For their paper: ‘Elastomer-assisted compression beading of tubes’, published in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 2014, Vol. 228(7), pp 744–756.
The article proposes a new tube forming process designated as ‘elastomer-assisted compression beading’ that combines tube bulging produced by elastomer forming and conventional pressworking compression beading.
The key operating parameters and the formability limits of the process are characterised by combining analytical modelling, finite element simulation and experimentation. Results show that elastomer-assisted compression beading is capable of producing sound, large-width, compression beads in a broader range of operating parameters than those currently achieved by means of conventional pressworking.
Applications of the elastomer-assisted compression beading process include creating sealing beads for pressure hose applications, connecting tubes to sheets, damping vibrations in air-pressure lines, liquid systems or exhaust tubes and for increasing the effectiveness of sealing by means of O-rings.
Paulo Martins describes what winning this medal means to him: “It is an honour to win this medal. All the people involved in this development are very happy and grateful to the Institution for recognising our work. At the current time, restoring manufacturing operations back to Europe is gathering strength and support from society, business and politicians, it is very exciting to win this medal. Manufacturing is the science of transforming raw materials into saleable, usable products. Therefore, our development is of practical importance to industry – not just of academic interest – so increasing the visibility of the research is very valuable to everybody.”
Find out more about the Thomas Hawksley Gold Medal Award.