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Parker Instrumentation has announced a new Phastite tube connector that can replace expensive-to-install welded or cone-and-thread fittingsfor high pressure applications up to 1,379 bar. The new design delivers large cost savings for builders of industrial equipment involving fluids.
“There has been little significant change in industrial tube fitting design for 50 years,” says Parker Instrumentation's SteveMullen. “By starting with a blank sheet, and re-thinking the sealing principle, we have devised a connector that radically changes the economics of fluid system building—providing the prospect of major cost savings for millions of industrial companies worldwide.” He estimates that the Phastite connectors could reduce installation costs by a factorof 90% or more.
Phastite employs a compression assembly principle The connectors are supplied as one-piece components. To make a joint, the user inserts the tube into the connector, and then pushes the collar along the connector body until it reaches a dead stop. Inside the connector are several rings of teeth that grip the tube and make theseal. The operation is performed by a simple handheld hydraulic tool,and takes a few seconds. The tool requires no skill to use, and assures users of right-first-time connections.
Previous methods
This quick assembly approach contrasts with the way tubes are joined bymore traditional methods, such as welding and cone-and-thread fitting.
For welding, the requirement is to perform a 360-degree weldaround the circumference of a tube, an operation requiring skill, consumables, expensive equipment, and up to 10 minutes of time. For manyapplications, the quality of the weld is also tested by means of dye penetration, or x-ray inspection, adding further costs to the installation process.
While welded fittings are normally used on high pressure lines, they are also used in lower pressure applications if there is a need for the “peace of mind” that comes from a permanent connection, or where a leak could have serious consequences. Examples include subsea applications, aerospace, boat building and military equipment, and plants that are remote or unmanned, or have safety implications.
An alternative to welding, the coning and threading of a tube end to prepare it for use in a special screw-together fitting is anoperation that again require skill, and time, in this case up to 30 minutes or more.
How Phastite works
Inside Phastite connectors is a unique sealing system, based on a collar which slides along anangled body, in the process compressing a number of circular profilesinto the tubing (see photo). At the end of the short travel is a vertical face which provides confirmation of correct assembly.
Phastite is much faster to assemble than welded and cone and thread fittings. It also de-skills the process; that is, it allows the fitting to be made by an lower skilled worker. This removes a major element of industrial system building cost.
The very high degree control that the Phastite tooling automatically imposes assures users of right-first-time assembly. The fitting is made properly the first time, everytime. This is not the case with welded and cone and thread fittings, where many users expect that there will a certain degree of rework. When used to replace a welded fitting, the Phastite connector also eliminates any need for a “hot work permit,” another major equipment building expense faced by many organisations, especially when working in hazardous or explosive zones.
High pressure rating
The 1,379 barpressure rating of Phastite opens up an extremely large potential marketplace. Welded, and cone-and-thread, style tube fittings are used inindustrial applications where there are pressures above those that can be handled by ferrule types - which is broadly speaking above 400 bar. Applications include high pressure hydraulics, deepwater oil and gas drilling, laboratory testing, and high pressure machinery such as water-jet cutters.
Parker Instrumentation has developed a novelhydraulic tool (photo) that is similar in size to a soft drink can, and which features a flat working edge that can install tubing in confined spaces such as against a panel. The small pump that drives the toolis available in a shoulder-carried version, providing great flexibility of movement for operators. The cost of the tool is equivalent or less than the equipment required for welding, or coning and threading.
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