How to set up a hose assembly shop: from the reel to a tested assembly

A hose assembly shop is rarely designed as a whole. More often it grows step by step: first a crimping machine is bought, then it turns out there is nothing to cut hose evenly with, and later customers begin to complain about contamination in the assembled hoses. As a result the equipment stands wherever there was room, and the work process is inconvenient. In this article we describe the process chain in the right order — from the hose reel to a tested assembly — and the equipment for each stage.

The process chain: eight stages

1. Hose storage and feeding

Hose lying in coils on the floor collects dust and abrasive — all of which later ends up inside the customer's hydraulic system. Reel racks keep the hose off the floor, give quick access to the required size and noticeably speed up unwinding. One or two racks near the cutting zone are enough for a dozen running sizes.

2. Cutting

A clean perpendicular cut is the basis for fitting seating: after an angle grinder the end is ragged and skewed, and the ferrule seats at an angle. A cutting machine with a toothed or plain blade does the job in seconds; for large diameters and industrial hoses, machines with a larger blade are used. And remember that cutting is the dustiest stage: rubber crumbs and smoke from the heated cord require extraction. Link Technology cutting machines provide duct connections for effective smoke removal.

3. Skiving

For fittings designed to seat on the metal reinforcement, the outer and sometimes the inner rubber layer is removed from the hose end. A skiving machine does this to a set depth and length without damaging the braid. Missed or uneven skiving is one of the frequent causes of ferrule blow-off under pressure.

4. Marking

While the hose is not yet assembled, it is convenient to apply permanent marking: size, date, batch number, working pressure. A marking device with interchangeable characters stamps in one press. Customers with serious machinery increasingly demand traceability, and for You it is also protection against other people's assemblies when handling claims.

5. Crimping

The main stage of the shop. The machine class is chosen for the heaviest hose in the range — how exactly, we covered in detail in the guide to choosing a crimping machine. Next to the machine You need a picking table: fittings, dies, diameter gauges. Why dies should be kept in perfect condition is the subject of a separate article.

6. Internal cleaning

After cutting and crimping, rubber crumbs and metal dust remain inside the hose — the main enemies of hydraulic components. A pneumatic gun drives a foam projectile through the hose that collects the contamination; flow-through cleaning machines exist for serial volumes. This stage is the one most often neglected, and wrongly so: abrasive in a new assembly wears the pumps and valves in the customer's hydraulic system.

7. Sealing

The clean assembly is closed immediately: heat-shrink caps on the ends keep the bore clean during storage, transport and installation. For customers in construction and quarry machinery, sealed assemblies are a visible indicator of production culture.

8. Pressure testing

Static pressure testing on a bench confirms tightness and correct crimping. Critical assemblies are tested individually with a report, serial ones by sampling under the customer's procedure. A bench with logging turns the test from a formality into a document that can be attached to the shipment.

Layout: flow without crossings

The main rule: the product moves in one direction and does not come back. Then semi-finished items do not get mixed with finished assemblies, and dirty operations do not neighbour clean ones.

• Cutting — against the wall. Extraction needs a duct outlet, and a noisy machine needs distance from the picking table.
• Cleaning and sealing — side by side. Between these operations the assembly must not have time to get dusty again.
• The bench — closer to dispatch. A tested assembly goes straight to the finished-goods shelf, bypassing the work zone.
• A passage for reels. Leave a corridor from the gate to the racks: a reel of large hose weighs tens of kilograms and will have to be carried in.

Stages and equipment: summary table