lengths are programmed against your specification at commissioning.

Pipe Caliber Coverage and Fixture System

• Seven calibers in the fixture set. 4-point (1/2 inch), 6-point (3/4 inch), 1 inch, 1-1/4 inch, 1-1/2 inch, 2 inch and 2-1/2 inch pipe are covered by the supplied fixtures, which is the size spread you meet most often in fire water pipe threading for factory prefabrication.
• Pipe length from 1.5 m to 3.6 m, both limits inclusive. Shorter or longer pipe needs a different loading and translation arrangement, so tell us before the order if your schedule sits outside that band.
• Self-centering fixtures. Each pipe is centred on the head axis as it is clamped, so the thread comes out concentric with the bore instead of running off-axis.
• Oil-cylinder clamping and release. Clamping pressure is applied hydraulically, which holds the pipe firmly through the cut without the operator wrestling a manual clamp between pieces.
• Caliber change is a fixture change plus a program call. Fit the fixture for the next size, select the stored parameters, run a first piece and check it against a gauge or a fitting.
• Batch by size where you can. Grouping the day's work by caliber cuts the number of changes and keeps the pipe threading cell running in long stretches.
• Send us the schedule. If your line sizes sit outside the seven supplied calibers, give us the sizes and wall thickness and the fixture coverage is confirmed against what you actually run.

Power Supply and Electrical Requirements

On site the cell needs a three-phase supply at 380 V and 50 Hz, with 15 kW of connected power. Those are the two figures your electrician needs to size the feed, the isolator and the earthing before the machine is landed.

Give the double head threading machine its own circuit rather than sharing one with welders or the shop compressor. The servo feed and the PLC are sensitive to a supply that sags under load, and a machine that drops out mid-thread produces scrap rather than a warning.

Plan the connection the way you would for any machine tool of this rating: an isolator within sight of the control cabinet, a clean earth, and cable sized for the run from your distribution board. Where the earthing and supply are solid, commissioning is short and the servo tuning holds.

Where the destination plant does not run 380 V at 50 Hz, tell us the actual voltage and frequency before the order is confirmed. The electrical arrangement is agreed at that stage, not after the machine is standing on your floor.

Cabinet position is worth deciding early as well. The pipe threading cell is long, and a control position that forces a walk between the loading end and the panel adds time to every caliber change and every first-piece check.

Technical Specifications

Cycle Time and Throughput Planning

Our production efficiency figure for this cell is quoted across every specification within the project scope, and it already includes loading and unloading. That matters more than a bare spindle time, because handling is where manual threading loses its hours — a number with handling inside it is the number to plan against.

Use it as the machine's rhythm and then discount for what the figure does not cover: caliber changes, first-piece checks, a rack that runs empty because the saw is behind, and ordinary operator breaks. A shop that batches by size and keeps the racks full sits far closer to the quoted rhythm than one that alternates sizes through the day.

Because the fully automatic double head pipe threading machine threads both ends in a single cycle, each pipe passes through the cell once. On a single-head machine the same pipe is handled twice, and the second pass is where a fresh thread most often gets damaged.

Plan on your real mix rather than on one favored size. A schedule that leans on a single caliber will beat a schedule that changes size several times a shift, and the difference is in the changeover, not in the threading.

One more planning point: the outfeed needs somewhere to go. Four receiving platforms hold a working buffer, and beyond that the cell's speed is set by how quickly pipe is capped, bundled and taken away.

Fire Water Pipe Prefabrication Applications

• High-rise riser and standpipe pipe. Long threaded lengths are cut, threaded at both ends and bundled by floor or by zone, so the site crew only assembles.
• Sprinkler mains and branch lines. Smaller calibers run in long batches, while the same cell handles the larger main pipe once the fixture is changed, so one machine covers both ends of the schedule.
• Fire hydrant, valve and pump-room spools. Short assemblies with several threaded joints are prepared in the shop, where thread quality can be checked before the pipe leaves the building.
• Prefabrication against a project schedule. When a project needs a fixed number of threaded lengths by a date, fire water pipe threading for factory prefabrication turns the work into a planned batch instead of a task that depends on site access.
• Shops moving work off site. Contractors who currently thread at the installation face move the operation into a workshop, where the machine stands on a level floor with a fixed supply and the pipe is not being lifted overhead.
• Distributors supplying prefabricated pipe. Where cut-to-length threaded pipe is sold as a product, the cell gives a thread that can be quoted and repeated rather than inspected piece by piece.

Integration With Cutting and Grooving

Threading rarely stands alone in a fire pipe shop, and this cell is built to sit in the flow rather than beside it. Cut lengths come off the cutting line, are threaded at both ends, then move on to grooving, capping and bundling. The machine can be connected into an automatic pipe cutting production line, so cut pipe passes to the threading stage without a separate loading operation.

Where the shop also runs grooved-end systems, threading and grooving are normally two cells rather than one. Threaded pipe and grooved pipe have different end preparation, different tooling and different inspection points, and keeping them separate lets each run in long batches. The pipe schedule usually decides how the two share the floor.

The detail that decides whether the connection works is the transfer between the cutting outfeed and the threading infeed. Rack height, pipe length and direction of flow all have to agree, and it is far easier to settle before the floor is marked out. Send us a plan of the bay with the cutting line position and the arrangement is checked against it.

Where a fully automatic double head pipe threading machine is linked to a cutting line, the threading stage also sets the pace of the line: if the threading cycle and the saw cycle do not match, one of the two is always waiting. That is worth modelling with real pipe lengths rather than averages.

Buffers are the practical answer. A short accumulation of cut pipe between the two stages absorbs the mismatch and keeps both machines working instead of stopping and starting.

Installation and Commissioning

1. Level the floor area first. The cell is a long, straight arrangement of stations, so the bay has to be flat and able to carry the load across its whole length before anything is set down.
2. Mark out from the layout drawing. Position the threading heads, racks, translation mechanisms and receiving platforms to the drawing rather than by eye; the transfer heights between stations depend on it.
3. Bring in the utilities. Three-phase power to the control cabinet with an isolator and a clean earth, plus a compressed-air line for the head cylinders — confirm the air pressure and flow you need with us before the pipework is run.
4. Power up and check direction. Verify phase sequence, servo direction and that every stop and interlock responds before a single pipe is loaded.
5. Set parameters and run first pieces. Program the threading length for each caliber, run a first piece, check thread length and fit against a gauge or a fitting, and adjust before the batch starts.
6. Train the operators on changeover. The daily skill is not threading — it is a clean caliber change, a first-piece check and knowing what a bad thread looks like. Plan that session for commissioning, with your own pipe sizes on the racks.

Ordering and Delivery Notes

• Send the pipe schedule with the enquiry. Calibers, lengths, wall thickness and the thread engagement your fittings need — the fixture set and the threading parameters are set from that data.
• Confirm your plant voltage and frequency. Where the supply is not 380 V at 50 Hz, it has to be settled before the order is confirmed.
• Agree the layout. A plan of the bay, the position of the cutting line and the direction of material flow let the transfer between stages be checked in advance.
• Settle commercial terms at quotation stage. Lead time, shipping terms, packing method, documentation and warranty scope are confirmed per order by your sales contact, so raise them with the quotation rather than after shipment.
• Decide on spares up front. Fixture calibers for sizes you plan to add, threading consumables and the small parts that wear are easier to order with the machine than to source afterwards.
• Plan commissioning and training. Installation support, commissioning and operator training are agreed as part of the order; tell us who will be on site and when.
• Work with the manufacturer directly. Because we build as an automatic pipe threading machine manufacturer, changes to fixture calibers, threading lengths and the electrical arrangement are handled at drawing stage, before production starts.

Scale & Supply Capability

Tianjin Coorig Technology Co., Ltd. has been building sheet metal and MEP prefabrication equipment, including fire pipe prefabrication equipment, since 2004, with a team of around 200 people working from our own factory in Tianjin, China. In more than 20 years we have supplied buyers in over 35 countries — processing plants, mechanical installation contractors and agents — and we look after export, documentation and shipping as a one-stop service. A database of 3,000+ qualified suppliers, in-house quality control and our automated manufacturing systems keep build quality and delivery predictable. Reference work includes the Beijing Olympic Games, Egypt CBD, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport and BYD's European Center.

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