LIMITED WARRANTY
AHP PLASTIK MAKINA (AHP) warrants all products manufactured, sold and repaired by it to be free from defects in materials and workmanship, its obligation under this warranty being limited to repairing or replacing at its factory and new products, within 5 years after shipment, with the exception of purchased items (such as electronic devices, pumps, switches, etc.), in which case that manufacturer’s warranty applies. Warranty applies when returned freight is prepaid and which, upon examination, shall disclose to have been defective. This warranty does not apply to any product or component which has been repaired or altered by anyone other than AHP or has become damaged due to misuse, negligence or casualty, or has not been operated or maintained according to AHP’s printed instructions and warnings. This warranty is expressly in lieu of all other warranties expressed or implied. The remedies of the Buyer are the exclusive and sole remedies available and Buyer shall not be entitled to receive any incidental or consequential damages. Buyer waives the benefit of any rule that disclaimer of warranty shall be construed against AHP and agrees that such disclaimers herein shall be construed liberally in favor of AHP.
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
AHP accepts no responsibility of liability for fusion joints. Operation and maintenance of the product is the responsibility of others. We recommend qualified joining procedures be followed when using AHP fusion equipment.
AHP makes no other warranty of any kind whatever, express or implied; and all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose which exceed the aforestated obligation are hereby disclaimed by AHP.
PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT
AHP reserves the right to make any changes in or improvements on its products without incurring any liability or obligation to update or change previously sold machines and/or the accessories thereto.
INFORMATION DISCLOSED
No information of knowledge heretofore or hereafter disclosed to AHP in the performance of or in connection with the terms hereof, shall be deemed to be confidential or proprietary, unless otherwise expressly agreed to in writing by AHP and any such information or knowledge shall be free from restrictions, other than a claim for patent infringement, is part of the consideration hereof.
PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
All proprietary rights pertaining to the equipment or the components of the equipment to be delivered by AHP hereunder, and all patent rights therein, arising prior to, or in the course of, or as a result of the design or fabrication of the said product, are exclusively the property of AHP.
Read and Understand
Do not operate this equipment until you have carefully read, and
understand all the sections of this manual, and all other equipment
manuals that will be used with it. Your safety and the safety of others depends upon care and judgment in the operation of this equipment. Follow all applicable federal, state, local, and industry specific regulations.
AHP Manufacturing, Inc. cannot anticipate every possible circumstance that might involve a potential hazard. The warnings in this manual and on the machine are therefore not all inclusive. You must satisfy yourself that a procedure, tool, work method, or operating technique is safe for you and others. You should also ensure that the machine will not be damaged or made unsafe by the method of operation or maintenance you choose.
General Safety
Safety is important. Report anything unusual that you notice during set up or operation.
LISTEN for thumps, bumps, rattles, squeals, air leaks, or unusual sounds.
SMELL odors like burning insulation, hot metal, burning rubber, hot oil, or natural gas.
FEEL any changes in the way the equipment operates.
SEE problems with wiring and cables, hydraulic connections, or other equipment.
REPORT anything you see, feel, smell, or hear that is different from
what you expect, or that you think may be unsafe.
Wear Safety Equipment
Wear a hard hat, safety shoes, safety glasses, and other applicable personal protective equipment.
Remove jewelry and rings, and do not wear loose-fitting clothing or long hair that could catch on controls or moving machinery.
Tensile Tester
The tensile tester is a hydraulic hand pump machine that is used to test fusion joint coupons. The coupon is loaded into the machine and the hand pump is used to pressure a hydraulic cylinder that pulls the fusion coupon to test it.
IMPORTANT: The tensile tester should only be used to perform tests on coupons that were created from fusions of like pipes. The tester has a gauge. These items are used for reference and are not considered part of the qualitative testing process.
Pump
The tensile tester has a manually operated hydraulic pump that is used to apply hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic cylinder in order to move the clevis. The pump has a pressure release valve on the lower left side of the pump.
Directional Valve
The directional valve that controls the direction of the cylinder. Move the valve to the left to move the cylinder left and move the valve to the right to move the cylinder right. The center position is a neutral position and will release the pressure.
Clevis and Pins
Used for the mounting of coupons to be tested. One pin inserts through the clevis and holds one end of the coupon and the other pin inserts through the end of the machine and holds the other end of the coupon.
Drill Bit
The drill bit provided with the package is 20mm diameter.
When used properly this drill will leave a smooth surface in the drilled holes and provide good tool life in polyethylene.
If the holes in the coupon become rough or “fuzzy”, the drill should be inspected for chips or wear on the cutting edges and replace as necessary.
Template
The template is used to position the holes to be drilled for the coupon over the fusion joint. The template is attached to the pipe with two long wood screws.
For smaller pipe, the template is attached using two long U-bolts and wood screws.
There is an alignment mark on the template that is lined up with the center of the fusion joint.
There are templates available for producing coupons with different width relationships. The coupon will have a fusion joint reduced area and a pipe material reduced area that has a width that is a percentage of the fusion joint reduced area. This gives an advantage to the fusion joint over the pipe material.
Templates are available in 95%, 90%, and 85% width relationships with others upon request. The In Field Tensile Tester includes the 95% (or 90%) coupon template to test the fusion joint reduced area for strength that is equal or exceeds the strength of the pipe material ensuring a high performance fusion joint. If you receive inconsistent results while performing the test, a different percentage template can be used to better understand the performance of the fusion joint.
Coupon
The coupon is the result of using the template and drilling and sawing out the pipe. The coupon has two reduced areas to test the joint and the pipe.
Additional Tools
There are some tools that will be required (not included) to complete the preparation of the coupon for testing.
- A reciprocating saw with a coarse woodcutting blade.
- A 1/2″ chuck, heavy duty, 650 rpm drill.
- Two #10 or #8 deck screws that are 3.5″ or longer.
- Electric screwdriver and correct driver bit.
- Needle nose pliers.
Read before Operating
Before operating this machine, please read this manual thoroughly and keep a copy with the machine for future reference.
Attach Template to Pipe
Place the template on the pipe, saddle side down. Align the alignment marks on the template with the center of the fusion joint.
Carefully apply deck screws (tighten fully) to fix the template to the pipe without moving the template out of alignment with the fusion.
Drill Holes in the Pipe
Read and understand the all instructions provided with your drill and saw. Failure to follow all the drill and saw instructions, may result in electric shock, fire and/or serious personal injury.
With the drill bit provided, drill the four innermost large holes first then the remaining holes through the pipe wall. Take particular care with the four inner holes to drill smoothly, ensuring a good surface finish.
IMPORTANT: On thick wall pipe, drill partially through the pipe then clear the shaving with a pair of needle nose pliers and then continue to drill through the pipe. This will prevent the drilling from over heating the pipe and melting the material or marring the surfaces of the reduced sections.
Remove the two wood screws and lift the template from the pipe. Clear the template of shaving and clear the pipe of any shaving.
Saw the Coupon
Mark the saw cuts to be made with a paint pen, grease pencil or other legible marking instrument.
Read and understand the all instructions provided with your drill and saw. Failure to follow all the drill and saw instructions, may result in electric shock, fire and/or serious personal injury. Using a reciprocating saw, make saw cuts from the inner four holes out to the corners, then make the remaining cuts. Don’t nick or gouge the narrow parts of the inner four holes.
Remove the Coupon
After all the saw cuts are made, the coupon is freed from the fused pipe. Remove the coupon.
Inspect the Coupon
Inspect the narrow sections of the coupon. The surface finish on all four narrow section holes should be smooth.
Inspect for notches or gouges in the narrow section holes. Notches or gouges could effect the test results. If notches or gouges exist, cut another coupon from the pipe.
It may be helpful to measure the widths of the reduced sections of the coupon at the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the pipe with calipers, to ensure that the widths are in proper relationship to each other.
NOTICE: Ensure joint temperature and pipe temperature are the same. Failure to do so may result in a false failing result.
NOTICE: Temperature substantially affects the strength and ductility of polyethylene pipe. If results are confusing, condition samples carefully and retest.
Mount the Coupon
After inspection is complete, load the coupon into the clevis and pins of the tensile tester. Use the pump to move the clevis to align the pins to the holes of the coupon.
Perform Test
Move the directional valve to the right position. Slowly pump the handle until the coupon breaks or until you reach the end of the cylinder stroke. The flow of the pump is limited in this direction to provide a slow tensile load to the coupon. Remove the coupon.
NOTICE: The gauge does not provide significant information during a test and should be ignored.
Additional Coupons
Your quality control procedures may require additional coupons from the unused circumference of the same fusion joint. Move the template to the next required position on the joint and repeat the steps to produce a coupon.
Inspect Coupon/Interpret Result
A) The coupon breaks in the joint which is a failing result. B) The coupon stretches in the pipe which is a passing result. C) The coupon breaks in the pipe which is a passing result. If the joint of the coupon does not pass, examine that you are doing everything properly and isolate the cause of the failing result.
Areas to Examine
- Testing Procedure
— Was coupon to specifications?
— Were there scratches?
— Was surface smooth?
— Were widths correct?
— Were the pipe and joint temperatures the same?
— Was test performed at too cool a temperature?
- Fusion Procedure
— Is the fusion procedure you are using a qualified procedure?
— Are you following the procedure properly?
— Use a DataLogger™ with the fusion machine to verify the
procedure is correct. - Adverse Conditions
— Was the fusion joint made in an extreme ambient
temperature situation?
— Was the fusion joint made in inclement weather (rain/snow
etc)?
— Was the fusion joint made during excessive wind? - Joint Contamination
— Did the ends of the pipe have contamination before the
fusion took place? - Operator Qualification
— Is the operator qualified to perform the procedure and
visually inspect the resultant fusion? - Fusion Equipment
— Is the equipment in good repair?
— Is the equipment clean?
— Does the equipment perform to specifications? - Proper Cool Time
— Was the proper cooling time for the joint used? - Handling
— Was the pipe with the fusion joint subjected to any rough
handling? - Material
— Is the material in accordance with the pipe manufacturers
specifications?
Preventative Maintenance
To insure optimum performance, the machine must be kept clean
and well maintained. With reasonable care, this machine will give years of service. Therefore, it is important that a regular schedule of preventive maintenance be kept. Store machine inside, out of the weather, whenever possible.
Cleaning the Machine
Clean the machine with a soap and water wash as needed.
Check Hydraulic Fluid
The hydraulic fluid level should be checked daily. If the hydraulic oil is not half full from the top of the pump, oil must be added. Do not overfill.
If the pump and cylinders are empty, fill pump with oil and move the carriage left and right fully 3 times and check the fluid level and fill. Bleeding the hydraulic system is required when system has been empty. Refer to “Bleeding the Hydraulic System” section for instructions on bleeding the hydraulics.
Refer to the “Hydraulic Fluids” section of this manual for hydraulic oil recommendations.
Bleeding the Hydraulic System
Make sure the hydraulic pump fluid has been filled and tilt the machine 45 degrees so that the pump is facing up. Pump the machine moving the cylinder in and out completely several times.
When bled, the machine should move immediately when pumped. Any pause may indicate that there is air still in hydraulic system. Repeat the pumping of the machine and then check the pump again.
If the cylinder moves immediately then there is no air left in the system.
Fasteners Must Be Tight
Check all nuts, bolts, and snap rings to make certain they are secure and in place.
Hydraulic Fluids
The use of proper hydraulic fluid is mandatory to achieve maximum performance and machine life. Use a clean, high quality, anti-wear hydraulic fluid with a viscosity index (VI) of 135 minimum. It should have a maximum viscosity of 500 cSt (2000 SSU) at startup (ambient temperature) and a minimum viscosity of 13 cSt (65 SSU) at the maximum fluid temperature (generally 80°F above ambient). Using hydraulic fluids that do not meet these criteria may cause poor operation and/or damage to the hydraulic components.
The following table specifies the fluid temperature at various viscosities. Temperature rise of the hydraulic fluid can vary from 30° F to about 80° F over the ambient temperature depending on the pressure setting, age of the pump, wind, etc. Mobil Univis N46 hydraulic fluid is installed at our factory. The advantage of this fluid is a wider temperature range, however, this fluid should not be used for continuous operation below 24°F.
In Field Tensile Tester Machine Checklist
Video of the machine