An apparatus and method for joining pipes includes a plate for melting mating surfaces of the pipes to be joined. Additionally, the apparatus utilizes a vacuum in order to push the first and second pipes together in lieu of hand or mechanical pressure which may be inconsistent. Additionally, the vacuum allows the pipes to be joined to settle on each other in order to create a pressure about a periphery of the end of the pipe being joined to the other pipe. The consistent pressure creates a very strong joint between the first and second pipes.

An induction heating tool that holds voltage or current supplied to the induction tank circuit constant and tracks changes in the other of voltage or current during each induction heating cycle. The disclosed induction heating tool exploits the fact that the resistance an attachment plate increases along with the temperature of the attachment plate. During an induction heating cycle, the attachment plate is magnetically coupled to a work coil and the resistance of the attachment plate is reflected to the circuit. Changes in the resistance of the attachment plate alter the pattern of energy delivery from the work coil to the attachment plate in a predictable way. Calculations accurately predict the temperature of the attachment plate over a wide variety of ambient conditions, including the presence of moisture at the membrane/attachment plate interface. The disclosed induction heating tool produces consistent results without calibration for ambient conditions.

The invention relates to a method for the integral bonding of two workpieces made from different types of thermoplastic polymers with the help of a preferably thermoplastic polymer primer as bonding layer, comprising the following steps: providing a first workpiece made from a thermoplastic polymer having a first edge layer; providing a second workpiece made from a thermoplastic polymer having a second edge layer, said thermoplastic polymer being of a different type to the thermoplastic polymer of the first workpiece; preheating the first edge layer; applying the primer on the preheated first edge layer, wherein, during the application of the primer, the preheated first edge layer has a temperature in the range between the extrapolated onset of the glass transition temperature for amorphous plastics or the peak starting temperature of the melting region for partially crystalline plastics and the step starting temperature of the disintegration of the thermoplastic polymer of the first edge layer; bringing the first edge layer provided with the primer into contact with the second edge layer; and integral bonding of the first edge layer with the second edge layer.

The invention provides improvements to electrofusion fitting methods that allow for continuity and repeatability of welds between an electrofusion fitting and a pipe lining (or stand-alone pipe). An electrofusion fitting for joining sections of lined pipe has heating elements configured to create at least one weld between the electrofusion fitting and a pipe lining, however prior to the weld step taking place the electrofusion fitting is heated and expands accordingly to ensure contact with the pipe lining. Preheating the electrofusion fitting also provides a predetermined starting temperature for the fitting and the lining which results in improved fusion cycle reliability. Furthermore, the need for clamps or support frames to support the electrofusion fitting in situ is removed, with corresponding reductions in cycle times, complexity, and hence cost.

A kit for fusing piping includes a plurality of couplings, each coupling having a susceptor layer concentric with a weld zone. A control unit provides a current to a wand with a handle for gripping by a user. The handle has opposing jaws mounted on the distal end, each jaw including an arcuate conductor such that the arcuate conductors form a circular inner diameter when the jaws make contact. A lever system couples to the distal end for opening and closing the jaws. The lever system includes a spring for selectively biasing the lever system in a latched position with jaws closed and an open position with the jaws open. Each coupling is sized such that the jaws will only close about the weld zone. The arcuate conductors create a fuse zone about the susceptor layer and the spring is outside the fuse zone.

The present invention relates to a method for reshaping a workpiece, in which a reshaping force is exerted on the workpiece by means of a reshaping tool and the workpiece is heated during or before the reshaping of the workpiece, wherein the heating of the workpiece is performed by the at least partial absorption of an ultrasonic vibration in the workpiece. In order to provide a method and a device for reshaping a workpiece that avoids the aforementioned. disadvantages, in particular when reshaping materials with a highly temperature-dependent damping constant, it is proposed according to the invention that, before the reshaping force is applied to the workpiece, at least a first portion of the workpiece is brought to a temperature which differs from the temperature of a second portion of the workpiece that comes into contact with the reshaping tool.

An induction heating tool that holds voltage or current supplied to the induction tank circuit constant and tracks changes in the other of voltage or current during each induction heating cycle. The disclosed induction heating tool exploits the fact that the resistance an attachment plate increases along with the temperature of the attachment plate. During an induction heating cycle, the attachment plate is magnetically coupled to a work coil and the resistance of the attachment plate is reflected to the circuit. Changes in the resistance of the attachment plate alter the pattern of energy delivery from the work coil to the attachment plate in a predictable way. Calculations accurately predict the temperature of the attachment plate over a wide variety of ambient conditions, including the presence of moisture at the membrane/attachment plate interface. The disclosed induction heating tool produces consistent results without calibration for ambient conditions.

A butt fusion machine for joining of polyethylene pipe comprises a carriage assembly and a carriage controller disposed in the fusion machine. Programmed instructions stored in a non-volatile memory of the carriage controller control the carriage assembly for selectively operating in at least one of a manual, automatic, and semi-automatic mode of the butt fusion process. A butt fusion process, after a setup sequence includes (1) selecting a sequence of operating steps of a manual mode, an automatic mode, and a semi-automatic mode; and (2) executing the selected operating mode. The semi-automatic mode includes at least one step requiring intervention by an operator to confirm proceeding to a next step.

Glasses frame including at least one portion of an electronic device encapsulated inside at least one element of the glasses frame, wherein at least one element of the glasses frame includes a plasticized cellulose acetate mixture, wherein the composition of the mixture provides that at least one portion of the at least one element inside which at least one portion of the electronic device is encapsulated, having at least a negligible mass percentage of at least one solvent.

Provided is an electric power control apparatus of an electrofusion coupling pipe using a conductive polymer composite as a heating element and a method of controlling electric power using the same. The electric power control apparatus supplies electric power to the electrofusion coupling pipe using a conductive polymer composite as a heating element to detect resistance variation of the conductive polymer composite and then controls electric power supplied to the synthetic resin pipe electrofusion coupling pipe on the basis of the detected resistance variation.