Integrated gaskets

The new range of Unibell J socketing machines in Rieber configuration (with gasket integrated during the forming phase), developed by Sica, located in Alfonsine (Ravenna, Italy), for processing u-PVC pipes, features an innovative system for loading the gaskets on the mandrel thus attaining outputs comparable to those with a mechanical mandrel.
Mechanical devices pick up the gasket and centre it on a rigid loading ring, which in turn positions and releases the gasket onto the forming mandrel accurately and in a repeatable way. The gaskets are distributed individually from a high capacity storage, automatically lubricated and then placed into the loading ring with a suitable ring-inserting device. The latter restores the correct circular form of the gasket if it has been deformed.