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HVACR316 - Piping

Cutting and Swaging Tubing

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Cutting Tubing

• Tubing is normally cut with a tube cutter. The tube cutter is most often used with soft drawn and smaller diameter hard drawn tubing.

• A hacksaw may be used with larger diameter hard drawn tubing.

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Cutting Tubing With Tube Cutter

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Cutting Tubing With Hacksaw

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Cutting Tubing

• Procedure for Using Tube Cutter:− Place a mark on the tube where it is to be

cut.− Place the tubing in the cutter and align the

cutting wheel with the mark on the tube.− Tighten the adjusting screw handle until a

moderate pressure is applied to the tubing.

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Cutting Tubing

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Cutting Tubing

• Procedure for Using Tube Cutter, Cont’d.− Revolve the cutter around the tubing,

keeping a moderate pressure applied to the tubing by gradually turning the adjusting handle.

− Do not apply excessive pressure, because it may break the cutter wheel and constrict the opening in the tubing

− Continue until the tubing is cut.

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Cutting Tubing

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Cutting Tubing

• When the cut is finished, the excess material (called a burr) that was pushed into the pipe by the cutter wheel must be removed.

• Burrs cause turbulence and restrict the flow of fluid or vapor passing through the pipe.

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Cutting Tubing

• The reamer, located on the back of the tubing cutter, is used to remove the burrs caused by the cutting process.

• The reamer should be pivoted from the back of the cutter so that the blade portion extends past the cutter.

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Cutting Tubing

• The reamer is inserted into the pipe and while applying pressure, is rotated to remove any burrs from the interior of the pipe.

• Any burrs on the outside of the pipe can be removed with the file portion of the reamer.

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Cutting Tubing – Reaming Tool

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Cutting Tubing With Hacksaw

• Procedure for Using Hacksaw:−Make the cut at a 90° angle to the tubing.−A fixture may be used to ensure an

accurate cut.−After cutting, ream the tubing and file the

end of the tube−Remove all chips and filings, making sure

that no debris or metal particles get into the tube.

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Using a Hacksaw

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Swaging - Overview

• Swaging is the process by which two pieces of soft drawn copper tubing with the same diameter can be joined together by stretching the end of one of the sections.

• Hard drawn tubing is not intended to be swaged.

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Swaged Tubing

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Swaging

• Procedure for Swaging:−Locate the proper hole in the flaring block.• The proper hole is marked with the

measurement that corresponds to the outside diameter of the tubing.

−Insert the section of the soft drawn tubing to be swaged into the proper hole in the flaring block, so that the tubing extends a distance equal to the diameter of the tube plus about 1/8 of an inch.

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Swaging

• Procedure for Swaging, Cont’d:−Make certain that the end of the tube to be

swaged protrudes from the side of the block that has the beveled edge.

−Tighten the flaring block around the tubing.−Apply pressure and tighten the wing nuts

equally to ensure that the two pieces of the block secure the tubing evenly.

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Swaging

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Swaging

• Procedure for Swaging, Cont’d.• Place a drop of refrigeration oil on the

swaging tool to reduce friction between the swaging tool and the tubing.

• Insert the swaging tool into the tubing and strike the swaging tool firmly with a hammer.

• Rotate the flaring block ½ turn and strike the swaging tool again.

• Repeat the previous step until the swage has reached a length approximately equal to the diameter of the tubing.

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Swaging Tool

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Swaging Tool With Hammer

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Swaging

• After swaging, always inspect the tubing for cracks or defects of any kind.

• If any are seen or even suspected, cut off the swage and start over.

• If there are no defects, assemble the joint; the tubing should fit together easily.

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Successful Swaging Results