Swagelok’s Multihead Hydraulic Swaging Unit Gives You Power

Our training video and printed instructions show how to use that power wisely

To help get you familiar with using Swagelok's Multihead Hydaulic Swaging unit, we have this training video to get you started and feeling comfortable with the tool. You can also download the detailed instruction form here.

Any job becomes easier when you have the right tools. The Swagelok multihead hydraulic swaging unit is just the tool when you want to pre-swage Swagelok ferrules onto tubing prior to assembly, giving you connections that are 100 percent gaugeable. With the power of hydraulics you'll save time on assembly and installation, and you'll get consistent performance.

As with any tool, however, you have to know how to use it properly if you want good results. That's why we offer two forms of instruction on the multihead hydraulic swaging unit. We have a video to show you how it's done and detailed instruction in PDF form that you can refer to at any step of the operation.

All-in-one kit

Everything you need comes in a kit. In fact, we have two kits, one for tubing diameters of 1/2 inch to 1 inch (12mm to 25 mm), and a separate kit for tubing diameters of 1 inch to 2 inches (25 mm to 50 mm).

The centerpiece of the kit is the hydraulic cylinder and hand pump connected by a hose to a special housing where the swaging takes place. The kit also has four different die heads, a set of chamfer blocks, a set of gap inspection gauges and a pair of pliers for removing and inserting the retaining ring in the hydraulic housing.

You don't even have to supply your own safety glasses. There's a pair in the kit.

Everything is packed in a strong plastic case with a handle.

Easy to use

A blog post is no substitute for the complete instructions, but here's a quick overview to how simple the procedure is.

It starts with a piece of tubing, squarely cut and properly deburred. For smaller tubing, slip a chamfer block over the edge and give it a firm rap with a hammer. That will make sure the tubing fully bottoms in the preswaging tool.

Use the pliers to remove the retaining ring in the end of the hydraulic housing. Slip on a new die that's the right size for the tubing (the sizes are marked at the back of the die head). A groove on the outside of the die head will line up with a pin inside the housing. Use the pliers to reinsert the retaining ring.

Now it's time to get out the prepared tube and its corresponding fitting. Insert the tube into the fitting, back the nut off and place the fitting body to the side. Make sure both the front and back ferrules are pointed toward the end of the tube. Then insert the tubing with the nut and ferrule assembly into the hydraulic housing head. Close the nut onto the head, finger tight.

At the back of the hydraulic housing is an indicator knob with a green band. Press that knob into the head until the green band is hidden.

Now it's time to get pumping. Tighten the pump bypass valve and pump until the indicator knob pops back out. When that happens, stop pumping immediately, even if you are in mid-stroke. When you loosen the bypass valve, you'll be able to put the handle back to its original position.

Putting it all together

Before continuing, mark the tubing at the back end of the nut. You'll need that mark later. Unthread the Swagelok nut and remove the pre-swaged assembly from the housing. Notice that the ferrules might be able to move slightly, but you shouldn't be able to remove them.

On the end of the tubing you should see an indentation that indicates that the tubing was properly bottomed. This is critical, so don't use the assembly if the indentation isn't there.

Now you are ready to insert the pre-swaged assembly into the fitting body. (For fittings larger than an inch, or 25mm, you'll need some lubricant for this part.) Turn the nut onto the fitting body until it is finger tight. The line marked on the tubing earlier should now be visible. If you can't see it, tighten the nut with a wrench until you can see the mark.

Now mark the nut at the 6 o'clock position. Tighten the nut a half-turn so that the mark is at the 12 o' clock position — a little less for 3/4-inch tubing.

To check your work, pick the right gapping tool out of the kit and put it next to the gap between the nut and the body hex. If the gauge fits into the gap, the fitting isn't tight enough.

If anything goes awry during this process, there's a page of troubleshooting tips in the PDF version of the instructions. And, of course, there's always someone at Edmonton Valve & Fitting to talk to by email or phone.

Now that you have the basics, talk to us about buying or renting a multihead hydraulic swaging unit and getting more productive.