A cutting mechanism for producing a serpentine heat sink
By using a rotary lifting processing platform and a layered cutting mechanism, the problem of synchronously cutting the ends of the flat tubes of serpentine radiators was solved, achieving an efficient and stable production process and improving product quality and production efficiency.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- JIANGSU SHANYUAN THERMAL TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
Smart Images

Figure CN224406919U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of radiator manufacturing technology, specifically to a cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators. Background Technology
[0002] In the field of serpentine radiator manufacturing, the serpentine wing flat tubes used to make serpentine radiators need to be further trimmed after bending, which mainly includes three steps: cutting, wing cutting, and polishing. Cutting involves removing the excess parts of the two free ends of the serpentine wing flat tube that extend to the outside of the serpentine body.
[0003] Existing cutting equipment often struggles to achieve high-precision synchronous cutting, especially for processing the flat tube ends on both sides of a serpentine radiator. Insufficient precision can lead to unstable product quality, affecting the radiator's performance and appearance.
[0004] Furthermore, the limited precision of the rotary indexing and lifting mechanisms in traditional equipment cannot meet the high-efficiency processing requirements of complex workpieces. Inaccurate indexing can lead to the accumulation of positioning errors during multi-station transitions, while insufficient stability and precision of the lifting mechanism can result in inaccurate cutting positions, failing to guarantee consistency in mass production.
[0005] At the same time, the structural layout of the equipment is also limited, making it difficult to achieve efficient transmission and stable support in a limited space, resulting in the need to improve the overall performance and reliability of the equipment. Utility Model Content
[0006] In view of the above-mentioned technical problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators, which ensures the synchronous cutting of the ends of the flat tubes on both sides of the serpentine radiator, thereby ensuring the consistency and stability of product quality.
[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution:
[0008] A cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators includes a rotary lifting processing platform and a transverse cutting station located on the processing platform.
[0009] The processing platform adopts a layered structure design, comprising a base assembly, a rotary actuator assembly, and a vertical lifting assembly from bottom to top. The servo drive system built into the base assembly is connected to the rotary actuator assembly via a worm gear transmission mechanism, enabling the rotary actuator assembly to rotate and index around the vertical lifting assembly at a preset angle. The rotary actuator assembly is equipped with a clamping and positioning unit, which holds a serpentine radiator flat tube. The vertical lifting assembly is used to vertically move the transverse cutting station up and down.
[0010] The lateral cutting station is used to simultaneously cut off the excess portions at both ends of the serpentine radiator flat tube.
[0011] Furthermore, the base assembly is located at the bottom of the entire device and constitutes the reference bearing module of the device. It integrates a rotary drive module and a hollow transmission shaft. The rotary drive module includes a rotating motor, and its output end is connected to the hollow transmission shaft through an interference fit to transmit torque.
[0012] Furthermore, the hollow drive shaft has an annular positioning boss on its axial end face.
[0013] Furthermore, the rotary actuator includes a rotating bearing disk, wherein the rotating bearing disk has a stepped mounting hole at its center that mates with the outer wall of the hollow drive shaft.
[0014] Furthermore, the vertical lifting assembly adopts a multi-stage composite guide structure, which includes a fixed base unit, a dynamic lifting unit, and a top drive unit from bottom to top; the servo drive mechanism of the top drive unit is connected to the dynamic lifting unit through a ball screw pair.
[0015] Furthermore, the fixed base unit includes a fixed base plate with a central shaft hole and a hollow drive shaft disposed in the central shaft hole; the hollow drive shaft is in the shape of an annulus, and a bearing assembly is disposed in the hollow part inside.
[0016] Furthermore, the top drive unit includes a fixed top plate and a servo drive mechanism it supports. The output end of the servo drive mechanism is connected to the ball screw pair. The lead screw of the ball screw pair passes through the fixed top plate, the dynamic lifting unit and the fixed bottom plate in sequence. The end of the ball screw pair is connected to the bearing assembly inside the hollow transmission shaft to form a rotating pair.
[0017] Furthermore, the dynamic lifting unit includes a lifting support plate rigidly connected to the nut seat of the ball screw pair.
[0018] Furthermore, the vertical lifting assembly also includes a distributed guide unit, which includes guide through holes evenly distributed around the periphery of the lifting support plate and guide columns disposed within the guide through holes. The upper and lower ends of each guide column are fixedly connected to the fixed top plate and the fixed bottom plate respectively by high-strength bolts. A linear motion bearing is embedded in the guide through hole, and the inner wall of the bearing maintains a sliding fit with the outer wall of the guide column.
[0019] Furthermore, the transverse cutting station includes two first sawing motors and transverse disc cutters respectively located at the ends of their main shafts; the first sawing motors are located on the lifting support plate; the transverse disc cutters are used to achieve synchronous cutting of the ends of the flat tubes on both sides of the serpentine radiator.
[0020] This utility model has the following advantages compared with the prior art:
[0021] The transverse cutting station adopts a dual-axis synchronous cutting system, which ensures the synchronous cutting of the flat tube ends on both sides of the serpentine radiator, thereby ensuring the consistency and stability of product quality and improving production efficiency and yield.
[0022] The base assembly serves as the reference load-bearing module of the device. It has a built-in servo drive system and is connected to the rotary actuator through a worm gear transmission mechanism, which enables the rotary actuator to perform precise rotary indexing motion and improves the stability and reliability of the equipment.
[0023] The multi-stage composite guide structure of the vertical lifting assembly, including a fixed base unit, a dynamic lifting unit, a top drive unit, and a distributed guide unit, ensures the stability and smoothness of vertical lifting and reduces vibration and errors.
[0024] The layered structure design integrates the base assembly, rotary actuator assembly, and vertical lifting assembly from bottom to top, making reasonable use of space and resulting in a compact structure with a small footprint, making it easy to arrange and use on the production line.
[0025] In summary, the cutting mechanism of this utility model for producing serpentine radiators significantly improves the production efficiency and quality of serpentine radiators, while reducing production costs and manual labor intensity, and has high market application value. Attached Figure Description
[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall installation of the device in this utility model;
[0027] Figure 2 This is a front view of the device in this utility model;
[0028] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional view of the clamping and positioning unit in this utility model;
[0029] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Top view.
[0030] In the diagram: 1. Base assembly; 11. Rotary motor; 2. Indexing bearing plate; 3. Vertical lifting assembly; 311. Fixed base plate; 312. Hollow drive shaft; 321. Fixed top plate; 322. Servo drive mechanism; 323. Ball screw pair; 33. Lifting support plate; 341. Guide column; 342. Linear motion bearing; 4. Clamping and positioning unit; 41. Base plate assembly; 42. Longitudinal moving plate assembly; 43. Lateral moving plate assembly; 431. Fixture slide rail base 432. Fixture base plate; 44. Longitudinal linear guide pair; 45. Transverse linear guide pair; 46. Double-sided limiting module; 47. End positioning module; 48. Top clamping module; 7. Snake-shaped wing flat tube; 8. The transverse cutting station; 81. First sawing motor; 82. Transverse disc cutter; 9. Longitudinal wing cutting station; 91. Second sawing motor; 92. Longitudinal disc cutter; 10. Surface treatment station; 101. Grinding motor; 102. Grinding knife set. Detailed Implementation
[0031] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0032] First, it should be noted that after the serpentine wing flat tube used to make the serpentine radiator is bent, it needs to be further processed in this device, which mainly includes three steps: cutting, wing cutting, and polishing. Cutting involves removing the excess part of the two free ends of the serpentine wing flat tube that extends outside the serpentine body. Wing cutting involves trimming the left and right sides of each cut of the serpentine wing flat tube to the specified thickness. Finally, the polishing process removes the burrs generated by the flat tube in the aforementioned processes.
[0033] Example 1
[0034] See Figure 1 , 2 4. This embodiment discloses a multi-station cutting and shaping device for producing serpentine heat sinks, including a rotary lifting processing platform based on precision indexing control and a modular processing unit.
[0035] The processing platform adopts a layered structural design, consisting of an integrated assembly from bottom to top, comprising a base assembly 1, a rotary actuator assembly, and a vertical lifting assembly 3. The base assembly 1 has a built-in servo drive system, which is connected to the rotary actuator assembly via a precision worm gear transmission mechanism, enabling the rotary actuator assembly to perform precise rotational indexing movements around the vertical lifting assembly at a preset angle.
[0036] The vertical lifting component 3 is equipped with a displacement sensor, which can perform precise lifting and positioning, and drive the modular processing unit to process the workpiece accordingly.
[0037] The modular processing unit is equipped with four functional workstations, which, in order of process flow, are: workpiece exchange station, transverse cutting station 8, longitudinal wing cutting station 9, and grinding station 10. Among them:
[0038] 1) The workpiece exchange station has loading and unloading functions. Finished workpieces are unloaded manually at this station and new workpieces to be processed are installed, so that the whole device can carry out cyclic processing.
[0039] 2) The transverse cutting station 8 is equipped with a dual-axis synchronous cutting system, which includes two sets of high-speed cutting spindles driven by high-precision servo motors and is equipped with carbide tools, which can realize synchronous cutting of the ends of flat tubes on both sides.
[0040] 3) The longitudinal wing cutting station 9 is equipped with a precision milling device, which adjusts the feed rate through the controller to realize the longitudinal milling of the left and right end faces of the flat tube cutting cut.
[0041] 4) The grinding station 10 is equipped with a dual-station grinding mechanism, including a grinding wheel set 102 with adaptive pressure adjustment, which can complete the surface finish treatment of the pipe end.
[0042] Each workstation is equipped with a photoelectric positioning sensor. When the clamping and positioning unit 4 carries the flat tube workpiece to the workstation, the photoelectric positioning sensor sends a signal to the controller, causing the rotary actuator to stop rotating. At the same time, the vertical lifting assembly performs a descent action. When the workstation is in position, the corresponding processing action begins.
[0043] Example 2
[0044] This embodiment provides a detailed description of the base assembly 1 of the device:
[0045] See Figure 1 , 2 4. The base assembly 1 is located at the bottom of the entire device and constitutes the reference bearing module of the device. It integrates a rotary drive module and a hollow drive shaft 312. The rotary drive module includes a rotary motor 11, the output end of which is connected to the hollow drive shaft 312 by an interference fit to form a torque transmission connection; the hollow drive shaft 312 has an annular positioning boss on its axial end face.
[0046] Example 3
[0047] See Figure 1 , 2 4. This embodiment provides a detailed description of the rotary actuator of this device:
[0048] The rotary actuator includes a rotating bearing disk 2, wherein the center of the rotating bearing disk 2 is provided with a stepped mounting hole that precisely matches the outer wall of the hollow drive shaft 312.
[0049] When the controller sends a start signal to the rotary drive module, the servo motor starts and drives the hollow transmission shaft 312 to rotate, which in turn drives the rotating bearing disk 2 of the rotary actuator to rotate. In this application, the bearing disk 2 needs to rotate 90° each time it moves from one station to the next, thereby realizing the precise rotation indexing motion of the rotary actuator at a preset angle.
[0050] Example 4
[0051] See Figure 1 , 2 4. This embodiment provides a detailed description of the rotary actuator of this device:
[0052] The vertical lifting assembly 3 adopts a multi-stage composite guide structure, including a coaxially assembled fixed base unit, a dynamic lifting unit, a top drive unit, and a distributed guide unit. The fixed base unit includes a fixed base plate 311 with a central shaft hole and a hollow drive shaft 312 disposed in the central shaft hole. The hollow drive shaft 312 is annular in shape, and a bearing assembly is disposed in the hollow part inside. The top drive unit consists of a fixed top plate 321 and a high-precision servo drive mechanism 322 supported by it. The output end of the servo drive mechanism 322 is connected to a precision ball screw pair 323. The screw of the ball screw pair 323 passes through the fixed top plate 321, the dynamic lifting unit, and the fixed base unit in sequence, and its end is connected to the bearing assembly inside the hollow drive shaft 312 to form a rotating pair.
[0053] The dynamic lifting unit includes a lifting support plate 33 rigidly connected to the nut seat of the ball screw pair 323. The lifting support plate 33 has guide through holes distributed at equal angles around its periphery. The distributed guide unit includes several sets of guide columns 341 distributed at equal angles along the circumference. The upper and lower ends of each guide column 341 are fixedly connected to the fixed top plate 321 and the fixed bottom plate 311 by high-strength bolts, and form a clearance fit with the guide through holes of the lifting support plate 33. An oil-free bushing linear motion bearing 342 is embedded in the guide through hole, and the inner wall of the bearing maintains a clearance fit with the outer wall of the guide column 341.
[0054] Example 5
[0055] See Figure 3 This embodiment adds a clamping and positioning unit 4 to embodiment 4. Specifically:
[0056] The rotary actuator has four identical clamping and positioning units 4 evenly distributed along the circumferential direction for placing and clamping the serpentine wing flat tube 7. Each clamping and positioning unit 4 includes two base plate assemblies 41 fixed parallel to the rotating bearing plate 2. A longitudinal moving plate group 42 and a transverse moving plate group 43 are provided above the base plate assembly 41. The base plate assembly 41 is fixedly connected to the rotary platform by high-strength bolts. The base plate assembly 41 and the longitudinal moving plate group 42 are slidably connected by a longitudinal linear guide pair 44. The longitudinal linear guide pair 44 adopts a ball-bearing slider with a precision guide rail structure to realize longitudinal stroke adjustment. Group 42 and the transverse moving plate group 43 are slidably connected by a transverse linear guide pair 45, enabling transverse displacement adjustment. An adjustable positioning assembly for positioning the serpentine wing-shaped flat tube 7 is located above the transverse moving plate group 43. Specifically, the adjustable positioning assembly includes a double-sided limiting module 46, an end positioning module 47, and a top clamping module 48. The double-sided limiting module 46 clamps the left and right sides of the serpentine wing-shaped flat tube 7, the end positioning module 47 positions the front end of the serpentine wing-shaped flat tube 7, and the top clamping module 48 is detachably connected between the tops of the double-sided limiting modules 46 to clamp the top of the serpentine wing-shaped flat tube 7, preventing displacement during operation. The modules form a three-dimensional adjustable constraint system, particularly suitable for the flexible clamping of irregularly shaped workpieces such as the serpentine wing-shaped flat tube 7.
[0057] The transverse moving plate assembly 43 includes a jig slide rail base plate 431 and a jig base plate 432 above it; the jig slide rail base plate 431 is used to connect the transverse linear guide rail pair 45.
[0058] It should be noted that in the multi-station cutting and shaping device of this utility model, the rotating bearing plate rotates 90° with the ball screw pair 323 as the center; in this embodiment, the horizontal direction refers to the tangential direction of the rotating bearing plate at the position of the clamping and positioning unit 4, and the vertical direction refers to the radial direction of the rotating bearing plate at the position of the clamping and positioning unit 4.
[0059] Example 6
[0060] The transverse cutting station 8 includes a dual-axis synchronous cutting system, specifically comprising two first sawing motors 81 and transverse disc cutters 82 respectively located at the ends of their main shafts; the first sawing motors 81 are mounted on the lifting support plate 33; the transverse disc cutters 82 are single saw blades made of high-hardness alloy material; after the workpiece is loaded, it rotates from the workpiece exchange station to the transverse cutting station 8. After the sensor detects that the workpiece is in position, it transmits a signal to the controller. The controller sends a signal to the top drive unit of the vertical lifting assembly 3, and the servo drive mechanism 322 drives the lifting support plate 33 of the dynamic lifting unit to descend a specified height; the controller controls the first sawing motors 81 to rotate, and the transverse moving plate group 43 moves laterally to feed the workpiece, thereby cutting off the excess parts at both ends of the workpiece; then the transverse moving plate group 43 returns to its original position. After the sensor detects this, it sends a signal to the top drive unit of the vertical lifting assembly 3 through the controller, and the lifting support plate 33 rises and returns to its original position.
[0061] Example 7
[0062] The longitudinal wing-cutting station 9 includes a precision milling device, specifically comprising two second sawing motors 91 and longitudinal disc cutters 92 respectively located at the ends of their motor shafts; each longitudinal disc cutter 92 has a double saw blade structure, that is, there is a gap of a specified distance between the two saw blades, which is the thickness of the end of the workpiece to be trimmed; after the workpiece is cut off, it rotates from the transverse cutting station 8 to the longitudinal wing-cutting station 9. After the sensing device detects that the workpiece is in position, it transmits a signal to the controller. The controller sends a signal to the top drive unit of the vertical lifting assembly 3, and the servo drive mechanism 322 drives the lifting support plate 33 of the dynamic lifting unit to descend a specified height; the controller controls the second sawing motors 91 to rotate, and the end of the workpiece to be processed is directly facing between the double saw blades. The longitudinal moving plate assembly 42 moves longitudinally to feed material, thereby removing the excess part on the left and right sides of the end of the workpiece to obtain the desired thickness for subsequent processing.
[0063] Example 8
[0064] The grinding station 10 includes a dual-station grinding mechanism, specifically comprising two grinding motors 101 and a longitudinal grinding wheel assembly 102 located at the end of the motor shaft. Each grinding wheel assembly includes a wire wheel driven by the grinding motor 101. The wire wheel uses a steel brush on its surface to grind and clean the surface of the product after wing cutting to remove burrs and flash. After the workpiece is wing-cut, it rotates from the longitudinal wing-cutting station 9 to the grinding station 10. After the sensor detects that the workpiece is in position, it transmits a signal to the controller. The controller sends a signal to the top drive unit of the vertical lifting assembly 3, and the servo drive mechanism 322 drives the lifting support plate 33 of the dynamic lifting unit to descend to a specified height. The controller controls the grinding motors 101 to rotate, and through the cooperation of the moving plate assembly and the transverse and longitudinal moving plate assembly 42, the left and right end faces of the workpiece are ground respectively. After completion, the vertical lifting assembly 3 rises and returns to its original position.
[0065] After the surface treatment is completed, the rotary actuator has carried the workpiece to complete all the processing technology. The workpiece rotates back to the workpiece exchange station for unloading, and a new workpiece is loaded to start a new round of processing.
[0066] The working method of the device of this utility model includes the following steps:
[0067] S1: Workpiece loading and positioning:
[0068] At the workpiece exchange station, the serpentine wing flat tube 7 is manually placed into the adjustable positioning component of the clamping and positioning unit 4, and the workpiece is clamped by the three-dimensional constraint formed by the double-sided limiting module 46, the end positioning module 47 and the top pressing module 48.
[0069] S2: Indexing and Dynamic Locking:
[0070] The controller drives the servo motor in the base assembly 1 to drive the hollow transmission shaft 312 to perform a 90° indexing rotation, so that the rotating bearing plate 2 carries the workpiece to the transverse cutting station 8; after the position sensor detects the position, it triggers the positioning cylinder 53 of the locking positioning assembly to extend the conical guide head 54, which couples with the precision guide bushing 52 of the extension arm 51 to lock.
[0071] S3: Lateral synchronous truncating process:
[0072] The servo drive mechanism 322 of the vertical lifting assembly 3 drives the ball screw pair 323 to lower the lifting support plate 33 to a set height; the first sawing motor 81 of the dual-axis synchronous cutting system drives the transverse disc cutter 82 to rotate, while the transverse moving plate group 43 runs along the guide rail pair, cooperating with the dual-axis synchronous cutting system to perform transverse cutting of excess material at the end of the workpiece; after completion, the locking and positioning are released and the vertical lifting assembly 3 rises and resets.
[0073] S4: Longitudinal precision wing:
[0074] After the cut is completed, the rotating bearing plate 2 is rotated to the longitudinal wing cutting station 9, and the second sawing motor 91 drives the double saw blade longitudinal disc cutter 92 to run; the longitudinal moving plate group 42 is fed, and the thickness of the cut end face is completed by controlling the distance between the double saw blades; after completion, the locking and positioning are released and the vertical lifting component 3 rises and resets.
[0075] S5: Precision surface treatment:
[0076] After the rotating bearing plate 2 is rotated to the grinding station 10, the grinding motor 101 of the dual-station grinding mechanism drives the longitudinal grinding wheel group 102 to run; the longitudinal moving plate group 42 moves in coordination according to the preset trajectory to perform surface finishing treatment on the processed surface; after completion, the locking and positioning are released and the vertical lifting component 3 rises and resets.
[0077] S6: Circular processing and unloading:
[0078] After surface treatment is completed, the rotating bearing plate 2 returns to the workpiece exchange station. The finished workpiece is manually unloaded and a new workpiece is installed. The system automatically resets and enters the next processing cycle.
[0079] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model, and these modifications or substitutions should all be covered within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A cutting-off mechanism for producing a serpentine heat sink, characterized by, It includes a rotary lifting processing platform and a transverse cutting station set on the processing platform; The processing platform adopts a layered structure design, comprising a base assembly, a rotary actuator assembly, and a vertical lifting assembly from bottom to top. The servo drive system built into the base assembly is connected to the rotary actuator assembly via a worm gear transmission mechanism, enabling the rotary actuator assembly to rotate and index around the vertical lifting assembly at a preset angle. The rotary actuator assembly is equipped with a clamping and positioning unit, which holds a serpentine radiator flat tube. The vertical lifting assembly is used to vertically move the transverse cutting station up and down. The transverse cutting station is used to simultaneously cut off the excess parts at both ends of the workpiece.
2. The cutting-off mechanism for producing a serpentine heat sink according to claim 1, wherein The base assembly is located at the bottom of the entire device and constitutes the reference support module of the device. It integrates a rotary drive module and a hollow transmission shaft. The rotary drive module includes a rotating motor, and its output end is connected to the hollow transmission shaft through an interference fit to transmit torque.
3. The cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The hollow drive shaft has an annular positioning boss on its axial end face.
4. The cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The rotary actuator includes a rotating bearing disk, wherein the center of the rotating bearing disk is provided with a stepped mounting hole that mates with the outer wall of the hollow drive shaft.
5. The cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The vertical lifting assembly adopts a multi-stage composite guide structure, which includes a fixed base unit, a dynamic lifting unit, and a top drive unit from bottom to top; the servo drive mechanism of the top drive unit is connected to the dynamic lifting unit through a ball screw pair.
6. The cutting mechanism for producing a serpentine radiator as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The fixed base unit includes a fixed base plate with a central shaft hole and a hollow drive shaft disposed in the central shaft hole; the hollow drive shaft is in the shape of a ring, and a bearing assembly is disposed in the hollow part inside.
7. The cutting mechanism for producing a serpentine radiator as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The top drive unit includes a fixed top plate and a servo drive mechanism it supports. The output end of the servo drive mechanism is connected to the ball screw pair. The lead screw of the ball screw pair passes through the fixed top plate, the dynamic lifting unit and the fixed bottom plate in sequence. The end of the ball screw pair is connected to the bearing assembly inside the hollow transmission shaft to form a rotating pair.
8. The cutting mechanism for producing serpentine radiators as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The dynamic lifting unit includes a lifting support plate that is rigidly connected to the nut seat of the ball screw pair.
9. The cutting mechanism for producing a serpentine radiator as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The vertical lifting assembly also includes a distributed guide unit, which includes guide through holes distributed at equal angles around the periphery of the lifting support plate and guide columns disposed in the guide through holes. The upper and lower ends of each guide column are fixedly connected to the fixed top plate and the fixed bottom plate by high-strength bolts, respectively. A linear motion bearing is embedded in the guide through hole, and the inner wall of the bearing maintains a sliding fit with the outer wall of the guide column.
10. The cutting mechanism for producing a serpentine radiator as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The transverse cutting station includes two first sawing motors and transverse disc cutters respectively located at the ends of their main shafts; the first sawing motors are located on the lifting support plate; the transverse disc cutters are used to achieve synchronous cutting of the ends of the flat tubes on both sides of the serpentine radiator.