Process Engineering Control & Manufacturing Issue 35 2018 by MH Media Global

Engineering Process

Control &

MANUFACTURING

PECM

Global Success Through Innovation Issue 35 2018 ÂŁ3.95 www.pecm.co.uk

AB DYNAMICS - 44

KLARIUS - 48

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC - 64

Compact technology from AB Dynamics enables simpler control of vehicles during ADAS, autonomous, durability and safety testing

The automotive aftermarket is undergoing major changes in Europe and worldwide due to market maturity and much more.

Recent developments are opening new opportunities and catapulting the industrial robot arm into a journey around the production environment.

DOSCH DESIGN WWW.DOSCHDESIGN.COM

Dosch 3D: Factory Accessories

Dosch 3D: People Clean Room Vol. 1

Dosch 3D: Environments - Factory

Dosch 3D: People Factory Worker Vol. 2

Dosch 3D: Industrial Objects V3

Dosch 3D: Packaging Beverage Bottles

Dosch 3D: Industrial Buildings

Dosch HDRI: City At Night

Dosch 3D: Cars 2018

Dosch Textures: Metal

Dosch HDRI: Product Environments

Dosch 3D: Food

Dosch 3D: Construction Site

Dosch 3D: Car Details Autonomous Car

Dosch HDRI: Product Lighting

3D-Design, Animation, Visualization Besides complete 3D-models and scenes >Dosch 3D, Dosch Design products contain surface materials >Dosch Textures, High Dynamic Range Images >Dosch HDRI, as well as 2-dimensional objects for architectural visualizations >Dosch Viz-Images. High quality music and sound effects >Dosch Audio complement this product segment. Dosch 3D: Accident Cars

Dosch 3D: Airplane Details V2

WWW.DOSCHDESIGN.COM We support your creativity.

Engineering

Inside...

Process

Editors Choice

Air, Gas & Odour Control

Automotive Engineering

Boilers & Maintenance

Control & Automation

Drives, Motors & Gears

Electrical & Electronics

Facilities Management

102

Fasteners & Fixings

106

Fluid Handling

108

Health & Safety

114

Hydraulics & Pneumatics

120

Machining & Machinery

125

Measuring & Monitoring

137

Technology

144

News & Events

146

Process Technologies

149

Pumps

162

Storage, Handling And Distribution

166

Training and Recruitment

168

Valves & Flow Control

172

Waste Management

176

Control &

MANUFACTURING

Sections

Inside Issue 35 IET YWE 2018: YOUNG WOMEN ENGINEERS MAKE NATIONAL FINAL AND GET SET TO INSPIRE MORE GIRLS TO JOIN THE INDUSTRY To celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, six young female engineers working on projects ranging from future combat jets and spaceplanes to artificial intelligence have been announced as finalists for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2018.

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Issue 35 PECM

Level probes - extended Several new variants of ifm's popular LMT point level sensors have been added to the range. Longer probes, up to 250 mm, are particularly useful in overfill applications. Internal timer functions can be set using standard IO-Link accessories.

www.ifm.com /uk/lmt www.ifm.com/uk/lmt ifm Telephone 020 8213 2222

Engineering Process

The leading source for innovators in Technology, Manufacturing and Maintenance within the Engineering & Processing industry worldwide. Published bimonthly, a subscription to PECM magazine is essential for Process Engineers, Chemical Engineers, Instrumentation Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Plant Engineers, Precision Engineers, Environmental Engineers & General Engineers, Companies and Organizations in the Food, Dairy, Beverage, Brewing, Semiconductor, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Chemical, Oil & Gas, as well as all UK's major manufacturing units. Every issue of the magazine contains the latest news, in-depth features, together with product innovations and case studies showing how process engineers are implementing new technologies to reduce costs and impact on the environment. With over 300,000 readers worldwide the publication is widely read, recognized, and well respected within the Process, Engineering & maintenance industries. A subscription to PECM magazine is the industry's 'must have' publication.

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MANUFACTURING

Control &

The Team EDITOR IN CHIEF Antony Holter editor@mhmagazine.co.uk

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Issue 35 PECM

EDITOR’S CHOICE

SWITCHGEAR MANUFACTURING RITTAL

RITTAL OFFERS PANEL OPPORTUNITY TO TEST DRIVE THE PERFOREX SOLUTION Rittal is offering UK customers the chance to ‘test drive’ its Perforex machining and automation systems before they buy. Rittal Perforex machining centres are a major advance for switchgear manufacturing. They are designed to automate the creation of bore holes, cut-outs and threads in mounting plates, enclosure doors and side panels. It means that the time-consuming and mechanical processing steps required for the preparation of enclosure panels can now be accomplished in a single work step to an extremely high degree of accuracy. The work can be simply programmed into the Perforex to be repeated multiple times for fast, effective batch processing. Customers are being invited to Rittal’s new Working Demonstration Centre in Rotherham to see a working demonstration model of the Perforex. They can bring examples of their own enclosure modification projects using Rittal AE enclosures and compare the quality of finish they’re currently achieving, as well as the time a job takes, with that delivered by the Perforex.

“The Perforex really is a game-changer for panel builders,” says Paresh Kansara, Rittal’s Product Manager for Industrial and Outdoor Enclosures. “Automation of mundane and routine tasks improves accuracy and quality, as well as increasing productivity and customer satisfaction. “We’ve heard of projects that would have taken up four hours, now completed in 20 minutes to a consistently high standard of finish, whether the order was for one panel, or 100. And because it’s cleaner and there’s less waste, it can also transform the working environment. “This is the first time we’ve been able to offer a no-obligation opportunity for customers to see it in action and ‘test drive’ it in the UK. We’re looking forward to demonstrating it to them.” Rittal’s Working Demonstration Centre also includes a RiMatrix Rig – Rittal’s integrated modular solution for IT infrastructures - and a working IT chiller, which demonstrates Rittal’s ongoing commitment in preparation for IoT demands and delivering edge computing solutions.

The Perforex is one of a range of automated tools, developed by Rittal, to support panel building and switchgear manufacturing. They include tools to help with: • handling and ergonomics in the assembly of mounting plates and panels • cutting centres for effortlessly cutting cable ducts, cable duct covers and support rails • automated wiring to automatically wire enclosure mounting plates, which is a huge time-saving advance – potentially saving 15 working hours per enclosure To book a Perforex Free Trial customers should contact their Local Rittal Area Sales Manager, or email information@rittal.co.uk.

Further information at www.rittal. co.uk and www.friedhelm-loh-group. com or on twitter @rittal_ltd.

The Perforex solution ENCLOSURES

POWER DISTRIBUTION

CLIMATE CONTROL

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w.rittal.co.uk

IT INFRASTRUCTURE

SOFTWARE & SERVICES

NEWS

IET YWE 2018 IET

YOUNG WOMEN ENGINEERS MAKE NATIONAL FINAL AND GET SET TO INSPIRE MORE GIRLS TO JOIN THE INDUSTRY To celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, six young female engineers working on projects ranging from future combat jets and spaceplanes to artificial intelligence have been announced as finalists for the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2018. These prestigious engineering industry awards celebrate women working in modern engineering – and aim to help change the perception that engineering is predominantly a career for men by banishing outdated engineering stereotypes of hard hats and dirty overalls. Kate Self (20), Shajida Akthar (22), Sophie Harker (26), Amy Wright (28), Lorna Bennet (29), and Dr Claire Donoghue (33) have all been shortlisted for awards. The finalists are: • Kate Self is a degree apprentice in TV at BT Tower, studying towards a Bachelor’s degree in Digital and Media Solutions. In her role Kate has worked on a variety of high-profile projects including contributing to the success of the BBC’s next-generation broadcast network and helping to implement cutting-edge surround sound technology for the UEFA Champions League. • Shajida Akthar is a Software Engineer at Accenture which involves coding scripts to automate manual processes in Financial Services. • Sophie Harker is an Aerodynamics & Performance Engineer for BAE Systems. She performs aerodynamic and performance analyses on future combat jets, as well working on hypersonic aircraft and the application of emerging technologies in aviation. • Amy Wright is Senior Site Engineer at Farrans Construction. She was part of the core team constructing the impressive Northern Spire bridge across the River Wear, which opened to traffic in August this year. In her role with Farrans, Amy leads subcontractors to complete sections of work and manages programming, resourcing, quality and health and

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safety. Amy was the Regional Education Coordinator for the Institution of Civil Engineers North East and was responsible for initiatives that reached thousands of students to promote engineering. • Lorna Bennet a Mechanical Engineer at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. She works to improve the operations and maintenance of offshore renewable energy assets. • Dr Claire Donoghue is a Software Specialist at 3M’s Corporate Research Lab, where she is researching disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and computer vision to invent and engineer new products. As well as highlighting female engineering talent, the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards seek to find role models who can help address the UK science and engineering skills crisis by promoting engineering careers to more girls and women. Just 12% of those working in engineering occupations are women (source: Engineering UK). Jo Foster, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the IET said: “Engineering is a fantastic career – it’s diverse and exciting with the opportunity to do something life- or worldchanging. But the lack of women in the sector is a huge problem. “The difficulty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things, including the image of engineers within the UK, careers advice girls are given in schools and the way that companies with engineering roles advertise their opportunities.

“It’s also a result of the lack of engineering role models for girls, which is why our Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards are all about finding role models to get girls – and young people in general – excited and inspired about a career in engineering. “I’d like to congratulate Kate, Shajida, Sophie, Amy, Lorna and Claire for making the final six and in helping to demonstrate the tremendous female engineering talent in our industry today.” Minister for the Year of Engineering Nusrat Ghani added: “Engineers shape the world around us, and are at the forefront of tackling some of the biggest challenges we face – from protecting our environment, to harnessing the power of AI to fight disease. So it’s vital that we encourage more girls to consider careers in the profession and be part of shaping a future that works for everyone. “Celebrating creative, innovative and stereotype-smashing engineers from all backgrounds is at the heart of the Year of Engineering, and it’s fantastic to see the achievements of some of the many brilliant women in engineering being recognised by the IET today. I’m sure all of these trailblazing finalists will play a crucial role in showing girls what they could achieve as engineers.”

The winner will be announced at the IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards ceremony on 6 December at IET London: Savoy Place. For more information, visit www.theiet.org/ywe.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE AVINGTRANS

BUILDING ON CENTURIES OF GREAT BRITISH ENGINEERING

Avingtrans’ Process Solutions and Rotating Equipment division is home to a wealth of heritage engineering companies: from Peter Brotherhood and Hayward Tyler Fluid Handling to Ormandy Rycroft, Whiteley Read and Maloney Metalcraft, our businesses draw on centuries of great British engineering expertise to develop innovative solutions for customers around the world. Our specialist engineering teams represent over 200 years’ industry experience developing bespoke solutions for customers operating across a range of process industries including nuclear, on- and offshore oil & gas, energy, building services, chemical and mechanical engineering. Our understanding of these markets – their current and future requirements, as well as the legacy systems already in place – means we have all the experience and skills you need to deliver effective solutions in demanding and frequently hazardous environments. From initial designs and prototypes to production manufacturing, installation and maintenance, every job is viewed in the round and designed with an eye on practicality and value throughout its life in service. And it isn’t just about the heritage. Over the years, our businesses have developed a reputation for bringing cutting-edge ideas to life. From components for the world’s first MRI scanners and proton therapy machines to fusion power, liquid air energy storage, carbon capture and conversion technologies and components for the Large Hadron Collider in Cern, our businesses are committed to working at the cutting edge of technology, sharing our expertise to help customers lift innovative new ideas off the design board and into reality.

PECM Issue 35

So, whether you’re looking for a partner to work from existing designs, a team who can reimagine and work with your current equipment and systems, or a supplier who will engineer a completely new solution from scratch, you can rest assured our businesses will be up to the job.

For further details, visit: www.crown-international.co.uk www.haywardtyler.com www.maloney-metalcraft.com www.metalcraft.co.uk www.ormandygroup.com www.peterbrotherhood.com www.whiteley-read.co.uk

CENTURIES OF GREAT BRITISH ENGINEERING Avingtrans’ Process Solutions and Rotating Equipment division brings together seven of the most respected names in process engineering. From specialist vessels, pipes and packaged equipment to steam turbines, gas compressors, gear boxes and road- and rail-side safety equipment, our businesses draw on centuries of manufacturing expertise to deliver innovative solutions for customers operating in some of the most hazardous environments around the world. To find out more about our companies and how we can support your engineering vision – from design and build to installation and maintenance – visit https://www.avingtrans.plc.uk/ energy-divisions/#psre

WWW.AVINGTRANS.PLC.UK

Gasket Association celebrates 25 years The UK Gasket & Sealing Association (UKGSA) is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Formerly known as the Gasket Cutters Association (GCA), the network is still going strong with members from across the UK’s gasket and sealing industries. Established in 1993, the aims of the Association remain the same: • to represent the specialised interests of companies engaged in the conversion of materials into gaskets and seals; • to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas between members and those with whom they have commercial and professional dealings; and • to highlight new developments or methods. The UKGSA organises a number of technical visits, networking events and social events during the year. For more information visit www.ukgsassociation.co.uk

Water treatment unit added to Andrews’ hire fleet Andrews Sykes are delighted to be introducing a new filtration unit which has been designed to provide a fast and efficient solution in instances where clients require a temporary boiler accompanied by a fully functional energy centre. The unit features a water softening facility with a dirt and air separator, in addition to side stream filtration capabilities and a system dosing unit. It can even offer completed boosted mains cold water services across a broad spectrum of applications. This product can deliver up to 8 bar of continuous water pressure, ensuring multistorey buildings and high-rise flats can still reap the benefits of a normal water supply. An external water tank can be installed in conjunction with an Andrews boiler, guaranteeing minimal site space is required even on multi megawatt projects. www.andrews-sykes.com

PECM Issue 35

Ogle Models and Prototypes For over 60 years, Ogle have remained at the forefront of the model making and prototyping world. How have they done it? Quite simply, investment. Annually, they make personnel and technology advancements to ensure the needs of each client, regardless of industry, can be met with precision. This is part of the fabric at Ogle; who were one of the first in the UK to invest in 3D printing machines. • Form, fit and function prototypes • Concept models • Marketing models • Low volume production • Engineering prototypes • Scale models • Paint and finishing SLA, SLS, FDM, CNC machining, traditional hand skills and vacuum casting. T: 01462 682661 | E: info@oglemodels.com W: oglemodels.com

Airborne Hazard Defence with the New Force™10Typhoon™ Full Face Mask from JSP The NEW Force™10 Typhoon™ is an extremely lightweight, easy to maintain full face mask at only 365g with a completely clear panoramic visor to maximise light levels within the mask giving optimum visibility. The optical class 1 panoramic visor conforms to EN166.B offering impact protection at speeds of up to 270 mph (tested using a 6mm steel ball bearing). The visor can have the option of a replaceable peel-off visor protector to prolong its life. Extensive research has been carried out by NIOSH (ISO16976-2) to distinguish the world’s 5 most common facial shapes. Using this research JSP have digitally optimised the ergonomics of the Force™10 Typhoon’s™ face seal to maximise wearer compatibility. www.jsp.co.uk

METMOTEC Announces 2G, 3G & 4G/LTE Cellular Modems for I&C Electricity Meters and Telemetry Applications METMOTEC, UK supplier of data communications products for meters, announces a competively priced range of modems that includes custom models for Honeywell/Elster A1700, A1140 & AS-series meters, Itron ACE6000 & SL7000 meters that are also suitable for some other manufacturers’ meters. A range of low cost antennas is also announced for use under terminal covers or for mounting indoors or outdoors; the antennas can be used on most manufacturers’ modems. METMOTEC also offers a new range of optical meter probes IEC 62056-21 compliant featuring magnetic attachment for hand held readers and a unique version for mechanical attachment for automatic meter reading systems. www.metmotec.com metmotec@btinternet.com

Muller Coax

Leading technology Originalvalve valve manufacture for 58 years for arduous & varied applications we have a

Muller Coax are the original designers and valve to suit manufacturers ofHigh coaxial valves having pressure valves ATEX Valves established the company and product in 1960, Direct Acting/Externally Controlled and are established in many industry sectors Threaded/Flanged supplying valvesContaminated to many diversified blue Medias Actuation chip companies andFast organizations worldwide Position Indication Switches Available including Siemens, Rolls Royce, Compact Size BNFL, and Valves SIL 2 Rated many automotiveAllplants where the valves are SIL 3 available on request specified for use. Contact us

Tel: 01908 From their head office and 067583 main manufacturing john.osborn@coaxvalves.co.uk plant in Email: Germany, Coax have wholly owned Web: www.co-ax.com companies in USA (also manufacturing base), UK, Spain, Italy and China, and distributors worldwide to support our customers wherever they may be.

For more information about Muller Coax valves visit our website at www.co-ax.com or contact john.osborn@coaxvalves.co.uk Tel: 01908 067583 Muller Coax are an ISO 9001:2015 accredited company.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

SAFE & SECURE PLATFORMS LOBO SYSTEMS

CASE STUDY: ARRIVA TRAIN CARE

THE PROBLEM

Arriva must implement a multi-purpose scaffolding work platform system that must be HSE/OSHA compliant and allow Arriva’s personnel to work on top of their railway carriages. Traditional scaffolding is too heavy and cumbersome, while aluminium towers do not allow access on to the roof area as they cannot span.

THE SOLUTION

LOBO Systems’ safe and secure platform product. The unique and patented clamp allows the system to be assembled without the use of tools into any size or shape. Maintenance crews can attach a handrail around the carriage or at any point across the roof, from a lower level. This ensures a safe system is assembled while personnel are not exposed to the risk of a fall during assembly while using the system for maintenance.

PECM Issue 35

THE BENEFITS

The unique versatility of the LOBO System brings a safe working procedure to Arriva, which not only meets OSHA requirements, but also meets Arriva’s safety policy. The LOBO System also brings cost reduction, enhanced efficiency & performance as maintenance crews can build their own platforms at any time. The LOBO System creates a safe working environment, which increases productivity and maximizes the return on investment.

COST BENEFITS

LOBO’s electroplated steel structure ensures many years of product life and a system that will not shake or rattle. The modular approach means components fully integrate and can be hand carried. Fully constructed systems can also be made mobile by the addition of wheels.

Experience shows that deploying the LOBO system reduces the costs associated with hiring scaffolding and constructing bespoke fixed access systems. By reducing your reliance on out-sourced scaffolding and engineering companies, cost savings will be achieved – easily within a 12-month period. With this quantifiable reduction in costs comes the added savings associated with reduced down-time and greater productivity from your maintenance department. Available 24/7, quick to erect, and above all safe.

WHY CHOOSE LOBO?

Safe - Available 24/7 - Re-configurable - No-tools Assembly – Simple to Use - Strong and Durable - Reduces Labour Cost – Scalable.

LOBO TOWERSTORE

The Towerstore offers security on or off site. It provides a secure and yet simple way to store your LOBO components, which also makes managing all the component parts that much simpler. Designed specifically for LOBO’s advanced work platform system, it is fitted with feet for easy pallet truck or fork lift manoeuvrability. Also, it can be locked with a padlock for security. The Towerstore can be vertically or horizontally mounted to suit the workshop and can be transported for rapid deployment, on and off site.

UK & Europe and Rest of World: + 44 (0)1332 365666. North America: 1-800-640-5492. Email: sales@lobosystems.com www.lobosystems.com

EDITOR’S CHOICE

DESIGN CHALLENGE IMECHE

BRUNEL AND DURHAM ENGINEERING STUDENTS WIN 2018 DESIGN CHALLENGE Student teams from Brunel University London and Durham University have been crowned champions of this year’s Design Challenge, which is organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to encourage young engineers to develop their technical and design skills. Around 2000 engineering undergraduates from across UK take part annually in the Design Challenge, a competition that provides a taste of the ‘real world’ of engineering by setting teams of up to five students a task to design, build, test and present a mechanical device based on a set technical specification. It is open to first and second year students – Brunel’s team won this year’s award for second year students, while Durham won the first year student category. The Design Challenge is intended to complement the academic curriculum and allows participants to showcase their design skills and innovative ideas in projects that form part of their course. The final, which was held at the Institution’s headquarters in London, featured devices designed to climb autonomously up inside a pipe carrying an increasing load. This year, the successful projects included a scissor design that moved up and down the tube in under four seconds, a design with caterpillar treads that worked on a timer to successfully stop at the correct point and also an exciting design propelled using canisters of carbon dioxide.

PECM Issue 35

“We set up the Design Challenge to show students that their academic studies have real life application. We want to build on their interest to study the subject and subsequently follow an engineering career. The students give us great confidence for the future of engineering in the UK,” said Colin Brown, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. “The experience was truly valuable. We have become better engineers by learning to work to deadlines. The presentation and poster competition made us more ready for the corporate world,” said Sam Whelan, leader of the Durham University team. For the universities, the competition is a valuable opportunity to develop their students’ creative and technical skills. “The Design Challenge provides an essential and stimulating professional-level engineering project through which students can benchmark themselves against not only other universities but, most importantly, the expectations of industry,” said Professor Mark Atherton, Brunel University London.

Results: 1st Year Winners: National Champions: Durham University (North Eastern Region) Runner-up: University of Salford (North Western Region) 3rd Place: Coventry University (Midland Region) Poster Competition: Coventry University (Midland Region) Presentation Competition: Coventry University (Midland Region) Design Excellence: University of East London (Greater London Region). 2nd Year Winners: National Champions: Brunel University London (Greater London Region) Runner-up: Manchester Metropolitan University (North Western Region) Poster Competition: Manchester Metropolitan University (North Western Region) Presentation Competition: Manchester Metropolitan University (North Western Region) Design Excellence: Manchester Metropolitan University (North Western Region).

www.imeche.org/events/challenges/ design-challenge

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

PROVEN MECHANICAL TOOLING ATLAS COPCO TOOLS

MECHATRONIC – THE QUEST FOR ERROR-FREE PRODUCTION Helping achieve error-free production lines is a major objective of Atlas Copco and its unique Mechatronic system enables manufacturers get closer to this goal. By combining proven mechanical tooling with the latest in wireless and digital technology, Mechatronic delivers the best of both worlds. As well as providing the same reliability, performance and ease of use from its standard mechanical wrenches, the addition of monitoring hardware and software offers significant value to the whole production process by ensuring greater accuracy, traceability and quality assurance, all in one package. Whilst still used as a standard mechanical wrench, the Mechatronic system (MWR) adds a digital interface to the wrench, effectively building in a quality assurance process to the actual tool. MWR enables the wrench to monitor three critical areas, namely that the correct angle has been achieved, the right torque has been applied and that the operator has released the joint at the optimum time. As easy to use as the click wrench it is based on, the Mechatronic system gives the operator a clear physical (LED green light) indication when the required torque is achieved. Sending the tightening data wirelessly to the complementary Focus controller means that any faults can be identified instantly and therefore rectified before they become a costly production issue and everything is audited and traceable down to a single screw. It can also be used to verify that all required elements of a joint are present and correct, avoiding missing washers and checking screw quality. Mechatronic uses a gyroscope to measure operator movement, thereby increasing the accuracy of angle readings and improving controlled tightening. By narrowing down the angle window, the most common assembly problems such as damaged threads, re-hits, premature shut-offs and torque overshoot can be avoided, thereby improving productivity and quality. Flexibility is obviously a key consideration for many manufacturers, where there are multiple assembly lines. Mechatronic facilitates a wireless connection of up to 10 wrenches, as well as programmable jobs and two wrenches in simultaneous operation. Commenting on the many advantages of Mechatronic, David Embley, General Manager, Atlas Copco Tools UK, said: “Our ultimate goal is zero defects in the manufacturing process with 100% traceability. With increasing complexity of products and demand for higher quality at the lowest cost, in the quickest time, manufacturers are under pressure to minimise any negative impact on production. “Atlas Copco’s Smart Connected Assembly philosophy is focused on achieving quality, productivity and traceability in all assembly processes and as part of that, our Mechatronic system is designed to maximise productivity and increase customer efficiency, whilst eliminating human error and ensuring operator safety.” For more info please visit www.atlascopco.com

PECM Issue 35

Torque, angle & time Throughout a tightening the MWR will measure that the correct angle is achieved, that the right torque is applied and that the operator releases at the proper time. Any errors are reported immediately on the tool and the controller.

Productivity meets traceability Wrong screws or damaged threads are history! Any re-hits are detected giving you 100% certainty that all the screws in a sequence are properly tightened. Find out more: www.atlascopco.co.uk/mechatronic

EDITOR’S CHOICE

GLOBAL OEM PARTS SUPPLIER KOYO

KOYO: THE JTEKT CORPORATION BRAND FOR BEARINGS Koyo has established itself with aerospace engineers, automakers and industrial manufacturers around the world. The business has gone on to attain ISO/ TS 16949:2009 certification (now IATF 16949:2016) at all their bearing manufacturing facilities whilst the JTEKT corporation - which also manufactures steering systems and drive chain components – was ranked 18th largest global OEM parts supplier in the automotive industry by Auto News. Combining the expertise of Koyo with the scale of JTEKT produces a solid foundation to for manufacturers to specify Koyo products throughout their New Product Development (NPD) and MRO processes for automotive, aviation and agricultural manufacturing. Koyo produce bearings for a range of commercial aviation applications including actuators, control surfaces, engines, landing gear, hub units, transmissions and aircraft ancillary systems. The business is constantly using their knowledge, expertise and experience to utilise the latest materials and manufacturing

technology to produce better products such as high-performance track rollers for flap and slat actuation systems and ball and cylindrical roller bearings for jet engine main shafts of aircrafts and helicopters. Koyo manufacturers it’s bearings so that they maintain high performance and efficiency, even in severe operating conditions over extended periods of time while supporting high load and rotation. Life span, weight and capacity aren’t the only challenges the Koyo and JTEKT design team tackle head on producing bearings for use in special environments where regular bearings made from bearing steel and

lubricant such as oil and grease cannot be used. Koyo develop and adapt the latest technology, manufacturing processes and materials to develop their range of Extreme Special Environment (EXSEV) for clean, vacuum, high-temperature or corrosive environments. Together, Koyo and JTEKT Corporation own and operate eighteen bearings plants in seven countries and 6 R&D Technical Engineering Centres across three continents. Their combined engineering and manufacturing capabilities range from super large bearings with outer diameters of seven meters to miniature bearings with inner diameters as small as one millimetre. For more information please visit www.koyo.co.uk

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT… Following Koyo’s sponsorship of the Buildbase Suzuki Superbike team we’re proud to announce that Richard Cooper made it six wins in a week aboard his GSX-R1000R as he added wins at the Sunflower Trophy races and the Mallory Park Race of the Year to his victory at the final round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship last month. Cooper won both superbike races at the Bishopscourt circuit in Northern Ireland in his debut appearance at the end of season event, before recovering from an off-track excursion to win the Sunflower Trophy feature race. He was then in action at Mallory Park where won the first Buildbase-sponsored open race before winning the final Race of the Year, crossing the line ahead of his teammates Bradley Ray and Billy McConnell to make it a Buildbase Suzuki 1-2-3. Richard Cooper, “It was the perfect ending to the season really after the BSB win last weekend. We flew out to Northern Ireland on the Thursday and qualified on pole, and to win the two superbike races was good but the Sunflower is the main event and the gloves were off a little bit to be honest. It was a close race and bit of a battle. I got shoved off track early in the race, but knuckled down and got back up to the leaders and managed to nick it on the last corner, and as a rider to win a race after a battle like that is great.

PECM Issue 35

“It was then a flight back Saturday night and bed at 1am before racing at Mallory on the Sunday where we managed to pick up two more wins and win the Race of the Year, and with both Brad and Billy on the podium too. It was a really good way to end the season and a big thank you to the team and all my sponsors for the support.” Koyo assist with sponsorship and the supply of OEM bearings that help keep Richard, and the team, on the road.

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koyo.co.uk Koyo UK Ltd Whitehall Avenue, Kingston, Milton Keynes MK10 0AX

SPECIFICATION SPHERICAL ROLLER BEARINGS

CALL US FOR DETAILS

EDITOR’S CHOICE

TRAINS: ENGINES AND FUEL IMECHE

DR JENIFER BAXTER SHOWS HOW DIFFERENT FUELS AND ENGINES CAN DETERMINE A TRAIN’S EFFICIENCY

Transport Minister Jo Johnson said recently that we should look to bimode and hydrogen trains to fill the gap left by cancelled electrification projects, however this is not the best engineering solution for reducing emissions produced by the rail network. This technical briefing note from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers shows how different fuels and engines can determine a train’s efficiency. The best solution for reducing emissions from the rail network on a national basis is greater electrification. This should be on a

PECM Issue 35

rolling programme to prevent the costs associated with the stop-start approach which the UK has seen in recent decades. Britain needs to move ahead with trialling hydrogen and liquefied natural gas trains as a step towards replacing ageing diesel trains, as both fuels are suitable for local transport networks as they are produced in regional industrial hubs. Testing the new trains should be carried out as part of a wider industrial forum for low and zero emission transport systems which brings the rail industry together with car-makers and energy suppliers.

“We urgently need to decarbonise our transport, including the rail industry, as climate change becomes increasingly evident across the globe,” said Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Engineering at the Institution and lead author of the briefing note. “Although not cost-effective or efficient for a full roll-out across the UK rail network, there are really good regional opportunities for hydrogen and LNG produced by regional industry to power local trains and buses.” www.imeche.org

伀唀刀䘀䤀䰀吀刀䄀吀䤀伀一䔀堀倀䔀刀吀䤀匀䔀䌀伀唀䰀䐀䈀䔀吀䠀䔀䄀一匀圀䔀刀吀伀夀伀唀刀倀刀伀䈀䰀䔀䴀匀

伀甀爀爀攀瀀甀琀愀琀椀漀渀昀漀爀瀀爀漀搀甀挀椀渀最猀甀瀀攀爀椀漀爀戀攀猀瀀漀欀攀氀琀爀愀琀椀漀渀瀀爀漀搀甀挀琀猀琀栀爀漀甀最栀洀漀搀攀爀渀洀愀渀甀昀愀挀琀甀爀椀渀最洀攀琀栀漀搀猀栀愀猀戀攀攀渀瀀爀愀椀猀攀搀戀礀漀甀爀挀氀椀攀渀琀猀椀渀愀氀氀椀渀搀甀猀琀爀礀猀攀挀琀漀爀猀昀漀爀漀瘀攀爀㌀礀攀愀爀猀⸀ 吀栀攀猀攀栀椀最栀焀甀愀氀椀琀礀氀琀攀爀猀漀û攀爀爀攀氀椀愀戀椀氀琀礀Ⰰ 愀爀攀搀甀爀愀戀氀攀愀渀搀洀愀搀攀琀漀攀砀愀挀琀椀渀最猀瀀攀挀椀椀挀愀琀椀漀渀猀琀漀猀甀椀琀礀漀甀爀愀瀀瀀氀椀挀愀琀椀漀渀愀渀搀挀愀渀戀攀洀愀渀甀昀愀挀琀甀爀攀搀焀甀椀挀欀氀礀⸀ 圀栀礀渀漀琀氀漀漀欀愀琀漀甀爀䘀䔀䔀䘀伀爀攀瘀椀攀眀猀愀琀㨀栀琀琀瀀㨀⼀⼀眀眀㈀⸀昀攀攀昀漀⸀挀漀洀⼀攀渀ⴀ最戀⼀爀攀瘀椀攀眀猀⼀挀爀漀昀琀ⴀⴀ氀琀攀爀猀ⴀ氀琀搀

䌀刀伀䘀吀䘀䤀䰀吀䔀刀匀䰀吀䐀簀㈀䈀䔀䔀䌀䠀䌀伀唀刀吀簀吀䄀夀䰀伀刀䈀唀匀䤀一䔀匀匀倀䄀刀䬀簀刀䤀匀䰀䔀夀簀圀䄀刀刀䤀一䜀吀伀一簀䌀䠀䔀匀䠀䤀刀䔀簀圀䄀㌀㘀䈀䰀琀㨀㄀㤀㈀㔀㜀㘀㘀㈀㘀㔀簀昀㨀㄀㤀㈀㔀㜀㘀㔀㈀㤀簀攀㨀猀愀氀攀猀䀀昀椀氀琀攀爀猀⸀挀漀⸀甀欀簀眀㨀眀眀眀⸀昀椀氀琀攀爀猀⸀挀漀⸀甀欀

Commercial & Industrial Insurance Services For over 30 years CIIS have specialised in arranging insurance for engineers. If you have been with the same insurer for a number of years, you will be paying too much for your insurance and you will have noticed that your premium has been increasing 5-10% each year. We can reverse these increases. We find the best insurers with the right cover and haggle the best terms for you. If you would like a quote, simply email us a copy of a recent policy schedule, and we will do the rest. Email Richard Morris on info@ciisuk.com. CIIS FCA No: 492718. Website: www.ciisuk. com

Vaisala Industrial Measurements The Industrial Measurements business area serves customers in multiple industries with over 40 years of industry knowledge. Our products improve quality, productivity, energy efficiency, and help our customers fulfill regulatory compliance. Industrial Measurements customers operate in different types of environments – from semi-conductor factories and high-rise buildings to power plants and small incubators – where reliable measuring and monitoring of the ambient conditions are a prerequisite for successful operations. Customers use our products and systems to measure and monitor temperature, humidity, dew point, pressure, carbon dioxide, moisture in oil and dissolved gases in transformer oil. More information at www.vaisala.com

Vaisala’s HVAC transmitters Vaisala’s HVAC transmitters set the industry standard for energy efficiency and reliability. The highest quality measurement instruments are essential when you need to save energy & operating costs. That’s why Vaisala offers reliable, accurate, and easy to install and use instruments for measuring humidity & temperature. Sold for over 20 years, 100 000+ installed base, we launched the next generation humidity and temperature transmitter series HMD60. It is as dependable as before with better accuracy and new features like wet bulb and dew point calculation and easy field configuration. The all-metal body is suitable for building sites and industrial settings. HMD60 series transmitters provide state-of-the-art stability and environmental resistance thanks to the Vaisala HUMICAP® R2 sensor. Learn more at www.vaisala.com/hmd60

Seica Publishes Video about the New Pilot V8 Next> Series Flying Probe system In our new row of Educational Videos, here now Pilot V8 Next > series we introduce today the most complete flying probe test platform on the market, provides up to 20 mobile resources for testing an electronic board, including test probes which can each apply up to 2A current, highresolution cameras for automatic optical inspection, barcode and data matrix reading, laser sensors, capacitive probes, pyrometers, optical fiber sensors for LEDs, minifixtures for boundary scan and On Board Programming, high-frequency probes able to measure signals at frequencies over 1.5 GHz (an absolutely unique performance on the market). You will find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HGyXfrv8ui8&feature=youtu.be Please see www.seica.com

PECM Issue 35

HBM EXPANDS ITS RANGE OF STRAIN GAUGES WITH NEW KFU SERIES FOR HIGH TEMPERATURES Through its collaboration with the Japanese manufacturer Kyowa Electronic Instruments, HBM – a market leader in the field of test and measurement – is pleased to announce the arrival of its new KFU series of strain gauges for high temperatures of up to 350°C. Suitable for structural tests at exceptionally high temperatures, the latest series of KFU strain gauges are pre-wired and come equipped with a 1 meter long, high temperature protection cable. The KFU strain gauge series are the first products manufactured by HBM in collaboration with the Japanese manufacturer Kyowa Electronic Instruments. HBM United Kingdom Ltd Tel: 01525 304980, Email: info@uk.hbm.com Web: www.hbm.com.

Briddon Baker have over 40 years experience of producing high quality labels to customers’ specifications. Labelling requirements for engineering and Briddon Baker have over 40 years experience manufacturing can be complex - Briddon Baker of producing highfor quality to customers’ are well known their labels versatility and attention specifications. to detail, meeting critical deadlines with a high quality product. Labelling engineering and runs. In house requirements artwork/proofs,for prototypes and short

manufacturing can be complex - Briddon Baker are well known for their versatility and attention to detail, meeting critical deadlines • Please contact us for a free comprehensive sample with a high quality product. pack and prompt quotation.

In house artwork/proofs, prototypes and short runs. • Please contact us for a free comprehensive sample pack and prompt quotation. Phone: 01984 640084 E-mail: briddon.baker@btconnect.com www.briddonbakerlabels.co.uk

EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOICE

FORMING INNOVATIONS! WAFIOS

WAFIOS DEVELOPS A NEW AND REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS FOR HAIRPIN PRODUCTION

Hairpins are challenging bent wire components made of copper wire as the core element, clad in a layer of insulation. These electrically conductive parts are used in the new generation of hairpin motors. These components are subject to very demanding requirements in terms of their geometry and surface properties. Existing manufacturing processes such as those involving the use of automatic multi-slide units or transfer systems usually entail a high level of overhead in terms of tool set-up and programming work, as well as substantial tool costs. With the wealth of experience that comes from 125 years spent forming wires and tube components of all kinds, WAFIOS elected to shoulder the challenge of hairpin production. The result? Quite simply the most flexible machine currently available on the market. This flexible new process means that the majority of hairpin geometries for a stator, including the connection assemblies required, can be manufactured in any sequence without the need to change tools. A patent for this bending process has been applied for, a process that enables bending work to be accurate and free of physical

EasyWay also allows you to import 3D geometries automatically with STEP / IGES files. After the co-ordinates have been imported, the requisite bending program can be produced automatically.

damage. This is a field in which WAFIOS has many years of experience. The measurement and feedback control algorithms this process employs ensure that the machine is able to monitor and control itself during production operations. Even in situations where the paint gets stripped inadvertently from the contact points, WAFIOS is a competent partner, one able to offer various solutions to suit customer wishes.

There is also the option of integrating and using the simulation tool to run through the complete production sequence of the bending component. The entire process is simulated using a digital twin, including machines, tools and workpieces to create a dependable collision check in advance. The entire production planning process, including the programming of parts, simulation, definition of cycle time and the collision check, can be performed in a parallel manner at an external programming station. In addition, simulation is used to establish the optimum tool arrangement for the specific bending part.

Geometric programming dispenses with the need for the user to program individual CNC axes. This speeds up the definition of hairpin geometry. Flexibility depends on the geometric programming of bending parts and/or hairpins. The WAFIOS controller WPS 3.2

+49 7121 146 309 www.wafios.com Issue 35 PECM

uPrint SE PLUS Powered by GrabCAD PrintTM Software GrabCAD Print simplifies the traditional 3D print preparation workflow and provides intelligence around printer usage so your team can get quality prints, faster. Print directly from CAD, organize print queues, monitor material levels and work with detailed views of your model.

Models can be made within hours and then sanded, painted, tapped & drilled and even chrome plated to give you a reliable representation of the actual manufactured product. Perfect for End use parts, Rapid Proto-typing, Jigs & fixtures and Drill Guides. With it's heated chamber the SE plus is ideal for first time adoptees who want accurate fit for purpose parts.

Desktop Replicators including MakerBot Print MakerBot Print is free software that optimizes and streamlines the 3D printing process for any workflow. It allows you to discover, prepare, manage, and share 3D prints Prepare: Import design files in native CAD and fine-tune their settings for optimal results when printing Manage: Keep your projects organized by automatically arranging models across one or several build plates Monitor: Kick-off prints, control your printer, and monitor print progress remotely

To find out more, contact GTX Sales on 01256 814444 or visit www.gtx.co.uk

MakerBot is setting the standard in reliable and affordable desktop 3D printing and scanning. Engineers and Designers are using the Replicator range of 3D printers to innovate and create right in their workshops, offices and studios. The printer delivers fifth generation ease of use and connectivity offering a simple and versatile way to get from 3D model to 3D print.

To find out more, contact GTX Sales on 01256 814444 or visit www.gtx.co.uk

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY REMOVAL OF HEAVY METALS FROM WASTE WATER.

Muller Coax Original valve manufacture for 58 years for arduous & varied applications we have a valve to suit High pressure valves ATEX Valves Direct Acting/Externally Controlled Threaded/Flanged Contaminated Medias Fast Actuation Position Indication Switches Available Compact Size All Valves SIL 2 Rated SIL 3 available on request

PECM Issue 35

We are specialists on the flocculation and precipitation of dissolved heavy metals from process and waste water by using our environmentally friendly heavy metal scavenger EPOFLOC L1-R and Cleanfloc-EPO product series. Metals such as Copper, Mercury, Zinc, Chrome, Cadmium, Silver, Lead and others can be removed from your effluent to consent levels in one application and often without the requirement

to make large changes to your existing treatment process. Contact us to take advantage of our free sample testing service. www.kcservice.co.uk sales@kcservice.co.uk 01293 538940

BUILD YOUR OWN ALL METAL TANK, ROLLS-ROYCE OR FIELD GUN DESIGNED AND MADE IN THE UK

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

POWERTRAIN SOLUTIONS ALTRA

BRAND MANUFACTURERS ARE PUSHING AHEAD WITH RENEWABLE ENERGIES Ameridrives, Stromag, Svendborg Brakes, Twiflex and Warner Electric are leading brands of Altra Industrial Motion Corp. and will serve in the future under the label “Altra Renewables” in a unique way the international wind energy market. So far, each of these brands has supported the industry with its own product expertise and expertise. Together, they are now able to offer their customers complete powertrain solutions and a truly global maintenance, repair and aftermarket service. Both Svendborg Brakes and Stromag as well as Twiflex and Warner Electric are known as brand solution providers for a variety of applications including wind turbines, tidal and ocean current turbines, solar collectors and biomass furnaces. Each of the brands specializes in its own niche, with a product range from azimuth brakes, rotor brakes, shaft locks, quick couplings, limit switches and actuators to hydraulic power units and soft brake control (SOBO iQ). By merging the brands, Altra intends

to combine its individual know-how in the areas of engineering, material procurement, manufacturing and service in order to lower the energy generation costs for the operators. Steven Olsen, Managing Director of Altra Renewables, said: “Manufacturers and operators are still trying to reduce production costs by increasing efficiencies and reducing component and maintenance costs. We’ve found that by pooling the resources of our core brands, we can help our customers reduce the complexity of their supply chain. At the same time, we are able to develop and offer turnkey solutions and maintenance packages specifically for the renewable energy sector. “ Altra Renewables combines the knowledge and skills of leading brands to offer ready-made solutions specifically for this market. For example, Altra Renewables has developed a cooling system for wind turbine nacelle components that improves

their efficiency and lowers the cost of electricity generation. The solution came about as part of a partnership between Svendborg Brakes and Stromag GmbH, whose sales channel in Korea made the first request. Further tailor-made technologies include a modular hybrid azimuth bearing that combines the advantages of rolling and plain bearings, as well as an innovative lifting and assembly tool for azimuth brakes. Behind the brands of Altra Renewables are production and development centers in Europe, East and South Asia as well as North and South America. This makes Altra the only manufacturer of complete powertrain solutions that can assist local manufacturers and provide installation and maintenance services even in the most remote locations. Altra Renewables ‘customers across all brands have access to the entire division’s service and support, including Svendborg Brakes’ 24/7 service for onshore and offshore installations.

About Altra Industrial Motion Corp.

Altra is a leading global designer and manufacturer of high quality drive and motion control products used in a wide variety of industrial drive applications. Altra’s product lines include clutches, brakes, transmission and powertrain components and are sold under 23 well-known brands, each of which has existed for more than 50 years. Each of these businesses is committed to the guiding principles of operational excellence, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Altra’s advanced solutions are sold in over 70 countries and used in a variety of key industrial sectors, including food processing, material handling, packaging, mining, power generation, automotive, steel processing, lawn and garden care, to name but a few. For more information, visit www.altramotion.com

PECM Issue 35

Safe Isolation saves lives Stay safe, prove dead and lock off with Martindale VIPDLOK kits

The simple solution to safe maintenance • Essential for compliance with Electricity at Work Regulations for safe working

• New VI-15000 Voltage Indicator, CATIV 1000V for all installations categories

• Includes industry leading voltage indicator, proving unit, locking off devices and tags

• Safe because it’s simple, no batteries, no ranges, no switches

Now available NEW VIPDLOKPRO Get the right locking off device every time with Martindale PRO Kits

Available from your wholesaler and online www.martindale-electric.co.uk Call: 01923 441717 email: sales@martindale-electric.co.uk

EDITOR’S CHOICE

AWARD WINERS ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING TEAM BEHIND REVOLUTIONARY COPPER MINING TECHNOLOGY WINS PRESTIGIOUS ACADEMY AWARD A multidisciplinary team of engineers from the University of Nottingham and Teledyne e2v have been presented with this year’s Colin Campbell Mitchell Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering for developing MicroHammer, a revolutionary process for extracting copper from its ore using microwave technology. The team were presented with the prize at the Academy’s AGM in London on 18 September. The team, which includes Professor Sam Kingman and Dr Chris Dodds from the University of Nottingham and Dr Ewan Livingstone, Paul Burleigh and David English from Teledyne e2v, combined their skills in microwave technology and engineering to develop the largest microwave processing system ever constructed, capable of processing up to 3000 tonnes of rock per hour. Copper is one of the world’s most widely used metals, playing an integral role in many sectors from construction to power generation and transmission. Although global demand is increasing rapidly, with copper a vital material for nearly all electrical devices, the quality of copper reserves is in decline with both the percentage of copper and the size of grains found in ores decreasing. Current extraction techniques require enormous amounts of energy, with an estimated 5% of the world’s electricity used to fine grind rocks in mineral processing plants. MicroHammer, which uses microwave energy to separate copper grains from the ore, reduces the energy needed to extract copper by over 20% and boosts production by almost a third. By exposing rocks to powerful microwave energy for a fraction of a second, MicroHammer heats and expands the copper grains, causing them to split from the encasing rock. The microfractures, which are smaller than the width of a human hair, weaken the host rock and make it possible to extract the copper without completely grinding the ore.

PECM Issue 35

Using microwaves to create fractures in mineral ores has been a topic of academic study for several years, but presented real challenges in demonstrating it was possible at a commercial scale in a mining environment. Working with one of the world’s largest metals and mining corporations, Rio Tinto, who funded the project, the team have designed a system that contains and focuses hundreds of kilowatts of microwave energy and can be safely used in the harsh operating conditions of a mine. The demonstration system processes over 150 tonnes of rock per hour, and, using numerical simulation and experimental validation, the team have demonstrated this can be expanded to thousands of tonnes per hour – the scale needed for sustainable commercial use. Professor Sam Kingman, the project’s academic lead, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, said: “Our collaboration with Teledyne e2v has been the key to unlocking the potential that this technology has offered for decades, but no one has been able to access due to significant technical challenges. It is a great honour to receive this award which recognises the contributions of a significant number of people both at the University of Nottingham and at Teledyne e2v. We are now well placed to take this technology to market and deliver one of the most significant impacts to mineral processing since the development of froth flotation”

Paul Burleigh, project lead at Teledyne e2v, said: “It’s exciting to be part of a team that has developed a technological solution that will make a real difference in creating sustainability in the supply of materials that underpin economic and social development across the globe. Though receiving the award in person, it’s important to remember that this is on behalf of the wider team who have delivered the innovative steps and engineering solutions to the challenges that have been overcome.” Professor Raffaella Ocone FREng FRSE, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Awards Committee, said: “The tremendous amounts of electricity needed to extract copper from low grade sources has left the mining industry in an unsustainable position and in desperate need of a new technological solution. The MicroHammer process developed by the team from the University of Nottingham and Teledyne e2v is a tremendous breakthrough, not just in saving energy but in helping to ensure that copper supply meets global demand. The achievements of the team make them worthy winners of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Colin Campbell Mitchell Award.” The Colin Campbell Mitchell award is awarded annually to an engineer or small team of engineers who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of any field of UK engineering. www.raeng.org.uk

DOWNLOAD DIXON’S QUICK CONNECT INTERCHANGE APP

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Dixon makes finding the right quick release coupling quicker and easier thanks to the free App which allows a user to enter a part number of their existing coupling and be given the Dixon equivalent. Quick release couplings from Dixon comprises of a full range of interchange couplings for both hydraulic and pneumatic applications, engineered to the highest specification in order to flawlessly fit existing hoses and couplings. The range of manual quick release couplings is ideal for applications where full and smooth flow paths need to be maintained. Dixon specialise in the bespoke design of speciality couplings to meet the requirements of our customer including miniature and high pressure automatic connect couplings. A wide selection of materials including Steel, Aluminium, Brass, 316 & 303 Stainless Steel are available; thread configurations including BSP & NPT and body sizes ranging from 1/8” through to 2” ensure compatibility in a variety of installations. To ensure you can find the correct interchange required Dixon has the

developed Dixon Quick Coupling Global Interchange App which allows the user to quickly cross reference Dixon Quick Coupling part numbers with those of other manufacturers. This free app is available to download on your iphone/ipad or android mobile device.

To find out more about the Dixon range ask us for our Quick Couplings brochure today by contacting our customer sales department on 01772 323529 or view the full range online @ dixoneurope.co.uk

QUICK RELEASE COUPINGS FREE ge han Interc P AP ble Availa

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Issue 35 PECM

EDITOR’S CHOICE

ELECTRICAL SAFETY EXPERTISE MARTINDALE ELECTRIC

MARTINDALE OFFERS A FLEXIBLE SOLUTION TO SAFE ISOLATION Martindale Electric has over 90 years of expertise in electrical safety and is the UK market leader in safe isolation. With the introduction of the new CABLOK hasps for safe maintenance, it’s now easier to lock off multiple breakers, switches and valves and provide protection for several people working on the same system.

Martindale LOKKITPRO

Safe Isolation Procedures Implementing safe isolation procedures is essential for compliance with Electricity at Work Regulations which are in place to ensure that workers on site are not exposed to danger when working on or near live electrical systems. With 16% of all fatalities at work being electricity related, and the average fine for health and safety offences trebling over the last 2 years, it’s more important than ever to be compliant with the Electricity at Work Regulations when working on our near live electrical system. Following simple safe isolation procedures and using the correct equipment can keep you and your team safe and avoid heavy penalties for non-compliance.

The six steps to safe isolation are:

until all padlocks have been released.

1. Disconnect all loads 2. Locate the source of supply 3. Isolate the source of supply. Lock off and place warning signs 4. Prove your voltage indicator using a proving unit 5. Test the supply is isolated 6. Re-prove the voltage indicator using a proving unit

Cable loop length can be easily adjusted and locked in place through a simple squeeze action of the grip prior to securing with a PAD10 padlock.

The New CABLOK Series

The new range of adjustable cable lockouts make it easy to ensure all types of circuits can be de-energised and properly isolated prior to maintenance of plant and equipment, preventing potentially fatal accidents and enabling compliance with HSG85 Electricity at Work Regulations.

The three new CABLOKs provide installers and maintenance teams with a simple and reliable solution for locking off multiple breakers, switches and valves, to prevent the re-energising of circuits and systems during maintenance as part of a safe isolation procedure. The latest range of adjustable cable lockouts feature a flexible PVC-insulated steel cable which is simple to thread and can be easily adjusted to suit the required length before locking off with a simple squeeze action. Incorporating a built-in safety hasp, and with space for up to six padlocks to be securely fixed, the CABLOK enables multiple operatives to safely work on the same system at the same time. For additional safety, the system cannot be re-energised

PECM Issue 35

Suitable for both the electrical and industrial market, the new ergonomically designed CABLOK series is available with 1m, 3m and 5m cable lengths and is compatible with all Martindale padlocks.

The CABLOK1BL, CABLOK3BL and CABLOK5BL are available to purchase separately or as part of a kit.

For more information, please contact Martindale Electric on 01923 441717 or visit www.martindale-electric.co.uk/

RMIG is the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of perforated metal and its related products. We know our customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirements for price and quality and meet their demands with uncompromising service. Not only do we offer standard and bespoke perforated metal sheets, we are able to offer you a range of secondary operations as detailed below. Complete solutions With a continued investment in the latest equipment and a network of professional partners we are able to produce prime quality products and solutions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from a simple perforated sheet to the fully formed and coated custom made part.

Levelling For some applications a high degree of flatness is required, we have processes in place to ensure our perforated coils and sheets meet with your most demanding requirements. Rolling and forming We can roll, bend and form perforated sheets to match your design. Aesthetic finishes and protective coating We can offer powder coating and hot dip galvanizing solutions to meet your specifications. For more information please contact us www.rmig.com email: info.uk@rmig.com Tel: 01925 839610

Cutting We can cut and shape perforated sheet to meet the needs of your final application.

Issue 35 PECM

ROBOTICS

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED ACCUTRONICS

WHY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO IGNORE ROBOT BATTERIES One of the key reasons for using an industrial robot to automate a process is to improve product quality, through increased reliability and accuracy. But for robots to be truly reliable and safe, engineers should ensure they have the correct power solutions. Here, Michele Windsor, global marketing manager at robot battery specialist Ultralife Corporation, explains the impact poor design and integration of batteries can have on industrial robots. In a survey conducted by the journal Science Robotics, researchers revealed that power and energy sources represent one of the most challenging areas of robotics research. With a multitude of potential applications, this is particularly important for robots operating outside the confines of a cage, untethered from an electrical outlet and working alongside human employees. For instance, autonomous mobile robots and automated guided vehicles, such as Omron’s series of LD self navigating autonomous intelligent vehicles and Kuka’s KMR series of mobile robots have become commonplace sites at trade shows and in industry. Because they can’t constantly connect to a power supply like a traditional industrial robot, their power requirements are far more complex. The report goes on to say, “Beyond the currently available commercial technologies such as lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries, there has already been extensive research on developing next-generation technologies such as fuel cells and supercapacitors”.

LOSING IT ALL

If any robot, collaborative, mobile or traditional, were to lose power mid-application, it can have a devastating effect. For industries such as food and beverage or pharmaceuticals, downtime can result in loss of product and profit. For robots in the medical sector, loss of power could result in surgeons having to operate manually, which may not be as accurate, in-turn increasing potential risk. More likely, it would result in the surgery being cancelled. In addition, power failure can also mean a robot loses calibration and mastering values. Calibration establishes the parameters in the kinematic structure of a robot, such as the position of its joints, toolcentre-point (TCP) positions and joint lengths.

KNOWING ITS ORIGINS

A robot’s origin position is a vital part of the set-up process because it instructs the machine on what position it should return to when it rests. The memory for where each axis should be is stored in the robot battery. Without the position, every path trajectory will be off, resulting in inaccurate actions that can damage equipment or even hurt nearby workers. If the battery fails mid-process, the operator must re-programme the robot’s origin position before restarting the application. Retraining can take a considerable amount of time to ensure all axes are aligned correctly, resulting in further production downtime.

PECM Issue 35

To avoid the need for re-programming and retraining, operators should ensure that the robot returns to its origin position when it powers down. This means that should the battery fail during start up, the robot is already in its origin position.

ADDRESSING POWER NEEDS

As robots become increasingly more intuitive, their power demands also become significantly greater. To complete more complex tasks robots may be fitted with an array of sensors to detect variations in light, sound, temperature, and distance. Each of these sensors places a greater demand on power, meaning a more effective solution may be required. When considering potential battery options for your robot, there are several options available, however Li-Ion (lithium-ion battery), Li-Poly (lithium polymer) and NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) are normally considered to be the most suitable for robots with high power requirements. Ultralife Corporation has designed a range of primary, nonrechargeable lithium thionyl chloride and lithium manganese dioxide cells and batteries to provide further long-term power solutions. As with all batteries, regular testing is vital to ensure they do not die unexpectedly. While industrial robots continue to improve productivity, competitiveness and overall process automation, if they are not supplied with adequate power manufacturers could face additional problems. When a design engineer or systems integrator begins work on a new robot project, he or she should consider power supply at the outset, to ensure that the project bears fruit in the way the end user would want. www.ultralifecorporation.com

ONLINE LEARNING

ASPIRING TO BECOME A CHARTERED ENGINEER? Study our online MSc Professional Engineering course, recognised by a wide range of engineering institutes including IET and IMechE, to achieve a Masters qualification and further learning to support your application for Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. Choosing to study online allows you to achieve a qualification alongside your personal and professional commitments, from anywhere in the world.

Start Jan, May or Sep 2019 Call 01332 594000 derby.ac.uk/engineering

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH…

Litre Meter now distribute the Lake Monitors range of VA meters for a variety of applications including bidirectional flow, high temperature and high pressure. The Basic unit is rated to 116°C and 240 bar in brass. High temperature versions rated

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to 315°C and high pressure versions to 410 bar are in stainless steel. There are versions for pneumatics, hydraulic test analysis and phosphate ester measurement, too. Call today. www.litremeter.com

Issue 35 PECM

ADDITION MANUFACTURING

ADDITION MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES EXPANDS BEND TOOL PRODUCTION CAPABILITIES IN PRESTON, UK OPERATION

World-leading tube bending and endforming specialist Addition Manufacturing Technologies is expanding production capabilities by adding a manufacturing cell for precision bending tools in its UK location. Nicolas Dunand, GM Sales, states “It is important that we grow with

the constantly evolving customer needs. By installing another tooling production cell in this location we will reduce logistics costs and transit time for European customers. Precision tooling is at the heart of every manufacturing process and we understand the critical role quality tooling performs in every bending process.”

For more information, please visit www.go.additionmt.com bendingtools or contact Jennifer Rankin, Global Marketing Manager: Tel: +1 513 228 7079 or Email: jrankin@additionmt.com

PECM Issue 35

THE FUTURE IS DERBY PAVED BY COLLABORATION, EXPERIENCE & FRESH PERSPECTIVES The University of Derby Online Learning’s Dr. Justin Steele-Davies, Academic Lead for Engineering, offers his perspective on the Engineering industry and how the catalyst of new great ideas can come from people sharing their experience and perspectives in an online learning environment. Justin explains “As the Manufacturing Engineering sector develops there will always be challenges with the constant drive to implement innovation within a business. Having both new graduates and time served engineers on our online courses working closely together in a virtual learning environment creates excellent opportunities for discussion around practical applications whilst having direct relevance to the workplace. A collaborative student community of engineers at different stages in their careers and from a wide range of backgrounds, each sharing their experiences and perspectives to broaden one another’s understanding of the Engineering field.

To keep up to date with the industries ever changing demand the University of Derby will also launch its new MSc Civil Engineering online course in January 2019.

www.derby.ac.uk UDOLenquiries@derby.ac.uk

Dash Dynamics – Your answer for Branding and Control Panels Dash Dynamics understand the need for clear, easily understood graphics for Machinery and Branding. Using the latest design, printing and doming techniques we work alongside your business to create Resin Domed badges for use on panels and equipment to enhance their appearance and give accurate information on their use. Product branding also requires a bespoke look, that’s where the use of quality Resin Domed sets your products above the normal. Need low volume production runs, a fast turnaround time? That’s no problem. We are happy to work with single badges and we usually can manufacture and ship the following day. Need higher volume? Just get in touch and we will be happy to offer you a quotation. Website: www.dashdynamics.co.uk Email: info@dashdynamics.co.uk Tel: 01995 606 158

Extensive Tests Prove the Suitability of Heraeus Infra-Red for Curing Speciality Coatings from Whitford Ltd

Special overhead crane project

A series of comprehensive tests carried out at the Heraeus Noblelight Applications Centre in Neston, Wirral, in conjunction with Whitford Ltd, have demonstrated that Whitford’s Xylan® coatings are capable of being cured more quickly with Infrared than by using conventional, large footprint, hot air convection ovens. Specifically, Infrared offers the benefits of reduced process times and energy costs. Investigations are currently ongoing for using Infrared heating in the coating repair market in the offshore and chemical processing sectors.

The treatment facilty comprised of a number of dipping tanks in a line 30 metres long. The crane system would need to lift a large cage containing production items from the floor to a height that just cleared the tanks and it would them travel along the line of tanks lowering the cage into any particular tank and releasing it. The crane would also of course have to recover and relocate the cage after treatment.

Linian Crane and Hoist Company were asked to design a bespoke lifting system for a sizable metal treatment facility that was being manufactured by a client of theirs.

It was decided that a completely free standing gantry system be installed and that two cranes would be supplied each to carry a load of up to 5 tonnes. Ian Watson, Managing Director of Linian Crane and Hoist Company, said “This is yet another great example of Linian’s ability to tailor bespoke lifting solutions to customer’s individual and specific requirements”.

Heraeus specialises in the production and application of high quality energy sources covering the electro-magnetic spectrum from ultraviolet to infra-red.

The client commented “ A very impressive performance from Ian and the team at Linian Cranes, we are delighted with the end result “.

www.heraeus-infraredsolutions.co.uk Tel - 0151 353 2710 Fax – 0151 353 2719

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Issue 35 PECM

EDITOR’S CHOICE

ISHIDA FLEXGRADER ISHIDA

ISHIDA FLEXGRADER INCREASES THROUGHPUT

The installation of two Ishida FlexGraders at leading Hungarian poultry processor Tranzit Food has enabled the company to nearly double capacity with the same number of line operators. The FlexGraders are grading packed duck and goose – both whole birds and pieces – into specified fixed weights for Tranzit’s retail customers. Each pack is individually weighed and then diverted to a series of packing stations, according to its weight, where it is placed into a transit case for onward supply. The 20 station FlexGrader is able to handle around 80 packs per minute, giving it the capacity to process around 3,600 ducks and 1,600 geese every hour, compared with the 2,000 and 1,000 birds delivered by the previous manual system. Line operators are assigned three or four stations, where the packs are placed into the cartons and an outer case label is produced.

PECM Issue 35

The system also has the flexibility to weigh and grade each pack by its individual weight where customers do not require fixed weights.

Ishida has been a very good partner to work with, with constructive suggestions, as well as providing excellent training for our operators.”

Packs sizes vary from 700g to 1200g for individual pieces and 1400g to 6500g for whole birds. Any pack not within the specified tolerances for a particular run is diverted to a special bin so that it can re-weighed.

Tranzit reports that the Ishida FlexGrader is simple to use. Changeovers between birds can be done in less than a minute by calling up the required specification on the user-friendly Remote Control Unit, and tolerances can also be adjusted while the FlexGrader is in operation. The hygienic open frame design allows fast and easy cleaning, which takes place at the end of each shift.

The Ishida line, supplied by Ishida Hungarian agent MasterQuality, was specifically designed for Tranzit Food’s requirements. “We originally considered a 16 station FlexGrader,” explains Ferenc Botos of Tranzit Food. “However, in discussions with Ishida to explain what we wanted to achieve, we opted for a 20 station solution and the company designed the system to meet our requirements and to maximise use of the available space in the factory.

The FlexGrader is operating two shifts, five days a week, with an extra shift on every second Saturday. Output is up to 28,000 birds per shift. “Reliability has also been good and in the event of any issue, we receive excellent support and back-up from Ishida,” continues Ferenc Botos.

The Tranzit factory at Debrecen, which was acquired by the company in 2010, represents a major expansion of its business which has seen it continue to build its market share in key export markets for its market-leading Goldenfood brand.

“In our market, the need for accurate weighing remains constant but packaging and pack styles are continually changing, so you need reliability, flexibility and responsiveness in any weighing system, which is what Ishida provides.”

“We consider Ishida to be the Rolls Royce of the machinery market,” says Ákos Szabó, Tranzit Food’s Executive Director. “If you want quality, you have to be prepared to pay for it.

For this reason, Tranzit Foods is looking to continue to invest in Ishida as it seeks to further increase the speed of its poultry processing operations.

Tranzit Group The Tranzit Group is a family-run business established in 1990. Its main business is waterfowl – duck and goose – breeding, providing a fully integrated operation that covers breeding, hatching, feed mixing, raising, slaughtering, processing and sales. Tel: 44 121 607 7700 Fax: 44 121 607 7740 Email: torsten.giese@ishidaeurope.com www.ishidaeurope.com

Craven & Co Ltd Delivering storage and handling solutions that are expertly made in Britain, Craven & Co provide high quality stainless steel, nylon or aluminium equipment. From their North Yorkshire factory, Craven’s standard products include a range of shelving and trolleys perfect for catering and food manufacturing operations. They also pride themselves on offering tailor made bespoke products, providing a solution to suit all customers and environments. Craven place emphasis on producing exceptional products that are built to last, combining impressive craftsmanship and manufacturing capabilities with high-grade materials to supply expertly fabricated, Britishmade products. For over 60 years Craven have been providing storage and handling solutions for catering, foodservice, retail, healthcare, industrial, education environments and more. To find out more visit www.craven-solutions.com

Hire compressors for immediate delivery throughout UK from BOGE Compressors

Air Management & Design Ltd Staffordshire based Company, AMD was formed in 1998 by Mr S D Evans. This highly skilled, modern driven company has a long and successful history of designing, manufacturing and installing ductwork and fabrication solutions for diverse industries with applications to suit customer projects and requirements.

BOGE has expanded its offering to include a short and long-term rental service. Ideal for breakdowns, planned shutdowns and short/ medium term increase in production demands, the compressed air systems can be delivered within hours all around the UK.

In 2011 the Company identified a niche in the Bio-energy Industry. The Company now has extensive experience in the containment and biological treatment of odours from varying fields, designing anaerobic digestion systems to reduce odour emissions to levels of acceptance by DEFRA. The Company also specialises in general Sheetmetal work fabrications.

The service is also an affordable alternative to owning and maintaining compressors. Companies can hire a range of industrial air compressors including oil lubricated and oil free screw compressors from 1 to 480HP. Mark Whitmore, General Manager, comments: “Renting a compressor is increasingly popular in sectors such as food and beverage, packaging and general engineering, as companies realise that it’s a cost effective and flexible option whether it’s for long term use or an urgent short-term need for replacement or additional compressed air.”

www.air-md.co.uk

www.boge.co.uk

Advanced Gas Detection Made Simple Here at IGD we have launched the new TOC625 MICRO, a multi-channel gas detection system, that can be configured with up to 6 detectors and 2 relay options. With 1 click automatic setup, deploying a gas detection system has never been easier. The system is designed with advanced automatic set-up features. Once installed, all that is required to set-up the system is one click of a button. Addressable gas detection systems allow you to quickly deploy an effective safety solution.

The controller features auto-setup functions which enables auto-configuration of the gas detection system alarm levels, gas types and ranges. The systems allow for the use of pre-calibrated detectors. Only a single cable is required to interconnect the controller, detectors and relay modules. Addressable gas detection systems of this type typically save up to 70% on installation costs. Furthermore the 625 MICRO can be easily integrated into any fire system or BMS system allowing for a fast, flexible and complete safety system.

There is also a pre-wired version of the system using plug and socketed cables (TOC-625MCP). This version allows for installation by people with no gas detection experience. Cables are available in 1m, 3m and 10m lengths which can be interconnected to make specific length cable runs. 625 MICRO is ideal for a wide variety of applications that require a small gas detection system, these can include: • • • • • • • •

Boiler plant rooms Breweries: Micro breweries Pub Cellars Small laboratories Commercial Kitchens Schools: including: craft rooms, laboratory rooms, boiler rooms and class rooms for CO2 monitoring. Underground carparks

Introductory Video link: https://youtu.be/Q_s_fa3hz2A

PECM Issue 35

Working in Confined Space and Local Exhaust Ventilation The combination of dependable power and practical design makes the Miniveyor Air VAF series fans and ventilators from VAF Air Ltd the professional choice for portable dust and fume extraction. Rivalling the more common metal bodied fans, the VAF range can outperform them and offer many more advantages. Designed with a twin wall, rotationally moulded fan body, made from high density polythene, means the products can absorb bangs frequently experienced with industrial use, eliminating costly maintenance procedures. Compare this with conventional metal bodied fans that typically don’t last very long in the workplace, as the sheet metal bodied fans tend to dent easily when knocked, so they will need replacing. The plastic moulded fans from VAF Air are highly resistant

so they can last a much longer time. Additionally, all the parts are replaceable so if anything does get damaged then they can be changed easily. As they are stackable, less storage space is taken up, and large handles enable effortless manoeuvrability. Anti-skid rubber feet ensure steady operation, and the rugged build of the machines means they are durable and weather resistant. The portable Miniveyor Air VAF series fans from VAF Air work on both positive and negative air flow, so are equally at home extracting as well as blowing and are great for ventilating confined work spaces. When working in confined spaces it is recommended that you change the air at least 20 times per hour,

or once every 3 minutes, and that you not only extract the air but also utilize a blower to push clean air into the work space. The recently launched VAF-EF400 is designed to push large volumes of air into a hard to reach areas or through ducting. Driven by a precision balanced, cast aluminium 17 blade turbo impeller, the VAFEF400 delivers a whopping 10,360 m³ of air per hour. For work areas where an intrinsically safe solution is required then the air driven, VAF-300P and our *New VAF400P pneumatic fans are the answer, coupled with Static Conductive flexible ducting, they can provide up to 7500 m³ per hour air flow. Both the pneumatic fans are supplied with a mounted filter, regulator and lubricator for trouble free operation.

WWW.VAF-AIR.COM Issue 35 PECM

AUTOMOTIVE

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ACTIFY

DATA DISCOVERY TO INCREASE ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY

At a time when data is considered a business asset, traditional data management systems will not add value, but will generate additional costs. The success of manufacturing companies will be defined by the way they harness their data, transformed into usable business knowledge. Actify believes that manufacturing companies have enormous, and often untapped, potential which is hidden and unused within various business systems. Necessary data no longer resides within one application. Organizations have several structured siloed data sources (systems and databases such as; CAD, ERP, cost accounting systems and warranty databases.) Multiple data sources, countless different file types and disparate files scattered across network drives and geographic locations provides a growing challenge to govern and manage data within your organization. Furthermore, product data is hidden within CAD files such as Product Manufacturing Information, GD&T, etcetera. The challenge we’ve observe is not about generating more data, it’s about accessing the existing disparate data and gaining insight. Have we produced something like this before? Or, how much did we quote for this last time? Etc. Time is valuable, and your work force is busier than

PECM Issue 35

ever. Is your organization truly achieving progress? Or, are your workers wasting valuable time searching for crucial information? Release your hidden product data with data discovery. Centro provides greater enterprise visibility and disparate data visibility, implementing controls and tools to react and respond to opportunities and insights identified through a connected manufacturing infrastructure. Centro can standardize your data in a user-friendly and easily accessible format and enables the organization to leverage available product data for increased productivity and organizational agility. If companies want to increase their organizational agility, a new approach is required. When businesses strive for the way things used to be, rather than adapting to the way things are, they fail. Many small and medium-sized businesses shy away from smart data projects due to the perceived costs and complexities. The sooner you embrace your data, the sooner you can start adding real value to your business. Companies need to expand their digital vision and embrace more up-to-date solutions enabling new levels of efficiency based on industry best practices. Visit www.actify.com to learn more.

Actify is passionate about using business intelligence to make manufacturing companies smarter by harnessing the product data trapped in all their data sources. At Actify we provide a set of business solutions designed to support the creation, management, dissemination and collaborative use of product data (i.e. product definition information including BOM structures, CAD files, specifications, requirements, manufacturing instructions, etc.). Many of today’s manufacturing companies store their data in line-of-business systems like PLM, ERP and Excel spreadsheets, but not everyone has access to these systems, and the user interface may be cumbersome for the casual user. Actify solves this challenge by enabling cross-department collaboration, data management and quick access to extended product data that can help make critical business decisions faster. We believe that software tools can provide tremendous benefits especially for manufacturing companies, through the intelligent use of their available data and through automating mundane processes. Contact Actify for more information. Visit: www.actify.com Email: sales@actify.com

Today

Traditional enterprise application

Hidden data

Disruption

Actify

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ERP

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AUTOMOTIVE

DRIVE-BY-WIRE-SYSTEMS AB DYNAMICS

AB DYNAMICS WORKS WITH VOLVO CARS TO CARRY OUT ADVANCED TESTING USING INNOVATIVE DRIVE-BY-WIRE SYSTEM, FLEX-0 Volvo Cars is now conducting advanced vehicle testing using an innovative drive-by-wire technology from leading test system supplier, AB Dynamics. Flex-0 enables vehicles to be driven directly through the CAN bus, without the need for a human driver or robot. This represents a significant step forward, greatly simplifying installation and test processes, reducing costs and minimising the amount of test hardware required within the vehicle.

system, data logger and a motion pack. Together, these can control a vehicle safely, repeatably and more accurately than a human test driver – to within 20mm. This level of accuracy and repeatability is achievable thanks to AB Dynamics’ best-in-class path-following and speed control. Flex-0 maintains this precise control without the requirement for robots in a number of common vehicle test applications.

Conventionally, hardware installed for an objective vehicle test would include a steering robot, pedal robots, control

“Many modern cars have the capability to be controlled by wire, allowing the Flex-0 to drive them as though they had

PECM Issue 35

robots fitted. This opens up opportunities to use our Path Following and Synchro technology to perform many types of tests for which you’d otherwise need robots,” explains Jeremy Ash, Commercial Manager, AB Dynamics. “Typically, by-wire control is tightly secured by the vehicle manufacturer to avoid security concerns. For this reason, we generally output in a standardised format which allows manufacturers to implement their own conversion to suit the vehicle, and this has been shown to work particularly well.”

The confidentiality of CAN command formats means robot actuators are still required for competitor vehicle testing, or tests undertaken by third party agencies. They will also remain the preferred choice for vehicle dynamics tests involving extreme steering inputs – where the steering forces required for the manoeuvre cannot be delivered by the vehicle’s power steering when commanded by-wire. This means Flex0 and robot actuators are complementary technologies. A new film has been made with the help of Volvo Cars that shows a range of applications for the Flex-0 controller, which can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lIhppTde3VA In addition to the applications shown in the video, the Flex-0 has the potential to be a key tool for testing autonomous vehicles. As the industry learns more about the testing and validation requirements for such systems, there will be a need to conduct tests that safely replicate real-world roadscapes and situations. “Testing autonomous vehicles requires complex traffic scenarios involving multiple vehicles,” says Ash. “For these tests, GSTs (Guided Soft Targets) can be used where there is potential for a collision – other ‘background’ traffic, with low risk of collision, can be populated by regular cars using Flex-0 as a cost and time-effective solution.” The Flex-0 controller can also be used in many of the test scenarios that would normally employ robot actuators instead of human drivers to reduce the risk of injury or fatigue, or to improve accuracy and repeatability. These include durability testing, ADAS development (for example the Euro NCAP AEB test procedure) and some vehicle dynamics tests. The Flex-0 was demonstrated at CenexLCV 2018 and will also feature at the Leane ADAS Seminar and Workshop in Italy on the 18th of September. For more information on the Leane event, please visit leaneautomotive.com.

About AB Dynamics AB Dynamics is an automotive test system supplier with a diverse range of track and lab testing equipment. From Kinematics & Compliance machines and ADAS targets to state-of-the-art driving simulators, AB Dynamics supplies the 25 most successful car manufacturers in the world. If you would like to learn more about AB Dynamics and its products, please visit ABDynamics.com

Issue 35 PECM

DASH DYNAMICS

DOMED CAR & AUTO BADGES All our domed car badges are manufactured to Automotive specifications. The adhesive is suitable for use as wheel centre and bezels or directly to body work.

Bespoke Badge Manufacturers We supply a wide range of domed badges for all industries which can be customised to include your own design, logo and details. We offer a full print and dome service for manufacturers wishing to enhance their products. We can print directly from your supplied vector artwork or hi-res PDFs. All our products are tailor made to your requirements and ideally suited for all control panel and product marketing, even in harsh environments. For a cost effective and professional way to brand and personalise your products for your market or application contact us by phone or email with your requirements. Small Production Runs Here at Dash Dynamics, unlike many of our competitors, we specialise in small production runs. So if you just need a series of machine panels for a new prototype or low production run, then simply send us your artwork and we’ll get on with it. All at a realistic price. Turnaround time is fast! In most cases, if you order before 11.00am, the order will be produced the same day and after overnight curing it will be sent the following day via first class post or carrier depending on size. International orders are accepted too.

www.dashdynamics.co.uk

The inks used are either solvent or latex based depending on application. The resin used for the domed badges is a stable twopart polyurethane. The finished product will not go cloudy and UV stable so they will not fade in sunlight. The scratch resistant surface will ensure your logo will remain clear and visible for years to come. We can produce in a number of different finishes such as Silver, Chrome, Gold, White, Brushed Aluminium, Etc... Whatever you require.

Small Production Runs info@dashdynamics.co.uk

01995 606 158

Here at Dash Dynamics, unlike many of our competitors, we specialise in small production runs. So if you just need a set of wheel centres for your newly purchased or refurbished alloy wheels, then no problem.

Turnaround time is fast! In most cases, if you order before 1.00pm, the order will be produced the same day and after overnight curing it will be sent the following day via first class post or carrier depending on size. International orders are accepted too.

Size matters For larger trade bulk orders, rates improve. Feel free to pick up the phone and call us on 01995 606 158 or email us at info@dashdynamics.co.uk for costs against volume. www.dashdynamics.co.uk

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www.humiditysolutions.co.uk 46

PECM Issue 35

Service & Maintenance

AUTOMOTIVE ENGINERING

BESPOKE HUMIDITY CONTROL HUMIDITY SOLUTIONS

HUMIDITY SOLUTIONS SYSTEMS REDUCE GLUING TIME FOR SPECIALIST FABRIC PRODUCER

Humidity Solutions has delivered a bespoke humidity control solution to specialist automotive supplier Uniroyal Global to support the company’s productivity and quality control. Uniroyal Global supplies an extensive range of products to automotive companies and had recently won a large contract to supply fabrics to one of world’s largest car makers. Manufacturing these products involves gluing different materials, which requires precise humidity control to optimise curing time. Having seen Humidity Solutions’ Airtec humidifiers in a similar environment, Uniroyal Development Chemist Dr Sam Hill invited the company to visit site to determine the best solution. Having identified optimum conditions of 60% relative humidity at 23⁰C, Humidity Solutions designed, installed and commissioned a system comprising an

Airtec high pressure humidification system serving seven Hydro Trio spray heads. In order to fit in with Uniroyal Global’s production schedules, the system was installed and commissioned within around 10 days. Dr Hill commented: “We are very pleased with the quality of the system and support we received from Humidity Solutions. It has had a significant impact on our production processes with curing time reduced from three days to just 24 hours.” The Airtec modular, high pressure humidification system injects water into the air under pressure through multi-directional, fan-assisted nozzles. The high pressure ensures the water is atomised and absorbed rapidly into the air. The nozzle fan heads are about the same size as a CCTV camera, making the system very unobtrusive and easily retrofitted in existing buildings.

For further information please visit www.humiditysolutions.co.uk Issue 35 PECM

AUTOMOTIVE

THE EUROPEAN AFTERMARKET KLARIUS

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET?

Klarius is continuously expanding its UK manufactured high-quality product range, and now counts over 10,000 items in its range. The automotive aftermarket is undergoing major changes in Europe and worldwide due to market maturity, evolving customer preferences and expectations, advances in engineering and logistics technology. Doug Bentley, Research & Development Manager at Klarius Products Ltd, looks at the future challenges for the European automotive aftermarket and how to address them. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of scheduled servicing and preventive maintenance.

PECM Issue 35

in order to increase the service life of their vehicles. In fact, the average car age keeps increasing in Europe, and reached approximately 11 years in 20151. This situation is favourable to some innovative aftermarket parts and services providers and they have been experiencing increases in revenue and profitability. However, a number of trends are continuing to push the automotive aftermarket and servicing sector to reshape its current practices, adopt new business models and provide better B2B and B2C services.

A major trend influencing the aftermarket industry is market growth and consolidation. The aftermarket in Europe remains one of the biggest global markets when it comes to value, with over â&#x201A;Ź190 billion [ÂŁ160 billion] in sales in 20152. However, it is a mature market characterised by consistent volumes and low growth rates. Therefore, mergers, acquisitions and collaborations among part distributors and buying groups are expected to continue and further consolidate the business as they extend their footprint.

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automotive OEMs

Sales@Insequence.co.uk +44 (0) 1869-238 080 www.Insequence.com

The European aftermarket is also a highly competitive market, where quality is still an important choice criterion, followed by availability and price. With the online shopping boom hitting the aftermarket sector, an increasing number of customers are using digital channels to compare prices, obtain perspectives on product quality and determine which ones to buy. Consequently, parts ecommerce is increasing price transparency and providing greater diversity of supply. In this competitive ecommerce market, aftermarket suppliers can differentiate themselves from their competitors by providing the quickest delivery service. Same-day delivery, for example, boosting online aftermarket sales by offering the comfort and convenience of online shopping combined with immediate product access of bricks and mortar stores. Klarius monitors its broad range of emission control components and for many distribution customers now supplies through a virtual warehousing system to ensure product availability and stock transparency across all facilities and warehouses. To guarantee a same-day delivery service, having a strong logistics network and management system is key. Therefore, aftermarket retailers can access both main and decentralised warehouses, rely on dedicated delivery fleets and have a realtime from suppliers that have an overview of inventories across their warehouses.

What emerges from these automotive aftermarket trends is that successful initiatives to exploit the potential of this market consist of using changes in the supply infrastructure being driven by manufacturers and distributors. Improving and extending service offering and delivery options, adapting to local requirements and setting-up carefully profiled local stock, while optimizing the planning processes for stock replacement by using supply routes that offer both extensive range and immediate availability. With the aim of providing its customers with this kind of high-quality service, Klarius Products Ltd has been addressing these trends and evolving its business model. Klarius is continuously expanding its UK manufactured high-quality product range, and now counts over 10,000 items in its range. These are available across Europe, where Klarius is constantly setting up new profiled stock locations with a rising number of partners and online retailers. The availability of the entire Klarius range is enhanced through a virtual warehousing system to ensure product availability and flexible stockholding solutions across all facilities and warehouses. Thanks to national and international collaborations, supported by improved local logistics solutions, the company has pioneered ‘next-morning’ delivery from the manufacturer, which is now being extended across Europe.

About Klarius Products Klarius Products is a dedicated Emission Control Products manufacture and supply company servicing primarily the UK and EU markets. The business supplies type approved exhausts, CATs and DPFs designed, developed and manufactured in the UK and delivered via its own logistics operation. Klarius Products operations are centred on the manufacturing, R&D, test track, logistics and stock facility hub based in Cheadle in the UK. www.klarius.eu

AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

QUALITY CG PRODUCTS DOSCH DESIGN

YOUR INNOVATIVE PARTNER FOR A SUCCESSFUL 3D-EXPERIENCE Since 1995 DOSCH DESIGN has been a fixture in quality CG products by staying on the cutting edge in 3D-design, animation, architectural visualizations, print publishing, motion design, etc. With its well-diversified product range DOSCH DESIGN supports CG artists in various fields in their daily work. Especially in the field of Mechanical Engineering, tool making or the automotive industry, 3D-Design has become an indispensable element. Photography can afford incredible, but it also has its limits. This is not least known in mechanical engineering, where custom-made products and often also very large objects are commonplace. In addition, machines are usually moved in assembly halls, which are not suitable as an environment for good photographs. That’s why many companies choose 3D-Design to perfectly showcase their products and services. DOSCH DESIGN has developed a lot of helpful visualization tools that make life easier for designers and have become an integral part of many users’ creative arsenal. The company places great importance on depicting 3D models realistically - no matter whether these relate to manufacturing, engineering, vehicles, buildings, industry,

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medicine, nature or garden, to name but just a few. However, DOSCH DESIGN don’t just leaves it at the mere creation of an individual object; instead, they pay great attention to the many little details around the product. For instance, car models include detailed depictions of brakes, wheels, bumpers, bodywork, doors, seats and the electronics. These details are an important part of marketing for supply companies, developers and manufacturers who want to visualize processes for publications, animations, illustrations or instruction manuals.

DOSCH DESIGNs extensive product range with everything designers need to create the best looking visualizations is divided into the following categories:

DOSCH 3D offers completely textured 3D-models for all popular 3D-applications. Users can select from over 100 products in different areas, like environments, nature, factory and production, product and industrial design, furniture, people or vehicles, to mention just a small selection.

Professional users like automotive designers, architects or CG artists value the detailed and realistic 3D-models, which are great time and cost savers.

DOSCH TEXTURES Seamlessly tileable multi-layer textures for 3D-design, animation, CAD or print applications. Each product provides around 100 depictions which can be applied to 3D models in order to lend them an individual appearance. The textures can readily be used for 3D-visualization, animations, and for all kinds of computer graphics and webdesign uses.

DOSCH HDRI allow users to incorporate highly realistic, complex and stunning lighting in their 3D-scenes.

DOSCH VIZ-IMAGES contain perfect 2D-“cutouts” of people, cars, road elements, etc. Loading DVIs into Photoshop is a breeze, and direct use in 3D-scenes is possible through included planar 3D model. DOSCH DESIGN’s VizImages are compatible with most 2D- and 3D-applications, and the Alpha-Channel provided for each image makes them blend in neatly with just about any background scene.

DOSCH AUDIO support your motion design professionally with quality royalty-free music & sound effects. These loopable audio effects are optimized for the use in advertising, TV-documentaries or trailers, business presentations and as dynamic background music to all types of video-clips, including full-fledged TV & movie scenes.

• are compatible with all popular 3D programs • are tremendous time-savers and productivity boosters • are available at an attractive price, and user benefit further through quantity discounts, as well as through money savings by purchasing special pre-set or custom collections • can be downloaded easily at our Online Shop www.doschdesign.com • are supported by the company through free tutorials and samples, • which can be downloaded easily at www. doschdesign.com/samples.zip • and the overall product range are frequently updated and expanded, • thereby trying to address current user needs and shifts in market trends

FEATURES & BENEFITS

Perfect shadow casting and reflections create new dimensions of realism in any rendering.

DOSCH DESIGN Products

All HDRI products allow CG users to bring 3D-objects to life by instilling their own style.

• are regularly useable “license-free”, which means no further cost or fees are due when used commercially

Dosch Design Kommunikationsagentur GmbH Kirchgasse 1 97828 Marktheidenfeld Germany Tel: 0049 9391 50 70 90 0 Fax: 0049 9391 50 70 90 20 info@doschdesign.com www.doschdesign.com

BOILERS

OVER 120 YEARS OF EXPERTISE CFB BOILERS

THE UK’S LONGEST-STANDING STEAM EXPERT There’s only one steam boiler company that can boast over 120 years of operation, classleading energy-saving solutions, and UKmanufactured steam boilers - CFB Boilers.

TRUSTED EXPERTS We’re the trusted steam specialist for hundreds of companies across tens of industries, all of whom receive quality-engineered, high performance, reliable and energy-efficient steam and hot water solutions. Our credentials for technical excellence and engineering expertise are renowned in the industry, as is our genuine commitment customer service and satisfaction.

PRODUCT INNOVATION Manufacturing class-leading products is in our blood; we were the first steam boiler specialist to manufacture a superior, energy-saving four-pass steam boiler. And we’re the minds behind an innovative reverse osmosis unit which delivers high performance for around half the cost of alternative products on that market.

QUALITY MANUFACTURING As well as manufacturing our flagship steam boiler at our purpose-built facility in Essex, we are the OEM partner for the Bosch range of horizontal boilers, and also supply a wide variety of electric and hot water boilers, ancillary equipment, reverse osmosis (RO), plant rooms and skid assemblies. An independent company, we have complete control over our product range, ensuring the highest standards of equipment manufacturing.

EXPERIENCED ENGINEERS CFB Boilers is a family-owned business that’s been established more than 120 years. All of our engineers benefit from experience that’s been collated over more than a century expertise that then becomes the advantage for our customers.

COMPLETE STEAM SOLUTIONS CFB Boilers offers a complete range of specialist steam services, from design and installation to maintenance and repair. We pride ourselves on delivering exemplary customer service, fast quotation response, quick order turnarounds, and competitive pricing as standard.

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www.steamboilers.co.uk

Issue 35 PECM

Fulton’s VSRT now benefits from a 10 - year warranty! Fulton’s VSRT steam boiler, which already boasts ultra-low NOx emissions and high efficiencies, now comes with a 10-year “unparalleled” warranty on the pressure vessel, double that of the industry standard. Commenting, Fulton’s Leigh Bryan says: “The VSRT’s unique spiral-rib design creates a longer-lasting boiler that we believe will beat the competition in every category of durability so we have decided to include a 10-year warranty on the pressure vessel as standard!” The patented spiral-rib heat exchanger design not only allows Fulton to improve boiler efficiency but, with virtually zero thermal stress and a thick-walled construction featuring vertical tubeless design architecture, the VSRT is one of the most durable steam boilers available. For further information on the VSRT Series, call Fulton on +44 (0)117 972 3322, email sales@fulton.co.uk or visit www.fulton.co.uk.

Specialist food processing company gains from Lanemark process gas heating expertise South Wales based Express Contract Drying (ECD) is now gaining from Lanemark Combustion Engineering’s gas burner technology on a series of drying operations. “We supply dried food flavourings and colourings via five process lines which create an emulsion that is then heated by Lanemark’s duct (DB) burners,” says Nick Ball, Operations Director at ECD. “It is vital we control the heated air temperature to reflect variations such as volume, type of emulsion and the nozzle size.” Each Lanemark installation can deliver required temperatures of between 180°C and 200°C, with excellent heat up and temperature stability characteristics. The systems demonstrate the suitability of Lanemark’s process gas burners to deliver precise process heating objectives in specialist sectors of the food processing industry.

Full steam ahead with help from Riello Riello has donated an RL34 oil burner to the Internal Fire Museum in Cardigan for use in the first of its steam halls. The burner is fitted to a Beel VFB boiler donated by Cochran UK. The Internal Fire Museum was founded in 2003 to cover the history and use of large engines in the 20th Century. Engines are run every day, with at least six engines running all day, and exhibits include the oldest daily working diesel engine in the world. The first of the steam halls, where the Riello burner is in use, was opened in April 2018. The Museum’s Paul Evans commented: “The steam hall has seen a fantastic show of help from companies such as Riello and Cochran. Without the generous assistance of these companies the museum would not have been able to complete the project on schedule.” For further information visit www.rielloburners.co.uk

www.lanemark.com

Gas Process Burners Lanemark gas burner systems offer users reliable, high efficiency, process heating solutions. FD Series Packaged Oven/Dryer Burners Specifically designed for process air heating applications in convection ovens and dryers High turndown/short flame lengths providing accurate process temperature control High efficiency gas + air modulation, gas only modulation and simple high/low control options Heat Input Range: 9 kW – 1550 kW

• • • • FD-C high turndown oven/

FD-E low cost high turndown

dryer air heating burners.

oven/dryer air heating burners.

FD-GA modulating gas + air process air heating burners.

TX Series Gas Fired Process Tank Heating Systems High efficiency (80%+) heating of all types of spray and dip process tanks Compact high efficiency small diameter immersion tube heat exchangers occupying minimum tank space Accurate performance modelling using Lanemark TxCalc design software Heat Input Range: 15 kW (1½") – 1150 kW (8")

• • • •

Midco HMA Series Air Replacement or “Make-Up” Air Heating Burners Direct fired, high efficiency burner systems, for high volume air heating applications such as paint spray booths, ovens and dryers. Supplied either as Midco burner heads for OEM system integration or as Lanemark DB or FDB complete packaged systems including modulating gas valve trains and controls Wide range of firing rates to suit alternative temperature rise and air velocity system requirements DbCalc system design software

• • •

Midco HMA high efficiency,

high turndown, air replacement or “make-up” air heating burners.

TX high efficiency small diameter immersion tube tank heating systems.

Lanemark Combustion Engineering Limited Lanemark House, Whitacre Road, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV11 6BW United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 24 7635 2000 Fax: +44 (0) 24 7634 1166 E-mail: info@lanemark.com www.lanemark.com

54 PECM Issue 35 X4620 Lanemark Ad SDAW.indd 1

•

COMBUSTION ENGINEERING

31/08/2016 09:04

NEWS

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! IET

GIVING CHILDREN THE CHANCE TO ‘ENGINEER A MUSIC VIDEO’ FOR NEW HOPE CLUB The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has teamed up with iconic BBC television show Blue Peter to offer children the chance to design and engineer aspects of their very own music video for British pop-rock band New Hope Club. Winners will get to meet the band, as well as actively participate in engineering the music video; from designing the storyboard for one of its key scenes to receiving mentorship from industry experts to perform the roles of lighting, video and production engineers on set. New Hope Club has been one of the UK’s most hotlytipped bands since releasing their debut EP Welcome to the Club in May 2017. Fresh from headlining this summer’s CBBC Summer Social and supporting The Vamps on their recent world tour, eager fans will now get to join their idols, Blake, George and Reece, on set as they shoot the music video for a special exclusive festive song. Despite the breadth of sectors that the engineering industry supports, research by the IET[1] has shown that children view engineers in ‘Bob the Builder’ form, donning hard hats (44%), high vis jackets (40%), using protective eyewear and carrying a toolbox (37%). In reality, this couldn’t be further from the image of a 21st century engineer, working in sectors from aerospace to computing and music production to motorsports. This incredible competition is set to break down these stereotypes and misconceptions of engineering roles and show children just how thrilling the industry can be.

comes to developing a music video and this is an incredible opportunity for fans to learn more about what these ingenious people do when on-set. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!” It is well documented that the UK faces a nationwide skills shortage. 203,000 people with engineering skills will be required each year to meet demand through to 2024, but it’s estimated that there will be an annual shortfall of 59,000 engineers and technicians to fill these roles[2]. Through initiatives like this competition, the Institution of Engineering and Technology is continuously working to excite and motivate young people about the industry and to inspire a new generation of engineering enthusiasts. Orla Murphy, former IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to see the variation that the engineering industry offers and to educate them about the impact and influence that engineers have on the world today. As an engineer and musician, I combined my two passions into a rewarding career at Jaguar Land Rover. Engineers support many of the world’s biggest industries, from computing and construction to sports and entertainment. “Music video sets are usually reserved for artists and industry professionals only, so it is an enormous privilege to be able to offer young people this unrivalled access to help design, engineer and direct New Hope Club to bring their fantastic new Christmas track to life. I hope it inspires young minds to consider studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and the exciting possibilities engineering careers present.”

Children aged 6-15 can enter the competition by submitting a storyboard for a short scene for the upcoming video where New Hope Club will be seen decorating their Christmas tree, and describing the key camera, lighting and design elements involved. Entrants are also asked to write about their favourite engineer and the impact they have had on the world. Elements of the winning storyboard will be incorporated into the final video, with the winner and two runners’ up joining New Hope Club on-set to receive mentorship and perform key roles in its production.

The competition, ‘Lights, Camera, Action’, is open for entry from now until 12 noon on 3October. The prize for the winning entry is the inclusion of the winning storyboard in the final music video, attendance at the video shoot with New Hope Club and mentorship and coaching from industry professionals to perform key engineering roles on-set. The winner will be joined by two runners’ up at the video shoot who will also experience and carry-out the roles of engineering professionals during the shoot.

Reece Bibby from New Hope Club said, “We’re incredibly excited and proud to be working with Blue Peter and the IET to offer children the chance to design and engineer our surprise Christmas song. Engineers play a key role when it

For more information on how to enter, please visit www.bbc.co.uk/bluepeter. New Hope Club will perform the song exclusively for the first time live on Blue Peter on 20 December 2018. Issue 35 PECM

CABLES

STAMP OF APPROVAL ELAND CABLES

WHAT MAKES A BSI KITEMARK TESTED CABLE DIFFERENT?

When specifying a cable, whether for use within equipment you manufacture or for projects you have commissioned, what do you look for? What distinguishes the best from the rest? In a competitive marketplace where everyone says they have the stock availability and speed of delivery, how do you make sure you have also balanced the demands for quality and compliance? The BSI KitemarkTM has long been a trusted quality certification mark identifying products and services that have been successfully assessed against a demanding list of criteria. It’s recognised both in the UK and around the world. It’s also now used as a stamp of approval on certain cables, tested rigorously under the BSI Cable Batch verification programme, helping cable buyers to identify verifiably high performance, high quality products. BSI Kitemark testing on cables requires testing on a very granular level – that specific manufacturing run is put through a battery of tests, examining each component layer in turn from the conductor at the centre to the sheathing material on the

PECM Issue 35

outside. These constructional layers are measured against relevant British and European standards in a UKAS accredited laboratory, with every core and size configuration included in the testing regime. It’s only once the cable has been proven to meet these standards that the Kitemark is applied and it is released for sale. In an industry with ever-growing compliance regulations, and where that responsibility reaches throughout the supply chain, if this level of assessment exists then surely it’s logical to at least investigate further? As it stands, Eland Cables is the sole holder of this BSI Kitemark, with their Veriflex® industrial automation cables all tested as standard. Additionally, The Cable Lab®, their ISO 17025 UKAS facility, tests a wide range of cables on a project basis giving the option for all cables to be tested under the scheme. What does using a BSI Kitemark tested cable mean to people? That USP differs according to your place in the supply chain. As the specifier, Kitemark testing offers

consistency and continuity to a project; whilst within your wider organization it demonstrates that due consideration has been made to meeting performance safety standards which in turn gives reassurance of reliability. To BSI it is a ‘new benchmark in cable compliance’, pushing their message of quality and safety another step further. And importantly, to your customers it can simply be the additional credibility needed to push through selection of your products over those of another supplier. So what makes a BSI Kitemark tested cable different? The answer is straightforward: verified quality. It’s the difference between good and great.

Eland Cables Global supplier of power, control, data and instrumentation cables and accessories www.elandcables.com sales@elandcables.com 020 7241 8787

BSI Kitemark™ Tested Cables UKAS Accredited Test Facility

BSI Kitemark™ Testing

Third-party Cable Testing

Expert Technical Support

Described by BSI as “a new benchmark in cable compliance” and tested under the BSI Cable Batch Verification Kitemark™ these unique industrial automation cables provide quality and compliance peace of mind.

For more information www.elandcables.com / 020 7241 8787

ENTRIES OPEN FOR ICONIC MACROBERT AWARD IN ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR The Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, is open for entries, seeking the best of UK engineering innovation for 2019.

CT scanner, with Sir Godfrey Hounsfield and his team at EMI winning the MacRobert Award seven years before he was awarded the Nobel Prize. CT scanners are now found in almost every hospital in the world.

The MacRobert Award recognises outstanding engineering innovations developed in the UK that can demonstrate commercial success and a tangible benefit to society. The team behind the winning innovation receives a £50,000 cash prize, a gold medal and national acclaim.

Cambridge-based Owlstone Medical won the 2018 award for the ReCIVA Breath Sampler, the world’s first ’breath biopsy’ system. The system can identify chemical biomarkers in human breath for a variety of serious diseases, including cancer, and the company aims to save 100,000 lives by enabling earlier diagnosis.

Over the past five decades the MacRobert Award has been remarkably accurate in predicting the key innovations that would shape the world we live in. The inaugural winners in 1969 were Rolls-Royce for Pegasus - the world’s first short takeoff and vertical landing engine, used in the iconic Harrier aircraft - and Freeman, Fox and Partners for the Severn Bridge, which heralded a new era of bridge building and was Grade I listed in 1999. The MacRobert Award has celebrated a string of engineering firsts developed in the UK that have impacted on many sectors, including medicine, transport, manufacturing and technology. In 1972 it recognised the life-saving potential of the

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Dr Dame Sue Ion DBE FREng FRS, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award judging panel, said: “The UK has a rich heritage of engineering innovation and has been the driving force behind many technological developments that we now take for granted. A quick look through the MacRobert Award’s 50-year history, from Johnson Matthey for the catalytic converter in 1980, to Buro Happold in 1999 for the Millennium Dome’s roof structure, and to the Raspberry Pi in 2017, highlights why the UK is famed for its engineering prowess. “Engineering innovation is not just part of the UK’s legacy, it’s also key to our future

NEWS success, as government has recognised through its industrial strategy. It’s vital that we recognise and celebrate the innovations that have a demonstrable benefit to our lives. Each year I am delighted by the excellent engineering advances that are submitted and I look forward to seeing the entries for this special anniversary year.” In celebration of five decades of the UK’s finest engineering innovations, the Academy will be running a programme of special events and activities throughout the anniversary year. Finalists will be announced in June and the 50th MacRobert Award will be presented at the Academy Awards Dinner at Banqueting House in London on 11 July. Entries for the 2019 MacRobert Award are currently open at http://www.raeng.org. uk/grants-and-prizes/prizes-and-medals/ other-awards/the-macrobert-award. The deadline for applications is 31 January 2019. For more information and a full list of previous winners and finalists, visit: www.raeng.org.uk/prizes/ macrobert

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Hilsonic ultrasonic cleaning tanks are built to customer specifications

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Hilsonic is a specialist in the supply of ultrasonic cleaning equipment for the power7HO generation and ZZZ KLOVRQLF FR XN marine industries Issue 35 PECM 59 Issue 16 PECM 15

UNIGLOVES EXPANDS PEARL COLOUR SYSTEM TO HELP MANAGE CROSS-CONTAMINATION RISKS IN FOOD SECTOR Single use glove specialist Unigloves has launched the brand new 15-glove Pearl Colour System nitrile gloves range, helping organisations across the food sector more effectively manage cross contamination risks. The expanded range, combines high quality food handling approved, AQL 1.5 medical grade, powder-free nitrile gloves available in a range of colour finishes - including those recognised in the British Cleaning Council’s Guidelines for four colour coding - designed to effectively implement colour coded barrier protection and cross-contamination prevention measures.

All fifteen Pearl nitrile gloves are suitable for use with all food types, including fatty foods and therefore are ideal for use in the food manufacturing, processing and handling environments where the use of colour coding is proven to combat the risks associated with cross-contamination. Featuring a beaded cuff and textured palm and fingertips for superior grip in wet or oily conditions, the Pearl Colour System is also the ideal choice for any double-gloving situations; the contrasting colours ensuring any accidental nicks or tears are immediately apparent.

CLEANING

Manufactured from premium quality nitrile for enhanced durability, the expanded range has also been tested to EN374 providing protection against a range of chemicals and is also EN1186 food handling approved. The range has also been designed to be ambidextrous providing better cost in use performance. “We have designed the Pearl Colour System to provide a truly comprehensive crosscontamination prevention solution for a range of settings. The focus here is in delivering high quality, with performance, functionality and comfort through a superbly designed and manufactured glove that, through the diverse colour choices available, can help organisations better manage higher risk hygiene and cross-contamination areas through colour coded hygiene systems,” said Unigloves’ Marketing Director, Donald Gillespie.

For more information and a full list of previous winners and finalists, visit: www.raeng.org.uk/prizes/ macrobert

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PECM Issue 35

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CONTROL & AUTOMATION

£1M INVESTMENT VELDEN

VELDEN IN PRIME POSITION TO SUPPORT EV MARKET Specialist busbar manufacturer, Velden, have pledged their intention to become the premier UK supplier of busbars with a £1 million investment in their state of the art busbar production facility. Critical elements within electrical distribution, busbars are often made from copper or aluminium and conduct electricity in high power environments. They can be in the form of simple strips of metal to fully complex 3D shapes depending on the application and product design. Over the last thirty years, Velden has established itself as a high-quality supplier of electrical connection components, such as busbars to the wind/solar/diesel power generation and power distribution/ switchgear industries. The last five years has seen the company develop into more specialist markets for these products including automotive and motorsport. This led to the company securing a contract to be the sole supplier of specialist busbars for the Formula E series seasons one to four. The success of this project led Velden to work with a well-known UK automotive company on manufacture of battery busbars for their prototype electric vehicles. Understanding the critical nature of these power carrying components through the depth of their experience, Velden have earned an excellent reputation for quality and service, evidenced by their receipt of the EMEA PGBU Supplier of the Year award by Cummins. With a global focus on greener energy, the spotlight is now on manufacturers to reduce carbon emissions and to develop more sustainable forms of energy. With the UK set to ban new conventional diesel and petrol cars from 2040, the race to develop low emission vehicle technology is speeding up. Velden are in prime position to move ahead in this market. Investment in a dedicated busbar manufacturing cell comprising of the latest automated CNC machinery, laser inspection capabilities, electrical conductivity testing and an in-house plating plant, allows complex busbars to be produced cost-effectively, with shorter lead times and to certified standards.

manufactured. Where appropriate, the team have also made recommendations to improve supply, including design of bespoke busbar foam packaging, which supported controlled build of Formula E batteries and efficient manufacture of data centre cabinets for Facebook. “You have proved over the last 12 months that you are one of a handful of companies capable of providing the levels of service we require in this industry and for this particular product range”

“The addition of this highly automated technology, will ensure Velden are operating in a highly cost- efficient way, allowing us to offer competitive pricing with first class quality and improved lead times.” Austin Kitchen, Managing Director The company are now collaborating with several leading car manufacturers and tier one automotive suppliers on specialist busbar developments for use within batteries and inverters. Plus, with the UK looking to implement an infrastructure of charging stations, demand for copper products, including busbars and other machined components is surging. Velden’s expertise in manufacturing these items allows them to provide valuable input and, in some cases, influence the design of certain components to ensure that they can be both consistently and efficiently

With leaner manufacturing becoming more prevalent, Velden’s capability to supply sub-assembled, sleeved or coated products to specific delivery requirements including Kanban, ensures the company is emerging as a reputable single source supplier. Advanced ERP software and technology, live machine monitoring and cloud-based systems allow reliable and live communication to be fed back to their customers. Velden are currently enjoying an unprecedented order book and a high level of enquiries from both the UK and Worldwide. A well-established service combined with vast experience ensure Velden are at the forefront of busbar supply and in prime position to support the EV market. www.velden.co.uk

Issue 35 PECM

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

MEETING CONSUMER DEMANDS PRODUCTS4AUTOMATION

MOVICON SCADA SUPPORTS ONE OF ITALY’S LARGEST WINEMAKERS

Growing quality grape varieties isn’t the only clincher to gain a foothold in the wine market. Advanced automation and process control solutions help in meeting consumer demands - while maximising plant productivity. One of Italy’s leading winemakers invested in Progea’s Movicon SCADA to manage its production lines more efficiently. Paul Hurst of Products4Automation (P4A), the UK representative for Movicon says the installation has been so successful that the technology is being adopted by beverage producers in the UK. Located in Emilia Romagna, one of the most fertile areas in Italy for winemaking, the Cantine Riunite & Civ Cooperative produces and distributes its variety of Lambrusco and other sparkling wines worldwide with a registered designation of origin. The winery has been constantly building its business since 1950 and has become the most profitable wine producer in the country, with over 4,300 hectares under vine and 130 million of bottles sold worldwide annually. A key ingredient in this recipe for success was the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies to improve its production lines and the quality of its drinks. More precisely, to maintain its three bottling lines running seamlessly, Cantine Riunite & Civ needed a high level of automation

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and supervision. As a result, an essential technological advance consisted in developing a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to manage and control the processes and the equipment rooms. The SCADA system promotes efficient production by providing real-time and historical information on the different bottling stages and on the machinery on the line. More precisely, each function is described in a specific, detailed page. For example, the section dedicated to filling shows the number of bottles that have been filled, the ones remaining, the broken or damaged ones, as well as the speed of the machine. The screen information provided concerns both real-time and historical data on all batches. In addition, relevant process parameters, such as temperatures and machine throughput time, can be modified in order to improve the efficiency and the quality of the end product. The maintenance supervisory solution controls the different plant systems, including internal and external cooling, central water supply, heating, purification, ventilation as well as lighting in the wine cellar. The Client provides comprehensive diagnostics combined with alarm and message management. In addition, dedicated pages that combine ‘Real-time’, ‘Trend’ and ‘Historical Trend’ show relevant

data and analytics on alarm occurrences, acknowledgements and resets. In this way it is possible to minimise downtime as well as determine probable causes of equipment malfunctioning. Also, it is possible to visualise periods of equipment inactivity, calculate averages and manage any required maintenance. As a result, Movicon allows the plant operators at Cantine Riunite & Civ to continuously control the process parameters and the correct functioning of the machines, as well as intervene to improve the efficiency or perform maintenance activities minimising downtime. Furthermore, the Historian allows users to manage and insert comments in audits for tracking changes, as well as to request duplicate authentication to validate modifications independently on the client station. Since the initial install, Cantine Riunite & Civ has decided to strengthen the relationship with Progea by installing the Pro.Energy module to monitor, analyse and optimise energy efficiency across the bottling plant. In this way, the wines of future years will have a lower carbon footprint and be more sustainable.

www.products4automation.co.uk

Count on us You need more than quality parts at competitive prices. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why we give you 24/7 access to our knowledge and expertise - online, and on the phone. So whether you need technical assistance or help finding the right product, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always ready to support you.

Find the right parts at uk.rs-online.com

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

BREAKING BOUNDARIES MITSUBISH ELECTRICS

ROBOT ARMS ARE GETTING EVERYWHEREâ&#x20AC;Ś Recent developments are opening new opportunities and catapulting the industrial robot arm into a journey around the production environment. Robots undoubtably take the drudgery out of many repetitive manufacturing, packaging and processing tasks. Engineers are generally fascinated by the idea of improving production processes and keen to integrate robots, so the decision as to whether one is used or not boils down to economics; operators want to see a good case made for the return on investment before giving the green light. Applications using proprietary robotics solutions such as the MELFA RV articulated arm and RH series SCARA robots from Mitsubishi Electric are now commonplace in many production facilities, usually in pick-and-place or light assembly applications. Breaking established boundaries on the cost and availability of a mainstream robot solution however is moving the goalposts on that final cost versus return decision. Cost reduction is being achieved by enabling robot control via a stock PLC while the ability to not only program a robot easily to perform a variety of different tasks, but also to send it around the production floor work at different stations to perform them is delivering a new level of flexibility and availability.

PLC POWER Offering full robot control from a PLC means that whenever a PLC is being used it can be seconded to include robot control in the list of tasks it is already performing. Not having to purchase or house an additional robot controller module in the panel or on the machine not only reduces the initial purchase cost, it also reduces the panel space required, simplifies wiring and can reduce development time for a new machine. A perfect example of this in action is the revolutionary new Shawpak thermoforming packaging machine built by Riverside Medical Packaging. By using a servo-controlled drum instead of a conveyor system and integrating a robot

PECM Issue 35

arm for product insertion on a machine that already had a PLC onboard, the Shawpak machines are able to replace a cleanroom packing line of anything up to 20m in length with a unit that occupies as little as 2m2. Combining that cost-effective PLC controlled robot solution with an autonomous vehicle that can be used to deploy the robot on any number of individual work stations allows the economics to be recalculated all over again. Which is exactly what the development team at AGV specialist Mirage has done.

ON THE MOVE In many industries flexible production demands mean short runs of customised products are becoming more commonplace. A robot that can be used for component assembly tasks and then moved down the production line to help pack the products in individual containers or palletise a batch for delivery offers much more of a value-added contribution from a single robot.

The AGV can move around the assembly line following a path traced by a radiofrequency identification (RFID)-based tape. It is also equipped with safety scanners that allow the device to stop if an obstacle is found en route or an operator steps too close to the vehicle. Robot and vehicle communicate via a Mitsubishi Electric PLC which enables them to determine when the AGV has reached the station and the task can be set in motion. This application is also made possible because the latest proximity-based safety scanner solutions mean a standard industrial robot arm can be deployed without a physical cage or even a light curtain based guarding system. Safety is again dealt with on the PLC. Machine builders can now choose to build a robot solution around either a Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ-F, iQ-L, iQ-R or other Q series PLC, or the company’s dedicated MELFA robot controllers.

Having now combined a Mirage AGV and a Mitsubishi Electric MELFA robotic arm as a stand-alone system it’s clear that being able to deploy a robot at multiple workstations can now provide those further economic advantages. Not only can the robot move along a production line from product assembly to pick-and-place packaging tasks based on demand, it can also switch lines and function to wherever it is needed. The mobile robot arm can even take some of its work with it, completing sorting tasks for example on the AGV bed before or after it has moved.

These innovations demonstrated by the Mirage and Riverside Medical applications show where robots are heading right now in the production environment, what happens next will most likely include variations based on cooperative and fully collaborative robot solutions. The new safety solutions have already allowed Mitsubishi Electric to launch a cooperative robot for example that can be deployed with purely PLC control. How far will robots enter the production environment? The answer is clearly, as far as it is economically possible for them to go, which judging by the evidence is virtually everywhere.

About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Embracing the spirit of its corporate statement, Changes for the Better, and its environmental statement, Eco Changes, Mitsubishi Electric endeavors to be a global, leading green company, enriching society with technology. The company recorded consolidated group sales of 4,444.4 billion yen (in accordance with IFRS; US$ 41.9 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. Mitsubishi Electric Europe, Industrial Automation – UK Branch is located in Hatfield, United Kingdom. It is a part of the European Factory Automation Business Group based in Ratingen, Germany which in turn is part of Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan. The role of Industrial Automation – UK Branch is to manage sales, service and support across its network of local branches and distributors throughout the United Kingdom. gb3a.mitsubishielectric.com Issue 35 PECM

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

SPU 2040

MK PROFILE SYSTEMS

MKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ACCUMULATING PALLET RECIRCULATION SYSTEM USED BY LEADING GERMAN APPLIANCE MANUFACTURER The accumulating pallet recirculation system SPU 2040 enables cost-effective and dynamic feeding, buffering, positioning and separating of workpiece pallets (WT). In this application the SPU provided the perfect solution for transporting the housing of dishwashers for a leading German white goods manufacturer. When linking multiple cycle or changeover times the SPU 2040 allows a countercyclical operation with automatic recirculation of the workpiece. A flat top chain carries the workpieces on the WT to the assembly plant. After removal of the workpieces the empty pallets are safely carried over the return roller and then conveyed back on the underside of the conveyor. They are then once again available at the starting point of the conveyor waiting to be loaded with new workpieces. A second conveying level and devices for lifting and lowering with complex control elements are no longer required. No additional manual or automated loading of pallets in necessary either. In this particular application the SPU will equalise and buffer each dishwasher housing carrier between two machines through the process of becoming a welded unit and a fully assembled unit. There is also a requirement to stop the carriers for optical inspections via image processing and for mounting further components. Although the SPU is available as both a single and dual lane solution, due to the size of the dishwasher housing (approximately 800 x 600 x 400mm) a double lane solution was provided in this instance. Additionally the carriers consist of two parts, to ensure navigation around the return roller. The SPU 2040 is very compact in comparison with other systems on the market so meant low space requirements for this appliance manufacturer. It also offers the benefit of good ergonomic properties for workers who place or remove the dishwasher housing from the system.

PECM Issue 35

Due to the proven mk modular design the SPU 2040 is adjustable so can be further enhanced or adapted as the white goods manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production requirements grow or need adapting.

To find out more please visit www. mkprofiles.co.uk, call (01949) 823751 or email info@mkprofiles.co.uk.

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SPU 2040 Accumulating Pallet Recirculation Systems with automatic return of pallets

mk Profile systems limited a company of the mk Technology Group Unit 2·Wolds Farm Business Park Kinoulton Lane·Kinoulton·Nottinghamshire, NG12 3EQ Phone +44 (0)1949 823751·Fax +44 (0)1949 81270 www.mkprofiles.co.uk·info@mkprofiles.co.uk

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTOMATE

AUTOMATE TO ACCELERATE – WHY FOOD FIRMS MUST SEIZE THE BREXIT OPPORTUNITY

Automate to accelerate; robots produce more items at a faster rate and at a higher level of quality

By Tony McDonald, Sales and Marketing Director of Ilapak UK While the use of robotics and automation in the UK food and drink industry has been steadily growing over the past decade, Britain is still lagging behind many of its international counterparts. As the lowest G7 nation, UK sits 22nd in the world robot league table with just 71 robots per 10,000 workers, behind nations such as Slovenia (137), Sweden (223), and South Korea (631). This could be about to change, however, as an unlikely source is set to herald a long-awaited robot revolution in food production…

A BREXIT EXODUS

One of the main barriers to greater uptake of automation, particularly amongst SMEs, is the cost of unskilled labour

PECM Issue 35

versus investment in robotics technology. Thanks to the EU’s free movement of workers, Britain’s food and drink industry has benefitted from cheap labour for a number of years – in fact, it employs the highest share of EU migrant workers (30 per cent) compared with any other UK sector, employing around one fifth of the two million EU nationals working in Britain. This figure is at its highest on fruit and vegetable farms, where 99 per cent of workers come from Eastern Europe. But Brexit is set to change the labour landscape in just a few short years. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) reported that 47 per cent of companies in Britain’s food supply chain said their EU workers

were considering their future as a direct result of the June 2016 Brexit vote. On farms the impact is starker still – according to the National Farmers’ Union, in the crucial harvest month of September 2017, 29 per cent of roles went unfilled, the first shortfall since records began back in 2014. Brexit, combined with a skills shortage brought about an ageing domestic workforce and a lack of British young people coming into the industry – not to mention the 2020 deadline for the new National Minimum Wage – is giving the UK’s food and drink businesses a staffing dilemma. Faced with an impending lack of cheap labour, many are turning to robots to fill the gap.

As well as speeding up the production process and improving job satisfaction among human employees, the use of robots can also help to reduce contamination

THE PERFECT EMPLOYEE

as consumer demand requires, which can in turn lead to increased orders. When assessing a client’s suitability for automation and conducting a cost-benefit analysis, we consider each project on its individual needs. If a company has two or three people running the packing operations during the night using L Sealers, we look at the number of units being produced. If the company is running off 5,000 products a day, it makes better commercial sense to introduce a system such as ILAPAK’s Smart HFFS entry level flow wrapping system. For higher value products, it may be cost effective to switch to automation at 3,000 units a day, but the average is around 5,000. As a comparison, a machine can produce 3,000 units an hour.

The deployment of robotics technology – and investment in plant automation – can revolutionise how food factories operate, increasing efficiency in all areas of the production process. Producing more items at a faster rate and at a higher level of quality, robots, in place of humans, get the job done. Not only that, a robot will never get sick, take a holiday, need a break, or even get bored. And it can cope with extreme temperatures, as well as unsafe or unsanitary working conditions. Using automation for repetitive or dangerous tasks protects the remaining workforce, leaving employees free to be upskilled and take on safer and more rewarding roles. Far from replacing all human employees, robots can actually help to increase staff retention levels.

AN END TO FOREIGN OBJECTS

As well as speeding up the production process and improving job satisfaction among human employees, the use of robots can also help to reduce contamination; a key target for any food business. A lot of food manufacturers have been running flow wrappers for years, but use staff to manually load them. They might have a belt with a high volume of products along it and four or five people on each flow wrapper picking up the products and feeding the machine. Ilapak have introduced robots to stack products and organise them in batches of two, three or four, then use a multi-belt system to feed them into the machine. Within that process servo–drive belts can be programmed to split the products up into exactly what is required. Robots can also be used after flow wrapping to stack and pack a product before placing the packs into retail trays. Removing the human element from the process removes the risk of contamination, which in turn helps to extend a product’s shelf life.

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

With contamination such a concern for food producers, cleanliness and hygiene is a key driver in any operation. One automated process which has huge potential in

4.0 AND BEYOND

Tony McDonald, Sales and Marketing Director of Ilapak UK maintaining high levels of cleanliness and is being adopted by a growing number of producers – often working alongside vacuuming – is gas flushing. This procedure involves the replacement of oxygen with carbon dioxide and nitrogen to help keep products free from contamination and fresher for longer. Gas flushing extends the shelf life of some products from one week to as long as six months. Not only does this reduce wastage amongst consumers, the lack of contamination during the production process keeps operational waste down, too. Given the UK’s continuing battle against food waste, this solution is a win-win, benefitting both food producers and the wider society.

CUT COSTS, NOT CORNERS

For some food producers, such as craft bakeries or breweries, the lack of automation is part of their USP. But for the vast majority, a system which can produce thousands of identical, high quality items each hour not only cuts down labour and energy costs, it also increases brand reputation and can provide the ability to flex at short notice

In today’s increasingly connected digital world, the biggest trend in robots and automation is undoubtedly Industry 4.0. In 2012, there were 5.5 billion connected devices (equal to the amount of people on the planet) – today there are 50 billion. Proof, if it were needed, of the power of the Internet of Things. With production processes and equipment now able to be remotely monitored and controlled by the cloud, managers have more data and greater control over their operations than ever before. Smart systems are able to auto-correct faults, predict maintenance and even help managers spot patterns and trends. Such optimised production lines are reducing downtime and decreasing operational costs, which is in turn leading to increased productivity.

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY

As the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, contributing £28.8bn to the UK’s GDP, the food and drink industry is likely to be hit hard by Brexit. But perhaps the unsettled few years ahead can be tempered by investment in reliable, efficient robotic technology that can help to increase productivity and profits. For investors in automation, Brexit is not a threat – it’s an opportunity. www.ilapak.co.uk Issue 35 PECM

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY WAGO

THREE WAYS TO WIRE WITH ADDITION OF LEVER AND PUSH-BUTTON TERMINAL BLOCKS

Interconnection specialist WAGO introduces push-button and lever-actuated variants to its TOPJOB S® terminal block family. Integrators can now choose between push-button, lever and push-in connection methods for additional flexibility on DIN rail installations. The lever-actuated variant, a world first from WAGO, is equipped with a lever on the field side, and a push-button or operating toolactuated connection on the factory side. The clamping point on the field side is opened and closed by hand using the lever, allowing installers to tell at a glance which wires in an assembly are terminated. The lever can also be left open, freeing both hands to connect difficult-to-bend conductors with large cross sections. Versions are available for nominal crosssections of 2.5 mm², 6 mm² and 16 mm², and in 2- or 3-conductor configurations. The clamping point of the push-button mechanism is opened with any screwdriver or similar operating tool. Feed-through terminal blocks with push-buttons are

PECM Issue 35

available for wire with a cross-section between 0.14 to 25 mm². The push-button terminal block is available in 2-, 3- or 4-conductor variants, which allow pushin connection of solid, seven strand and ferruled conductors. Both the push button and lever actuators are orange in colour, making them clearly visible for easy identification. All TOPJOB S rail mounted terminal blocks feature Push-In CAGE CLAMP® spring pressure connection, which is 50 percent quicker to wire compared to screws, and immune to loosening over time. The terminal blocks are also resistant to vibration and overcurrent, and free from maintenance, eliminating the need to periodically check and tighten loose connections while improving overall reliability.

www.wago.com

QUANTUM CONTROLS WIN 3 INDUSTRY AWARDS 2018

UK Drives & Motor Supplier of the Year, UK Drive Rental Company of the Year and Best ABB Drive Service Provider in the UK. These independent awards, voted by UK Engineers and judged by an independent panel, have been awarded by; Business Excellence Awards, Innovation & Excellence Awards and Global 100 of 2018. “We now have Drive Service Partnerships will all major Drive Manufacturers, Schneider, Danfoss, Vacon, Mitsubishi, Controls Techniques on top of the 20 years’ experience as ABB Leading Drive Service Provider, this means we are the only company in the UK that can deliver a true

site wide Drives Service Contract covering any type of drive you have installed and prefer to use.” says Kevin Brown, Managing Director. “The days of clients wanting a single source delivery for one type of drive are gone, we have 200+ service agreements in place throughout the UK and not one of those customer has only one type of Drive on site. Drives are now seen as a ‘me too’ product and clients are more and more selecting the right drive for the right application based on commercial price, availability, support and features. Not a particular brand as was the case in the past.

QUANTUM CONTROLS

Service delivery is at the front of everything we do, during 2018 we have implemented many new services for our contract clients in response to the their needs in a fast changing environment leading to us winning these awards, all the staff at Quantum would like to thank everyone for their continued support in 2018”

Issue 35 PECM

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

ROBOT WARS BRILLOPAK

LESSONS LEARNED FROM AUTOMATION LEADERS AND ROBOT LAGGARDS Time and again we are reminded that we are in the age of automation. Annual statistics prepared by the International Federation of Robotics paints a positive picture for 2017, with a 31% increase in annual global shipments. However, the UK doesn’t make the top ten countries for investment. And despite an annual 19% increase, food and drink companies are still the smallest sector of all those listed globally for robotic investmentsi. David Jahn, director at automation company Brillopak believes that using terminology interchangeably, particularly robotics, AI and automation, is part of the reason why UK food factories have dodged making big investments, particularly at the end of line packaging and case loading lines. But with the EU labour crisis continuing to plague UK fresh produce houses, David emphasises that now is the time to get back to basics and review the entire productivity picture and how automation, not just robots, will align to and support long-term strategies. “In the last decade robots, rightly or wrongly, have been positioned as a universal panacea to enhancing productivity,” claims David, believing that this is the root of the divergence. “While there are certain tasks, especially highly repetitive jobs, that robots can and do perform efficiently and economically, putting a robot onto a food packing line isn’t always the best path to higher productivity.” Sometimes, automation efforts fail to improve productivity and performance. Is that the robot’s fault? No! “The issue rests with people being misinformed about the capabilities of robots in handling multiple variables and also not always appreciating the complexities of their own processes,” notes David. There are so many different factors that factories and packhouses need to consider when examining their automation options. Cost is undoubtedly high on the agenda. While many OEMs imply that the prices of robots have fallen, for many food SMEs, particularly seasonal operations, the initial outlay can still be hard to justify.

PECM Issue 35

EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION

Despite perceptions, driven in part by Internet of Things and Industry 4:0, tomorrow’s food factories don’t just need robots, they need better processes. That’s where lean manufacturing and cost efficiencies can be realised, claims David. “It’s not rocket science. Yet it does require production managers to step back and consider all the details. Just because Germany, the US and China consider robotics to be the universal answer, there are other automation routes that UK fresh produce firms can explore that are equally revolutionary and can be accomplished by taking evolutionary steps.” Automating large swaths of functions all at once under the banner of efficiency seldom works. “If you go too far too fast, the project can become a beast that’s impossible to control,” says David. “It can be especially challenging to attempt to do too much when integrating with legacy systems, as there are so many different factors that can affect line speed and cause bottlenecks.” Taking a staggered approach to investment is how many food factories successfully automate, with most Brillopak customers adopting a three to five year plan, highlights David. Just as importantly, there should be an element of candidness, trust and

teamwork with OEMs and machine builders when reviewing options. “It’s very rare for a food factory to have a blank canvas. The challenge many face is ensuring all systems on the line integrate smoothly, factor in the true production speeds up and down the line and are ergonomically accessible for maintenance.” A common mistake that causes automation projects to stall or fail is hacking together ideas from different areas of the business with no clear framework or understanding of the different business needs and implications up and down the line. People from all areas of the operation need to be collectively involved in scoping out requirements. “Because operatives see the day-to-day production issues they are a great source when it comes to pre-empting common issues,” comments David. “Leveraging this insight, such as all the SKUs, sizes and layer patterns at the outset is important as it factors in all of the glitches that may interrupt production, plus engages with your frontline teams. Rather than being automation adversaries, they become your automation champions.” Simplicity is a key design principle Like many things in life, there’s a tendency to overcomplicate automation. But as Brillopak can attest to, sometimes the more simple solutions deliver the most surprising results.

The ergonomic C130 Semi-Automated Packstation, showcased for the first time at PPMA 2018 and shortlisted in the PPMA Group Awards for Most Innovative Packaging Machinery, is a perfect example. Designed specifically to maximise the efficiency of manual packing operations where full automation is not an option, either by way of affordability or practicality, the system is an automated version of the traditional Lazy Susan style product collation/packing station, and makes each case loading line 15% more efficient. Rather than removing humans from the process, it helps manual workers to perform better, making their job less arduous when automation with consistency, due to the packing format or high volumes of product changeovers, is not an option. Mansfields installed its third semi-automated packstation recently. Lee Port, Head of Operations comments: “What our Brillopak C130 systems have enabled us to accomplish is a gentler, calmer and more manageable end-of-line packing operation, with fewer bottlenecks.” “Often there’s an element of paralysis by analysis,” notes David. “Instead of agonising over the choices, plant tours can be a powerful way of providing factories with direction and gauging how others have approached automating specific tasks. There’s no substitute for seeing things happening in practice.” Brillopak often puts people in touch with different packhouse plants and accompanies customers on visits. As testimony, Mansfields visited Chingford fruit packers to observe the C130 SemiAutomated Packstation in action with the same Redpack flow wrap line they had recently installed. “The efficiency improvements were immediately evident,” reflects Lee.

CONCEPTUALISING CONSISTENCY

Automation is imperative in food manufacturing for consistency in quality, production in high volumes and productivity. The daily quest to optimise productivity

and meet tight deadlines means there’s a drive to minimise machine downtime. A well designed robotic case loading system featuring easy restarts and controlled, agile handling may provide the optimal solution for fresh produce factories repeatedly handling similar product and pack types. “Accurate placement of products into crates using robots depends upon momentum and the control of movement by a robotic arm,” highlights David. For flow wrap and vertical form fill and seal fresh produce packs, single picking can be the safest and fastest way to control this pick and place process and meet retailer specified case loading patterns. Brillopak’s Unipick P160 robotic case and crate packer also features on this year’s PPMA stand. The system, which averages over 100 packs p/m, applies a combination of robotics, encoders, vision and mechanics that provides enhanced control and make machine restarts less complex. “Traditionally, to achieve anywhere close to 100 packs p/m in robotic case loading, machines pick layers or rows of product,” David comments. “However, this method tends to use mechanical devices such as belts and turners for collating products. This means more moving parts; more opportunities to damage the fresh produce items, e.g. apples, and more line stops. These frequent line stops have a significant impact on line efficiency and ultimately bottom line profits.”

PICK OF THE PUNNETS

As processing lines become faster there is an increasing need for the case loading process to match the upstream throughput. This is especially true in the punnet tray-sealing arena, where products feed continuously out of sealing machines at between 65 to 180 packs p/m. To address this bottleneck, Brillopak is unveiling its BR2 and BR5 Punnet Packer at PPMA, inviting visitors to sign up for a free one-week trial of their new concept. Responding to market requests for a versatile, speedy, yet affordable top seal punnet packer, the system, which is

priced from £87,500, offers SMEs in the fresh produce market with an affordable mechanical style automated system. Capable of loading up to 180 top seal punnets and top seal trays per minute into full and half-sized crates, as well as lipped boxes, the BR Punnet Packer maximises throughput by collating product into a full layer, lifting and lowering in one seamless motion into the crate or box. Designed to work with all tray sealing systems on the market today, this standard machine also helps to reduce order, build and installation lead times.

AUTOMATION WITHOUT COMPROMISE

Having too much choice can be overwhelming and making a decision about which automated system will serve your food business for years to come should never be a knee jerk reaction. The idea that robots are the answer to every production inefficiency is a bit overcooked. What’s clear is that there’s room for all types of automation efficiencies, be it a Parallel Spider-type robot, a 4-axis robot, a Cartesian Cobot, or an improved manual packing process that’s more ethical and sustainable for the workforce. To make the decision making process easier, Brillopak has taken the step to streamline its automation case loading menu with three core compact, reliable and cost efficient products - the Semi-Automated Packstation, Unipick robots and the company’s newest mechanical-style BR Punnet Packer. David rationalises: “Automation reservations in the past have centred on the prospect of machinery obsolescence. This has been a psychological barrier for some to fully embrace automation, while past integration failures may have deterred others from looking beyond tweaking their existing packing line. By focusing on what we are strongest at, we hope that more factories will recognise the opportunities that automation has to offer.”

See the full range of Brillopak’s automation options at PPMA 2018, Stand C50. www.brillopak.co.uk

MECHELEC MOVES FORWARD WITH UNIVERSAL TROLLEY PACKER Bedfordshire‐based Mechelec Automation have taken their revolutionary new bottle collation and trolley packing system for the dairy industry to new heights. The TP1002 Trolley Packer is designed to provide fully automated, cost effective trolley loading, and since its release in May 2017 has been in production in a dairy in Wales running at speeds of up to 250bpm and packing 4-pint bottles in a 5 x 4 format. The Mechelec engineering team has a wealth of experience in the automation industry, having worked for many years with robots, servo systems, pneumatics and PLC control. This experience along with their open minded approached has resulted in the TP1002. This innovative system offers flexible throughput at faster operating speeds. The system’s robotic arm and servo driven collation unit can quickly and efficiently load two trolleys simultaneously, offering double the packing speed of conventional automated systems with a comparable footprint. The use of robotics eliminates the problems relating to variable height packing, offering free movement through multiple axes and avoiding the

PECM Issue 35

compatibility issues arising from differing designs or damaged trolleys. The simplicity and open construction of the robotic system also allows easier access, helping to minimise downtime for wash down and routine maintenance. The system is IP67 rated. Mechelec engineers have vast experience in using motion control solutions from the major OEM’s such as Rockwell and Siemens. On this occasion they chose to partner B&R for their motion solution due to its integrated architecture bringing PLC, HMI, Motion and Safety together as a seamless package. John Salisbury, Director at Mechelec told us “Now we have a proven track record with a production machine it is time to take the TP1002 to its next level, as it was always our intention to make the TP1002 more than just a trolley packer.” He continued “We chose to use an industrial robot in our initial design knowing that robots are a tried and proven solution, what is more with our engineers having extensive experience with robot programming this was a logical step. An additional benefit of using robot technology is the flexibility for expanding

the range of the TP1002. We now have an interest in an add-on unit which provides functionality for shrink-wrapped bundles to be loaded to trolleys.” John explained “Shrink wrapped product is collated into the correct format, loaded to the head of the robot and then transferred into the trolleys in the same way collated bottles are loaded. This feature offers a very cost-effective solution that is easily added to an existing TP1002.” Asked where the TP1002 goes from here John told me “We have already been asked if we could palletise the shrink-wrapped product. This additional functionality would naturally fulfil our long-term objective to make the TP1002 a truly universal packer.” Mechelec Automation designs, manufactures and maintains fully integrated mechanical and electrical automation systems for a diverse range of sectors. If you would like any more information on our TP1002 or any of our other products, please contact: sales@mechelecautomation.com or visit: www.mechelecautomation.com

LANTRONIX Lantronix, Inc. is a global provider of secure data access and management solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) assets. Our mission is to be the leading supplier of IoT solutions that enable companies to dramatically simplify the creation, deployment, and management of IoT projects while providing secure access to data for applications and people. Device and data management, mobility, enterprise-level security, and networking are

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

key pillars in the reality of IoT. These fundamental pillars are exactly what we do. Our products, solutions, and services enable connectivity (wired, Wi-Fi Bluetooth and cellular) and the management of “things” – machines, devices, sensors, computers, and more. In short, we’ve been helping companies connect to the Internet — reliably, intelligently, securely and quickly — for more than 25 years.

Connect Smart. Do More.

www.lantronix.com

Issue 35 PECM

CONTROL & AUTOMATION

CO2 OR FIBER LASER? TLM LASER

TLM LASER OFFER THE ULTRA FLEXIBLE LASER PROCESSING SOLUTION Laser users, especially those who require a degree of flexibility or offer sub-contract laser processing services, need to be sure that the system they purchase will have the capability to deal with the widest possible range of materials. Often, the choice is not just about which manufacturer to choose, but which type of laser, CO2 or a Fiber laser? A unique solution to this conundrum is Universal Laser’s new ULTRA 9 platform, which offers laser material processing for the widest possible range of materials within a single stand-alone system. Available in the UK and Ireland from laser technology specialists TLM Laser, this highly flexible system is ideally suited for precision material processing across: manufacturing, research and development, academic research, and prototyping environments. Its unique modular architecture means that customisable solutions can be quickly and easily configured with a wide array of options for enhancing performance, capability, and safety to produce the perfect solution that will meet both present and future business needs. Users can configure this system with up to three laser sources: comprising of two interchangeable CO2 lasers and one fiber laser. This rapid laser reconfiguration innovation makes it possible for laser sources to be quickly interchanged in the laser system without the need for tools or realignment of the laser. This feature allows users to easily switch between sources of different wavelengths and peak power levels to optimise laser power delivery for different materials and applications. This increases the flexibility and functionality of the laser system by maximising the number of materials that can be laser processed. When the platform is configured with all three lasers, users can also take advantage of MultiWave HybridTM technology, enabling up to three wavelengths – 9.3 μm, 10.6 μm, and 1.06 μm – to be simultaneously combined into a single coaxial beam, further enhancing the capability of the system. Each spectral component of the beam is independently controlled and can be modulated in real time.

PECM Issue 35

As the name ULTRA suggests, this system incorporates a wide range of high performance features including: a Servobased beam delivery system with dual loop encoder feedback and linear encoders on all axes. This enables precise, repeatable beam positioning allowing laser processing of a wide variety of materials and to address tight tolerance requirements. The high precision beam positioning and excellent repeatability make the ULTRA platform ideal for high accuracy laser processing within manufacturing and research and development environments. Another valuable asset is the lightweight autofocus touch sensor integrated into the motorised carriage assembly. This unit deploys and retracts to automatically detect the top surface of any material, including transparent materials and foams. This feature improves usability and workflow in a number of ways by: • Eliminating the inaccurate, error prone and sometimes overlooked process of finding focus with a manual tool, by instructing the system to automatically perform the focus operation each time laser processing commences • Automatically focusing before laser processing begins to ensure that the laser

system is always focused on materials, avoiding the potential for damage to the material caused by out of focus laser energy • Improving accuracy beyond non-contact ultrasonic and photo sensor methods by achieving surface detection and repeatability of +/- .001” (25 μm), including foams and transparent materials The user interface for the system is a 21” touch screen control panel allowing for standalone operation without the need for a separate, tethered PC. This intuitive user interface, which incorporates multiple features, allows adjustment of all laserprocessing settings in order to optimise performance and processing results. Bromsgrove based TLM Laser are the UK and Ireland distributors for Universal Laser cutting and marking systems. In addition, the company also offers a comprehensive range of Laser processing systems for cutting, welding, marking, engraving, cleaning, 3D additive layer manufacturing, plus laser safety equipment. Tel: +44 (0)1527 959 099 E-Mail: sales@tlm-laser.com Web: www.tlm-laser.com

SMALLER JUST GOT STRONGER

PFC100 Controller: High performance packed into a smaller footprint

• Extremely compact and maintenance-free design saves control panel space

• 600 MHz processing power allows seamless automation of complex industrial systems • Cost-effective configuration via e!COCKPIT engineering software • Scalable modular system ready for future challenges • Comprehensive on-board data security packages

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• CODESYS 3 runtime system

• Blends together the best of two software worlds in one package Telephone E-Mail Internet Search for

01788 568 008 ukmarketing@wago.com www.wago.com “WAGO PFC100”

LEUZE CONTROL & AUTOMATION ELECTRONIC IS ON THE PODIUM OF THE GIT SECURITY AWARD 2019

Two way Wireless Safety the safe, reliable UH 6900 Customer benefits Long range ultra reliable radio transmission, (> 800 m) Maximum safety up to PL e, SIL 3 3 x Dual channel safety inputs 8 x Cross operated inputs & outputs Fast setup via free windows compatible USB software Extensive signal quality & operation diagnostics

SIL 3 800 m PL e

DOLD Industries Ltd Telephone 01245 324432 • Fax 01245 325570 admin@dold.co.uk • www.dold.co.uk

In intralogistics, automotive and packaging industry, material locks often need to be safeguarded against unauthorized access by means of optical safety sensors. Previously, muting processes with signalemitting sensors were required in order to clearly identify when transported goods are approaching a protective field and to bridge the passing of these goods through the protective field at the correct moment. As a result of the SPG (Smart Process Gating) method developed by Leuze electronic, based on its MLC safety light curtains, these sensors are no longer needed. This new process was selected by the jury with representatives from BHE, TÜV,

VDMA, ZVEI, integrators and users and was included as a finalist in the voting and readers’ poll for the 2019 GIT Security Award in Category A – “IT Security and Safety in Automation, Cyber Security.” Until the end of August, all readers and users of GIT Security and the international edition GIT Safety were eligible to vote, as were customers and partners of the nominated companies worldwide. They decided by voting which three of the nominated products would be the winners in the final. The final decision about who receives the GIT Security Award trophy will be made at SPS IPC Drives at the end of November in Nuremberg. www.leuze.de

PRESENTING THE e-Series. World’s #1 Collaborative Robot

Fast set-up Collaborative & safe

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The e-Series cobot is designed to boost your productivity regardless of your company size, industry or application. Find out how the e-Series can deliver unmatched returns for your business.

PECM Issue 35

Experience the e-Series at universal-robots.com/e-series

PRECISION PRECISION ENGINEERED ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS MACHINED COMPONENTS, BUSBARS, MACHINED COMPONENTS, BUSBARS, PRODUCT AND SYSTEM BUILDS. MACHINED COMPONENTS, BUSBARS, PRODUCT PRODUCT AND AND SYSTEM SYSTEM BUILDS. BUILDS. TAILORED SERVICE TO SUIT ALL TAILORED REQUIREMENTS. TAILORED SERVICE SERVICE TO TO SUIT SUIT ALL ALL REQUIREMENTS. REQUIREMENTS.

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Sheetmetal Sheetmetal Sheetmetal

Pump Systems Pump Pump Systems Systems

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T 01204 520620 | enquiries@velden.co.uk T T 01204 01204 520620 520620 | | enquiries@velden.co.uk enquiries@velden.co.uk

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CONTROL & AUTOMATION

INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY EU AUTOMATION

COBOTS AND THE FUTURE OF MAINTENANCE Unplanned downtime is one of the biggest problems in manufacturing. Recent research by the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) estimates that downtime can cost manufacturers anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 an hour. The question is, how much can manufacturers reduce this figure with new technology? Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial parts supplier EU Automation explains how collaborative robots can improve maintenance to cut this figure. Machine breakdown can incur serious costs for manufacturers. It can prevent production, delay orders and raise labour costs. To reduce the risk of downtime, manufacturers are introducing more intelligent technology to the factory floor. Automated equipment, for example can increase productivity, accuracy and flexibility. However, manufacturers need to consider how they maintain new technology, for the benefits to be long term.

ENTER THE COBOT

Collaborative robots (cobots) can work alongside humans to complete tasks. Traditionally, industrial robots were large, caged machines that humans could not interact with as they were heavy, unaware of their surroundings and posed a safety risk. Unlike their heavier counterparts, cobots are easy to program and can work alongside people. They also come equipped with safety features that mean they stop or slow down when a human is nearby, which reduces the risk of a collision or safety threat. Businesses ranging from small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to large industrial companies are purchasing cobots to improve their workflows.

COBOTS AND MAINTENANCE

Most cobots are not designed with maintenance capabilities in mind. However, in-built functions mean that they can help technicians to reduce the risk of unplanned downtime. Collaborative robots are built to complete complex tasks normally performed by humans to increase accuracy and reduce fatigue. This means that technicians can use cobots to complete intricate maintenance tasks in a hazardous environment, for example, when a machine excessively overheats.

RETROFITTING

Small and medium manufacturing companies can see the benefits from a cobot’s versatility. Collaborative robots can be programmed and reprogrammed quickly, so they can be used for a variety of functions, with a quick and easy change in between. Manufacturers can take advantage of this flexibility to place a collaborative robot at the most suitable point in the assembly line, to ensure it has the greatest impact on the business. SMEs should look to collaborative robots particularly for smaller tasks,

PECM Issue 35

as this means it can be added to current infrastructure rather than replacing the entire system.

ROBOTS GO MOBILE

British online supermarket Ocado is using collaborative robots to improve its maintenance processes. The company collaborated with manufacturers to build the ARMAR-6 prototype, an autonomous, humanoid robot that can help engineers reduce time spent on maintenance in the factory. The ARMAR-6 uses a three-camera system to detect and recognise humans and objects, speech recognition to understand commands and hands with grippers to pick up objects. “The ambition is that the robot will be able to decide what the technician’s intentions are and chip-in as appropriate at the right point in time,” explains Graham Deacon, robotics research team leader at Ocado Technology. This will assist technicians in maintaining the automated warehouses the company relies on to complete orders.”

THE FUTURE

Robots like the ARMAR-6 are changing how we interact with machinery. In the future, this relationship has the potential to grow even more. Artificial intelligence and machine learning allows robots to learn as they work and make their own decisions. As cobots experience more, they will be able to recognise and anticipate issues, alerting humans of any potential breakdowns. Employees or robots could then carry out maintenance on the machine before it impacts production. In future, it may be possible to program a cobot to independently complete maintenance tasks across the factory floor. As they are lightweight and cage-free, manufacturers could mount a cobot onto an automated guided vehicle (AGV), so it can freely move around the factory without disrupting human workers. More technology in the factory could just mean more machines that are at risk of breakdown. However, the growing capabilities of automated technologies such as collaborative robots can improve maintenance processes to ultimately optimise productivity. One day, a robot may be able to fix itself. About EU Automation: EU Automation stocks and sells new, used, refurbished and obsolete industrial automation spares. Its global network of preferred partner warehouses, and wholly owned distribution centers, enables it to offer a unique service within the automation industry, spanning the entire globe. It provides worldwide express delivery on all products meaning it can supply any part, to any destination, at very short notice. For more information visit www.euautomation.com

Issue 35 PECM

DRIVES, MOTORS & GEARS

ENSURING RELIABLE OPERATION REICH DRIVE SYSTEMS

A SMOOTH PATH TO DRIVE COUPLING SELECTION Engineers and designers working on power transmission applications can often face a daunting task when it comes to specifying the most appropriate drive coupling for the task in hand. Detailed consideration must be given to both sides of the drive equation, input and output, with regard to torque, shock loads, starting frequency, temperature and environmental conditions, but where to begin. In this informative article, David Proud General Manager of Reich Drive Systems UK explains how to navigate through what can sometimes be seen as a technical minefield for designers and engineers. Drive couplings vary greatly in their design and capabilities, so for any given application engineers must ensure that they specify the drive coupling correctly to ensure reliable efficient, and in the more challenging applications, safe operation. A detailed review of what the coupling will be subjected to in use is an essential starting point. Factors such as torque transmission, speed ranges, running start / stops and potential shock loadings are just some of the key elements in the selection of the coupling. However, we must also consider alignment between the various components, the environmental operating conditions that could include high temperatures or moisture etc., and any maintenance requirements or restrictions. There may also be potential limitations on available space, size and / or weight, which will have to be taken into account. The prime mover, diesel or gas engine, hydraulic or electric motor will also be influential in the specification and selection of the drive coupling. Get it right, and the coupling will provide years of uninterrupted service, requiring little or no maintenance in its own right, whilst ensuring that mating components are protected from undue stresses and keeping downtime to a minimum.

COMMON MISTAKES CAN BE COSTLY

There are a number of commonly made mistakes, which result in the wrong coupling being specified. This can have serious consequences both for the coupling and the other elements in the drive train. Often, it does not take long before these issues rise

PECM Issue 35

to the attention of maintenance engineers in the form of a catastrophic failure of the coupling and hours of unplanned downtime. Other less visible effects will be undue wear on bearings, shafts and gears, which will ultimately impact motors or gearboxes.

For applications where there may be high shock loads it may be preferable to avoid a keyway solution and instead opt for a taper bush fixing, or couplings with shrunk discs, which will also provide backlash free operation.

Before making a final decision on selecting the drive coupling the specifier must fully evaluate and understand the forces and loads that will be applied to the coupling in use. Making an â&#x20AC;&#x153;educated guessâ&#x20AC;? at these values is not an option and could result in either a coupling being specified which is not fully up to the job, or design overkill, which would result in an unnecessarily larger and more expensive solution to the application.

From a maintenance perspective, the time required to remove or replace a coupling or any change parts, is a major consideration. Therefore, the selection of a coupling which not only meets all of the technical and application requirements, but is either maintenance free, or has the ability to have change parts replaced in-situ will bring significant benefits to uptimes and efficiency.

The specific application will dictate whether the coupling required is a disc coupling, shaft to shaft coupling, auxiliary coupling or other variant, however it is essential that consideration is given to factors such as the torque rating and torsional stiffness required for the task. Generally, couplings with a higher torque rating will be larger and less flexible. In addition, the degree of axial, radial or angular misalignment that the coupling will be required to compensate for will influence choice, and it is essential that the coupling to be used, is able to meet these criteria, but have the capacity to accommodate a level of unexpected deflection whilst in service without failing. Another contributing factor, which will influence success, is how the coupling is mounted. In applications where there are minimal shock or reversing loads, keyways and taper bushes will be a reliable solution.

If there is any doubt on the part of the individual responsible for specifying and selecting the coupling, seeking expert advice from the manufacturer will both eliminate risks and ensure longevity and reliability in operation. With a history spanning over 70 years, Reich Kupplungen has built up unrivalled expertise in the design and manufacture of drive couplings for use across a wide range of industries and applications. The company also embraces a D2C (design to customer) principle, which allows the creation of customised high-quality and longlasting power transmission products in collaboration with the customer and their specific requirements.

Telephone +44(0) 161 714 4191 Website - www.reich-uk.com

Reich Drive Couplings

Keeping Industry Moving Competence In Power Transmission For Over 70 Years

Unit 4 Bankside Business Park, Coronation Street, Stockport, SK5 7PG T: Office + 00 44 161 714 4191 | info@reich-uk.com www.ReICh-UK.CoM Issue 34 PECM

ELECTRIFY ME Following on from the phenomenal success of our portable trailer DC power supply units, and investment in state-of-the-art machinery, Electro-wind stands at the forefront of transformer technology and design. We will produce your specification of transformer up to 2000kVA in rating system voltages up to 15kV, and we also manufacture and supply AC reactors, DC chokes, rectification units, control gear and a full range of site electrical equipment.

ELECTRO-WIND Electro-wind delivers the highest quality goods to meet and exceed your expectations while reducing the environmental impact of our products and solutions through our innovative design software, highly trained staff and lean manufacturing techniques. We closely work with our clients’ design requirements to achieve short lead times, produce energy efficient products and, perhaps most importantly, create a sustainable environment for years to come. www.electro-wind.co.uk

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www.kaizentechnology.co.uk 84

PECM Issue 35

STEGO THE “THERMAL MANAGEMENT“ EXPERTS GO BEYOND JUST CLIMATISATION A new technology development will enable action before a problem arises – this is also known as “predictive maintenance” or “Condition Monitoring“. With our new Smart Sensor CSS 014 STEGO offer a “plug and play“ product for monitoring installations, including remote monitoring, which allows an immediate response to unwanted changes. The sensor detects the ambient temperature and humidity. The recorded data then is converted into a standardized analog 4-20 mA signal and passed on to a control and monitoring unit. The control unit interprets the signal and initiates appropriate measures. SMART SENSOR CSS 014 FEATURES: • Sensor, interface and transmitter in one • Wide temperature and humidity measuring range

STEGO

(-40 to +60 °C / 0 to 100 % RH) • High accuracy • Easy DIN clip or screw mounting • Quick connection with M12 connector • Small size (140 x 40 x 38 mm) The Smart Sensor CSS 014 is not only suitable for installation in enclosures or control cabinets, it can also find use in a variety of applications (application areas according to IEC 61010-1/DIN EN 61010-1). Visit the STEGO website www.stego.co.uk for in-depth technical specifications. We are also happy to provide further information to you via e-mail. Please send a message to info@stego.co.uk

Distributor of Mean Well Power Supplies

Din Rail Power Supplies

Ecopac Power LTD

sales@ecopacpower.co.uk l www.ecopacpower.co.uk Sales: 01844 20 44 20 l Technical: 01844 20 44 30

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

EFFECTIVE PLANNING STRATEGY REO UK

WHY IS THERE AN ELECTRONIC COMPONENT SHORTAGE? Since the launch of the Model 3, Elon Musk has been under significant pressure to scale up Tesla’s manufacturing capacity and overcome its current struggle with meeting demand. Currently, the electronic component supply chain is trying to tackle a similar challenge, as Steve Hughes, managing director of specialist components manufacturer REO UK, explains. The need for electronic components is growing exponentially. In conjunction with our greater use of handheld devices and their relatively short product lifecycles, there is increased use of electronics in industries that did not traditionally use them. The rapid evolution of the automotive industry and internet of things (IoT) are two key factors that have resulted in a stronger-than-expected demand for components, which manufacturers are finding difficult to keep pace with. Like most modern electronic products, automotive systems use multi-layer ceramic capacitators (MLCCs) and traditional combustion engine cars can require approximately 3,000 capacitors, but as cars move from hardware driven machines to software driven machines, their infotainment, driver assistance and comfort systems require more even more components. For example, the requirements for display systems, LED lighting, sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) features have all contributed to the inflation of components required by this market. As a result, forecasts suggest that the number of MLCCs could rise to 22000, in just one car in the near future. To add to this, annual production of Electrical Vehicles (EVs) is expected

PECM Issue 35

to reach 2.4 million units in 2021, compared to 409,000 in 2014. This substantial rise has been driven by new emissions regulations and incentives from governments and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. Similarly, IoT devices were nothing but a figment of the imagination 30 years ago, but smart devices are now adding a further burden to an already constrained market. In fact, forecasts show that IoT devices are set to grow to almost 31 billion worldwide and this alone has raised concerns among many manufacturers. As explained, nearly every industry uses electronic components and we are finding that many customers are double-ordering components and panic-buying to try and eliminate further production delays along the line. However, this does not provide a suitable long-term solution. Instead, at REO UK, we are urging businesses to implement a more effective planning strategy and flexible ordering system for their

projects, which can strongly protect against any unexpected supply chain issues, such as the current shortage. As it stands, analysts’ predictions are varied, but it’s expected that the shortage will continue into the early months of 2020 at the very least and so businesses need to set realistic expectations and regularly update their customers to retain good relations. This has been the approach taken by Tesla, which even now is still trying to boost its production output and still generating orders. This is not the first time there has been long delays for key components in industry and we expect that this will not be the last, especially as buying behaviour and purchase decisions can be so unpredictable. By implementing a procedure that allows for longer lead times, managers will be able to better manage operations to respond effectively to fluctuating lead times in the future. www.reo.co.uk

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

CONDITION MONITORING STEGO

SMART SENSOR CSS 014MEASURES TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY Condition monitoring is an essential part of predictive maintenance. This applies not only to enclosures and switch cabinets in industrial plants, but also to a large number of different applications in which regulated processes take place. STEGO’s Smart Sensor CSS 014 measures two important parameters - temperature and humidity and helps to maintain an optimal climate.

Key Parameters: Temperature and Humidity Condition Monitoring is all about paying attention to detail. The key parameters within the switch cabinet should always be under control. The permanent measurement of temperature and humidity in the switch cabinet is an important element in preventing condensation, which leads to corrosion and thus failure of components. And this is where STEGO’s CSS 014 Smart Sensor comes into play, combining three functions in one compact device: a sensor, interface and transmitter all in one. The CSS 014 measures ambient temperatures with high sensitivity within a range of -40 to +60 °C while keeping a close eye on the relative humidity range from 0 to 100% RH.

Smart Sensor, Smart User The CSS 014 Smart Sensor transmits the data it acquires as a standardized analog 4-20 mA signal. With this signal users can further process and convert the measured values within a control or monitoring unit, e.g. a PLC. Due to high measuring accuracy and signal strength connection wires with a maximum length of 30 m can be used. Thus, scenarios beyond the classic control cabinet application can be implemented. In principle, any larger, spatially sealed application with a defined atmosphere is suitable.

Inner Values for Demanding Applications The sensor unit of the CSS 014 is thermally decoupled and encapsulated with a circumferential seal. Rewards of this effort: a high vibration resistance and compliance with the IP20 degree of protection. The protective lacquer-coated board of the CSS 014 incorporates microcontrollers, interface drivers and EMC protection units in a heatoptimized arrangement so that any influence on the measured values due to waste heat is ruled out. A shielded M12 round plug ensures a fast connection and safely transmits the signals of the two measuring channels for processing. The operating voltage is DC 24 V (DC 12 - 30 V) with a maximum power consumption of 1.8 W (typically 0.4 W). Tested safety is certified for the Smart Sensor CSS 014 through successful

approvals with VDE and UL according to the standard IEC 61010-1 / DIN EN 61010-1.

STEGO - Perfect Thermal Management Since it was founded in 1980, STEGO Elektrotechnik in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany, has been developing, producing and selling an ever-growing range of products for the protection of electric and electronic components. All STEGO products for cabinets and enclosures – heaters, fan heaters, filter fans, LED-lamps, thermostats, hygrostats and accessories - are aimed at reaching optimum climatic conditions in the most varied environments, ensuring that all sensitive components work reliably at all times. STEGO is now represented at 12 locations and by more than 200 sales partners worldwide.

For further information please visit www.stego.co.uk Issue 35 PECM

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT SULZER

TOM ISON LANDS THE 2018 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS SERVICE ASSOCIATION (EASA) KARSTEN MOHOLT AWARD In recognition of his outstanding contribution to a number of projects, Tom Ison, Electrical Engineer at Sulzer, has been awarded the 2018 EASA Karsten Moholt Exceptional Achievement Award. The young engineer’s technical expertise and professionalism has impressed many colleagues and customers alike and their recommendations caught the eye of the judges. The annual award is made in memory of Karsten Moholt and Karsten Aleksander Moholt who are past Presidents and Regional Director of EASA European & World Chapter. It recognizes talented young engineers that have excelled in their role and made considerable contributions to their business. Chris Powles, Head of Electro Mechanical Services - EMEA, commented: “Since joining Sulzer in January 2017, Tom has been successfully involved in many technical projects. His professional attitude and technical expertise have certainly had a very positive impact. Several of our customers who have been supported by Tom, have offered glowing recommendations, which doubtless

contributed to the award being made to this talented engineer.” In his short time at Sulzer to date, Tom has taken on several roles: project manager, technical lead and design engineer. Often combining his skills, Tom had a pivotal role in implementing new, state-of-the-art balancing software as part of the highspeed balance pit upgrade project. His in-depth knowledge and understanding ensured that all the challenges were overcome quickly and effectively, ensuring the project was completed on time and within budget. Tom has also been heavily involved in the project to install a new 2.4 MW high voltage test bed in Sulzer’s Falkirk Service Center. Over five months, Tom provided essential technical support to ensure that the fully automated test bed was properly equipped and commissioned. Thanks to his contribution, the new test bed offers customers a quicker turnaround, same-day reports and the option to witness tests remotely. Tom was presented with his award at the EASA European & World Annual

Convention & AGM, held in Antwerp, Belgium. The prize also included funding to visit Karsten Moholt AS in Bergen, Norway, as well as another EASA member company to learn more about the industry and further increase his technical knowledge. Tom commented: “It was a great privilege to be nominated for the award and about the last thing I expected was to win. I really enjoy working with our customers and getting involved with our own in-house projects as well. This has allowed me to expand my engineering knowledge and skillset. I am looking forward to visiting Bergen, it will be a wonderful experience and help me gain even more insight into the industry.”

About Sulzer Sulzer is the leading worldwide, independent service provider for large rotating equipment. With technically advanced and innovative service and maintenance support solutions, Sulzer provides a turnkey service that provides its customers with the peace of mind to focus on their core operations. Included in this package is a highly efficient and dependable high-voltage coil manufacturing and supply service, delivered from a purpose built facility within the Birmingham Service Centre, UK. It is recognized for producing very high quality coils for high voltage motors and generators; designed, manufactured and shipped by a highly skilled and dedicated team to ensure fast and reliable service.

Tom Ison (middle) receiving the Karsten Moholt Exceptional Achievement Award from Mathis Menzel (left), Managing Director at Menzel Elektromotoren GmbH, and Frederic Beghain (right), General Manager at EASA Region 9.

With an in-house copper rolling mill, Sulzer customers can benefit from round-the-clock manufacturing to ensure that every coil is delivered on schedule. In conjunction with constant quality control and full HV on-site testing facilities, Sulzer can deliver quality, precision and speed, any time, day or night. www.sulzer.com

PECM Issue 35

AC-DC Battery Backed Power System 1U 19” Rack Mounting up to 300 Watts The PFD Series is a no break system to provide constant DC power without interruption in the event of an AC mains failure. Available in 150W and 300W versions and nominal DC outputs of 12V, 24V or 48V

Features • AC Input 180-264VAC 50/60Hz • Nominal 12V, 24V or 48V DC output versions • With external batteries can provide constant power without interruption • Can power your load and charge batteries simultaneously • Zero interruption in the event of AC power failure • Intelligent battery condition monitoring with low battery voltage shutdown • Full protection for over load, short circuit, over voltage and over temperature • Front panel LED display monitoring • Dry contacts, RS232, USB and optional SNMP output monitoring • Temperature controlled fan

www.powersolve.co.uk

Tel: 44-(0)1635-521858 Email: sales@powersolve.co.uk

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ELECTROLUBE

ELECTROLUBE INTRODUCE RAPID UV CURE CONFORMAL COATING Electrolube, the global manufacturer of electro-chemicals, has launched one of the most important new introductions to the conformal coatings market for years. 2K850 is a revolutionary new addition to Electrolube’s ‘2K’ two-part polyurethane portfolio, which combines the two-part chemistry of an encapsulation resin with the ease of application of a conformal coating. Using innovative technology, 2K850 combines 2K technology with a UV cure mechanism, giving 2K850 a vastly faster processing time with superb levels of protection. Compared to single part UV coatings, 2K850 is extremely efficient with a tack-free touch dry time within minutes, and a full cure of just 24 hours, compared to the industry moisture cure average of 8-14+ days or where an additional thermal process of one hour curing at 120°C is required. With all coating applications, controlling the flow rate at a suitably low level, whilst also maintaining the correct mix ratios is a challenge that has been overcome by a specially developed, low volume progressive cavity pump. These pumps accurately control flow rates of the individual components of the formulations within ±1%, maintaining control of the volumetric mix ratio and ensuring correct curing and final properties of the dispensed materials. While 2K coating materials can be applied thinly (50-75µm), they have been designed, formulated and tested to be applied at greater thicknesses (250-300µm), to facilitate superior encapsulation of components and component leads. Electrolube works closely with Nordsen Asymtek, PVA and suppliers of selective coating equipment used by customers, to ensure that new materials work perfectly in the user’s application process. For example, working collaboratively with PVA over the last 2 years has led to the development of the VPX-2KS spray valve, especially designed for the selective application of 2K coating materials. 2K materials provide a solvent-free alternative to both UV and silicone materials, requiring less capital investment than UV materials and improving on the performance of most silicones in harsh environments. The new 2K range has been extensively tested against UV and silicone coatings in thermal shock, powered saltspray, condensation and mixed flowing gas test regimes that are commonly used during automotive qualification campaigns. In each of these tests, the new 2K materials outperformed the UV and silicone materials in every respect, withstanding thermal shock cycles at more than double the thickness of a UV material and demonstrating outstanding salt-mist and condensation resistance.

About Electrolube Electrolube, a division of H.K. Wentworth Limited, is a leading manufacturer of specialist chemicals for electronics, automotive, LED and industrial manufacturing. Core product groups include conformal coatings, contact lubricants, thermal management materials, cleaning solutions, encapsulation resins and maintenance and service aids. The extensive range of electro-chemicals at Electrolube enables the company to offer a ‘complete solution’ to leading manufacturers of electronic, industrial and domestic devices, at all levels of the production process. Through collaboration and research, the company is continually developing new and environmentally friendly products for customers around the world and their commitment to developing ‘greener’ products has been endorsed by the ISO 14001 standard for the highly efficient Environmental Management System in place at the company. Winners of the Queen’s award for Enterprise 2016, Electrolube is represented in over 55 countries with an established network of subsidiaries and distributors. By offering genuine security of scale and a reliable supply chain, the company is able to deliver a truly tailored service. For further information, please visit www.electrolube.com.

PECM Issue 35

Electronica Germany 13 - 16 November 2018 Munich, Germany

Hall A2, Stand 437 Hall B4, Stand 315

Collaborate Advise

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When every connection counts, you can count on Electrolubeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electro-chemical expertise. With a 77-year pedigree, a growing presence in 55 countries and production in 3 global locations, we have the products, research facilities, resources and personal expertise to engineer solutions to your manufacturing challenges. Make contact and discover what makes Electrolube the solutions people for leading manufacturers worldwide.

+44 (0)1530 419600 www.electrolube.com Electronic & General Purpose Cleaning

Conformal Coatings

Encapsulation Resins

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Maintenance & Service Aids

ELECTRICAL& ELECTRONICS

RANDOM POWER DIPS COSTLY POWER CONTINUITY

POWER CONTINUITY - DIPS IN POWER - ELIMINATE A COLD winter, demanding more power to keep us all warm will only exacerbate the problem. This all stacks up to create the setting for the ’Perfect Storm’ where the delicate balance between available power and capacity turns into a harmonic nightmare for Grid supplies. Power Cuts? Yes, they do and will happen, especially during the winter months. How? Transformers can trip out, overheat or die with age. Digger damage and breaker failure are common causes. Sub Stations upstream can trip out. More commonly though, spikes and brown outs caused by the over reliance on Alternative Energy sources (Wind and Solar), which have inherent harmonic distortion issues, will be your most regular day to day issue. The greater the percentage of such Alternative Energy the Grid produces, the greater the harmonic distortions, the more vulnerability to Spikes and Brownouts. Power Continuity engineers provide a site survey to confirm the status of your existing Production facility that will expose whether it is robust enough to withstand power disruption or Grid Failure or not. Prevention is better than cure. Failure isn’t an option, but it can happen. Why live with Power Dips when Power Continuity can eliminate them? How? There are a number of obvious points of concern: • Chiller failure due to aged Chillers struggling to cope with the excessive demand. • LV breakers tripping out due to a power surge • HV Breakers tripping out due to faults up stream. • Aged UPS or wrongly specified UPS can let spikes or brownouts through. • Lack of maintenance or any maintenance records. • NO provision to ride out power dips or spikes. Power Continuity can ensure the power into your production facility is resilient by designing and installing dual power protection supplies supporting, as a minimum, an A Feed and B Feed. That’s just the start of the journey.

Power Continuity will provide the design for N+N Uninterruptible Power supported by rapid start Synchronised Generators, with forever-capacity fuel tanks. That in itself is a good basis for the ‘power continuity’, but without understanding the precise status of the downstream production, there’s still the risk of power failure. Why? Because often Production Management have no complete records of static switches or ‘aged’ UPS’s, together with no service and maintenance records. Worse still, overworked system managers work within constrained budgets hoping that the GRID won’t affect production too much THIS year. Hope is NO substitute for Power Continuity 24/7. Failure is no longer just a possibility, it becomes inevitable. Whether for a millisecond to a longer outage. Call Power Continuity!

POWER CONTINUITY CAN PREVENT YOUR FAILURE DIPS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN Power Continuity engineers can carry out a full site investigation. Thermal Imaging. Load Bank testing. Mains failure tests. Create ‘up to date’ electrical schematics. Power Continuity can upgrade your power protection systems to ensure uninterruptible production at

all times to ensure your production facility remains LIVE and Operational. Power Continuity can advise on the clear and present risks and how to mitigate them. We are Power Continuity. Take a few moments to review our ‘Is my company at risk?’ business health checklist by checking out https://powercontinuity.co.uk/ business-continuity-health-check/ Power Continuity have decades of installations across the UK, all operating 24/7, power-protecting the backbone of UK infrastructure. We can do the same for you. When Power Continuity is your site main contractor then we ensure the best practice at all times to deliver within budget and ahead of schedule. We install everything ourselves in house. We even witness test the complete system in front of you, with a Power Continuity engineer by your side. At Power Continuity we care. We design. We build. We install. No ifs or buts. We monitor and maintain power continuity 24/7. We are Power Continuity

Call us on 0845 055 8455 www.powercontinuity.co.uk

Issue 35 PECM

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

SPEEDING UP CONSTRUCTION SPELSBERG IBT

SPELSBERG ENCLOSURES HELPS BUILD NORTH WALES’ NEWEST PRISON QUICKLY Casting Spelsberg IBT electrical enclosures into concrete building panels helped speed up construction of the UK’s newest prison in North Wales. HM Prison Berwyn, which opened in February 2017, will become Britain largest prison with capacity to accommodate 2,106 men. Costing £250m to build, it is state of the art in every way and designed for rehabilitation and education rather than punishment and incarceration. The men will be housed in one and twoman rooms – they are not called cells – and they are also fitted with showers and toilets. Other facilities in the prison include an education block, workshops, sports hall,

HM Prison Berwyn will be able to accommodate 2,106 men

PECM Issue 34

multi-use games areas, a health centre, and multi-faith centre. The objective of HM Prison Berwyn is to maintain as much normalcy as possible to aid eventual re-entry into society and to educate the men so that they are employment-ready upon release. It will also create about 1,000 jobs and generate £23m for the local economy. Construction of the three four-storey accommodation blocks was entrusted to Precast Concrete Structures Ltd (PCS), which specialises in the design, off-site manufacture and erection of buildings using precast concrete. The company has a track record with other prison construction

projects, as well as apartments, hotels, offices and student housing: often meeting strict construction deadlines. For the Berwyn project, PCS used both pre-cast floors and walls, the former incorporating solutions cast in for lighting, heating and drainage, the latter coming complete with window and door frames. Some walls also have cast into them Spelsberg BS1 electrical enclosures that provide sockets for TV and computers, as well as BS2 enclosures that house power connections. Both enclosure models are from the IBT range, designed specifically for pre-cast concrete construction projects.

both enclosure types in pairs, side by side. In such a configuration any misalignment is immediately obvious and looks less than smart. “Unfortunately, with precast concrete panels the enclosures could be positioned well within tolerance and still look visually out of true. So we asked Spelsberg for possible ideas for overcoming this.” The solution agreed upon was to use special face plates that would fit over both enclosures, which would make discerning any misalignment virtually impossible. Finally, following Ministry of Justice guidelines, the face plates were mounted with one-way screws rather than the standard type. The asymmetric screw heads can be tightened using a normal screwdriver but need a special tool to undo them, preventing men for unscrewing the face plates and vandalising the electrical fittings inside or hiding contraband.

The Spelsberg solution reduces build time when using prefabricated, reinforced concrete panels.

The UK government is engaged in a programme of prison building to relieve overcrowding and modernise the estate. Economies of scale can be realised by building large establishments. By breaking these down into smaller housing blocks and the blocks into even smaller sections a sense of community can be created. This fosters good relations between occupants and also with the staff, reduces destructive behaviour and encourages long-term rehabilitation. Steve concludes: “The Ministry of Justice has generated a futuristic model in the standardisation of a design that could be used for future building without the cost and time associated with developing new solutions. HM Prison Berwyn is at the cutting-edge of social reform and as such should do a lot towards reducing reoffending and the creation of career criminals.”

About Spelsberg Spelsberg is one of the largest manufacturers of electrical enclosures in the world. With over 4,000 enclosures available as standard and further customisation possible, it offers solutions for almost any application. The modular design of the IBT range offers excellent flexibility. The British Standard series of enclosures is designed so that it is suitable for permanently casting into position in concrete panels. The BS1 is 86mm x 86mm x 60mm deep and is designed to have a single socket outlet fitted to the front of the unit. The BS2 is bigger at 146mm x 866mm x 60mm and is designed to have a double socket outlet fitted to the front of the unit. Both units are designed for flexibility of use and come with an earthing screw as standard.

Additionally, Spelsberg supplied bespoke cast-in back boxes to facilitate the two-way intercom between the room interior and the adjacent corridor or landing so that the men can contact the staff should the need arise. The corridor back box also incorporated a call light and reset button. Steve Williams of PCS says Spelsberg were very helpful on this project. “Where rooms have two men, we needed to double up the electrical services. This meant installing

With the largest supply of nonmetallic enclosures, ex-stock in the UK, its products are often available for delivery within 24 hours; customisation is possible on any product, including bespoke entries, engraved corporate logos or fitted terminals, within 48 hours. Products can be ordered direct from Spelsberg or from most leading supply specialists including RS, Rapid, Farnell and CPC. www.spelsberg.co.uk Issue 35 PECM

Proximity Probes

Corintech Ltd

A range of industry standard 3300 compatible series proximity probes are now available from KDP. Compliant with API670 and Bently compatible, these probes are designed for machinery protection in the non-contact measurement of shaft vibration and displacement. Durable PPS over-molded probe tips with stainless steel bodies to withstand harsh conditions when monitoring critical machinery such as turbines and compressors. Available in 5mm, 8mm, 11mm and 25mm versions together with extension cables and mounting fittings.

Electronics design and manufacturing experts equipped to take your product from concept to supply under one roof. With skilled teams in design, manufacture, procurement and quality assurance, Corintech can assist with all aspects of your project from any stage. Our design skills include all elements of product design; mechanical, electronic, firmware, and digital development. From WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC integration to Mobile and Cloud-hosted App development, we’re the ideal IoT project partner. Our electronics manufacturing capabilities cover everything from PCB assembly to full mechanical box build.

In addition, Probe Drivers RE also available with easy mounting and connections in both 4-20mA and voltage output versions.

With design and manufacture facilities in the UK and Hong Kong, we provide small scale and large batch production, rapid turnaround, supply chain management and fully traceable components while still maintaining local customer support.

KDP Electronics Systems 01767 651058 www.kdpes.co.uk

www.corintech.com quaterpageadapril18-2.qxp_Layout 1 18/04/2018 10:01 Page 1

KAIZEN TECHNOLOGY You think it, we build it!

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IO-Link sensors: Communication with added value For the first time, the IO-Link technology has been implemented in sensor series from Panasonic. Fiber sensor amplifiers (FX-550L), pressure sensors (DP-100L series), and measurement sensors (HG-C1000L series) now can communicate via IO-Link. In addition to the standard benefits provided by IO-Link such as external parametrization and simple replacement of devices, Panasonic’s IO-Link sensors offer an integrated self-diagnosis function. This function contains pre-defined warning levels for each of the sensor types. The sensor automatically sends a warning signal when its functionality is compromised, for example when the FX-550L detects a decrease in light intensity at the receiver. The self-diagnosis function saves time as users do not have to implement a function themselves. Thanks to the standardized IO-Link technology, users are able to easily integrate sensors on the different field levels. www.panasonic-electric-works.com

NEW ESSENTRA COMPONENTS ELECTRICAL CABLE TERMINALS QUALITY AND SPEED FROM ESSENTRA COMPONENTS A new range of high quality, low cost terminals is now available from Essentra Components as part of their new Electrical Catalogue listing. High conductivity and long life crimp joints are quickly formed using a crimping tool on both uninsulated or polyamide insulated options listed. Available styles include spade terminals and cord end terminals in sizes from 1.3mm to 8.5mm core dia. Applications include electrical installation, domestic appliances, heating industry, automotive industry, cabinet and panel building where ensuring a complete and secure connection is essential. Essentra Components cable terminals for manufacturers

email us

enquiries@kaizentechnology.co.uk

www.kaizentechnology.co.uk 96

PECM Issue 35

and contractors are part of their one-stop-shop, fast delivery from stock service – and may be evaluated for production/installation with free samples on request. The new Essentra Components Electrical catalogue is available to request and more information on the cable terminal range may be found at www.essentracomponents.com/en-gb/fibre-wire-cable-management. Further information on Essentra Components products can be found on the Essentra Components website – www.essentracomponents. com or contact sales@ essentracomponents.com. Follow them on social media: https://facebook.com/ essentracomponents/, www. linkedin.com/company/ essentra https://www.youtube. com/channel/UCD2g7tiLiKxsDptdC79BNQ

Engineers and Buyers find the leading brands and the widest selection of products in stock at Mouser

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ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

OPTIMISING PERFORMANCE GARDNER DENVER

ENSURING AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPRESSOR

It takes a considerable amount of energy, generally in the form of electricity, to produce the clean, dry, pressurised air that is needed for so many processes and applications. With this in mind, Andrew Power, Country Manager at Gardner Denver, outlines steps owners and operators can take to ensure their compressor is as efficient as possible, so it can meet this need. The nation’s industry uses over 20TWh of electricity to compress air – the equivalent to the output of four power stations. Generating this huge quantity of compressed air accounts for 10 per cent of the industrial sector’s total energy costs. These figures show that identifying inefficiencies and optimising performance should be a key consideration for businesses, regardless of size. Indeed, the consequences of not dealing with these issues can be dramatic.

PECM Issue 35

TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP

A key driver when improving compressor efficiency is total cost of ownership, and this is informed by many factors. For example, industry averages suggest energy costs account for over 80 per cent of a compressor’s total cost of ownership. Consequently, it is important to ensure any unit is correctly sized, specified and suited to the demands placed on it. Over-specifying can lead to higher initial outlays and expensive on-going maintenance, but can be avoided by installing a datalogging device to monitor performance. This will audit and save relevant metrics, including the system’s compressed air flow demand, and the maximum and minimum air pressures required. As a result, owners and operators can select a correctly-sized compressor that will expend an appropriate amount of energy, resulting in greater efficiency.

Another way of reducing a compressor’s total cost of ownership is to view its initial purchase price as part of its whole life costs. Though purchasing a compressor with a lower up-front cost may seem shrewd, a cheaper, less proven unit may suffer from maintenance issues in the future. Often, these issues lead to increased service costs, meaning any original savings may be lost later on, as the total cost of ownership rises. Yet by considering purchase price alongside long-term costs like servicing and maintenance, more informed decisions can be made when specifying a compressor.

ENERGY AUDITS

With energy costs greatly impacting a compressor’s total cost of ownership, it is also clear that undertaking an energy audit could improve efficiency levels.

A compressed air audit will highlight key areas where efficiency is lost, such as through pipework leakages, which account of 35 per cent of total air consumption and can result in system contamination through osmosis.

About the Gardner Denver Industrials Group Gardner Denver Industrials Group delivers the broadest range of compressors and vacuum products, in a wide array of technologies, to end-user and OEM customers worldwide in the industries it serves.

Energy audits can also be used to quantify a compressorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible heat potential. Because 94 per cent of compressorgenerated heat is recoverable, this can prove invaluable for companies looking to make operational efficiencies.

The Group provides reliable and energy-efficient equipment that is put to work in a multitude of manufacturing and process applications. Products ranging from versatile low- to high-pressure compressors to customized blowers and vacuum pumps serve industries including general manufacturing, automotive, and waste water treatment, as well as food & beverage, plastics, and power generation. The Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global offering also includes a comprehensive suite of aftermarket services to complement its products.

Because they show how much these inefficiencies can cost, and identify simple opportunities to improve productivity, safeguard product quality and reduce site downtime, energy audits are an important tool when considering overall efficiency.

ICONN

Another way to improve compressor efficiency is by capitalising on the datadriven opportunities available through Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. With this in mind, Gardner Denver has introduced iConn, a cloud-based, air management platform that provides historic, real-time, predictive and cognitive analytics, allowing operators to rectify potential issues before they arise. iConn helps minimise fault incidences for increased uptime, and also provides detailed machine parameters and over-time trend analysis. As a result, operators can track realtime data to offer in-depth reports that track energy waste, where it occurs, and how. This enables plant managers to optimise system performance and improve overall efficiency.

In conclusion, identifying inefficiencies and optimising performance is increasingly vital for operators looking to improve their bottom line. Specifying compressors correctly, using energy audits and taking advantage of platforms such as iConn, operators can ensure maximum energy efficiency and minimal wastage.

Gardner Denver Industrials Group, part of Gardner Denver, Inc., is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Gardner Denver was founded in 1859 and today has approximately 7,000 employees in more than 30 countries. For more information on Gardner Denver, energy audits and iConn, please visit www.gardnerdenver. com/industrials.

Issue 35 PECM

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

COMPONENT SUPPLY BEC DISTRIBUTION

BEC DISTRIBUTION TO EASE COMPONENTS ALLOCATION AND END-OF-LIFE (EOL) CHALLENGES Current problems in the electronic components market including shortages, allocations and EoL notices bring specialist distributors and customers closer. Forty years ago, when BEC Distribution was first established, there was no internet, no websites or Supply Chain Management. However, component manufacturers now sell more through specialist distributors than in the past. The reasons include: • Increased national and international regulations • Supply Chain policies of OEM and EMS providers including no sole sourcing, • Distributors ability to soften EoL impacts • Information fatigue: in a world full of • • information and short of our attention, customers must hash through hundreds of thousands of pages for what’s the best technology for their requirements, for their challenges and for the boards that they are building. To help engineers and buyers with these new realities, BEC Distribution now offers performance comparison tables, genuine franchised EoL alternatives, shorter lead times and better pricing. Manufacturers’ EoL announcements and their disastrous impacts on engineers and buyers have been an enduring theme of BEC Distribution’s supply experience. Changes in raw materials, or their availability, even

Mergers & Acquisitions could trigger EoL notices. Typically, manufacturers discontinue lines after 7-10 years. This is a potential risk for customers whose products have longer expected lifetimes including Aerospace, Medical, Surveillance or Defence industry equipment. But EoL as a term used by manufacturers does not mean the end of demand or usefulness of a component to design

engineers. A more appropriate term would be “End-of-Sale” (EoS) by a specific manufacturer. Nonetheless for both manufacturers and customers, EoL remains an impossible to eliminate reality. BEC Distribution’s EoL Component Sourcing Service will be a lifeline to R&D engineers, design houses or Supply Chain Management at OEMs and EMS providers. With a stock of 15m EoL passive components, BEC can provide pin-for-pin direct replacement or alternatives. If the required components are not in stock, BEC can recommend standard alternatives, or source custom value components. Sourcing EoL components without proper assessment and technical due diligence is however, a potential risk to performance or quality of final products. One of the most important things to look for in a distribution partner is their technical sourcing ability, proven experience in the market, together with CoC guaranteeing that the alternatives match original specifications. In addition to Technical Support, BEC can also provide FOC samples.

For more info please contact sales@ bec.co.uk or visit www.bec.co.uk

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Electronic Components Supply As it should be... • EoL or current production

• Drop-in alternatives • Genuine franchised • Alternatives on 6-week lead times

• Better pricing • Free samples

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

A SMART HVAC SYSTEM JMARTANS

BUILDING AUTOMATION TIPS FROM INDUSTRY What does a historical building and an industrial plant have in common? For Malta’s Grand Master’s Palace, it’s a smart HVAC system. As smart technology develops, building managers are increasingly turning to automation systems to streamline their processes. Here, Vincent Deguara, operations manager at building automation provider JMartans Automation, looks at what facilities managers can learn from industrial automation. There was a time many years ago that digital control was considered a strictly industrial concept, existing as a means of improving process speed and efficiency to increase throughput and output. However, smarter technology has changed the value and appeal of this type of automation. It’s no longer just about the output, but the outcome. The changing nature of automation has made it more attractive to facilities managers, who can now incorporate it into their buildings to reap similar benefits to their industrial counterparts. Because the concept of building automation covers everything from internet-connected security systems to smart lighting, we can take inspiration from industry to see how facility managers can use automation to uncover savings.

MONITOR OUTCOME, NOT OUTPUT

Most commercial facilities don’t have a unit of production output that can be directly influenced by automation. Yet interestingly, an increasing number of industrial businesses are focussed on controlling their expenses and resources. Energy usage is a prime example of this, and it’s one that facilities managers should also focus on. According to statistics from the European Commission, buildings contribute approximately 40 per cent of annual energy consumption across the EU. In comparison, 2015 figures highlighted that industry uses approximately 25 per cent of all electricity in the EU. Facilities managers can reduce energy usage with building automation by implementing smart HVAC systems, which can regulate energy usage based on inputs - such as whether the room is in use or not.

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Combining this with a building energy management system (BEMS), such as those designed and delivered by the team at JMartans, allows for greater control over costs and insight into use.

START FROM THE TOP

One of the most effective lessons that facilities managers can take from industry is the importance of top-down automation. This means having a structure in place so that individual automated systems can collectively add value by being centrally controlled. For example, many industrial businesses use equipment sensors and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to manage and monitor factory processes and equipment performance. Facility managers can replicate this using a computer-based system that provides this functionality in buildings. A building automation system (BAS) is one such system, which effectively operates as a central control point for individual facility

systems, such as air conditioning units and security networks. The controllers of these devices can be interconnected in a tiered direct digital control (DDC) system architecture, where facility managers and building technicians can view and control a building from one entry point. In practical terms, this would mean facilities managers could regulate the usage of HVAC equipment and control lighting from a remote location, keeping the energy usage under control for a greener facility. These are just a couple of automation lessons that facility managers can take from industry. As smart technology develops and extends what is possible with automation, we will see more similarities in the way these sectors operate. For now, the most effective way to see what your facility can achieve with automation is to consult with a building automation expert and develop a bespoke system that meets your needs.

www.jmartans.com

PPM TECHNOLOGY

For almost 25 years PPM Technology Ltd. have been manufacturing IAQ and toxic gas detection instrumentation, specialising in formaldehyde detection: there's an instrument to fit almost every need... For industrial control and monitoring, several variations of the Formaldemeter™ i/fB are available that provide a simple analogue output (voltage or current loop) and can be enhanced by optional display modules or data loggers. Alternatively the PPMonitor range

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

of distributed IAQ Profile monitors continuously transmit data from internal IAQ sensors to either the PPMonitor software suite or the Touch Screen Monitor where live charts can be displayed and reports generated. Visit www.ppm-technology.com or contact sales@ppm-technology.com for more information.

FRASER TECHNOLOGIES

Fraser Technologies are proud to have supported the cleaning industry for last 50 years. They continue to offer technological advances, adapt to legislative changes and embrace environmental challenges and are now considered one of the leaders within the precision cleaning industry. They offer a wide range of new generation chemistries and both solvent and aqueous cleaning systems.

with them because of their expert knowledge, superior trial facilities and their first class after sales service.

Companies from the aerospace, electronics, medical and automotive industries have chosen to work

T: 01506 443058 W: www.frasertech.co.uk E: sales@frasertech.co.uk

EVAPORATIVE COOLING LISTED AS NEW CATEGORY ON THE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LIST (ETL), ENTITLING BUYERS TO CLAIM AN ENHANCED CAPITAL ALLOWANCE Seeley International are proud to have all three Breezair models listed on The Energy Technology List (ETL), a government list of energy-saving products used by businesses. Breezair products are the first evaporative coolers to be listed on the UK’s Carbon Trust Energy Technology List. The ETL (or Energy Technology Product List, ETPL) is a government-managed list of energy-efficient plant and machinery, such as boilers, electric motors, air conditioning and refrigeration systems that qualify for full tax relief. With over 17,000 listed products the ETL is one of the world’s largest databases of top performing energy- efficient products. UK businesses that purchase products listed on the ETL can claim an Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA), a first year 100% accelerated capital allowance that delivers all available tax relief in 1 year. Seeley International was part of the working committee to establish the new energy technology list criteria for evaporative air

They are proud to announce the launch of our new standardised range of equipment, which they revealed at Surface World 2018 and they have been overwhelmed by the uptake from customers as this range provides them with a simple, innovative and cost-effective exceptional cleaning process.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

coolers, with the Carbon Trust and a number of different stakeholders in the industry. The benefit that businesses can get from choosing a product from ETL is equivalent to approximately 5.5 times the benefit of standard tax relief in the year of purchase. Businesses that purchase products listed on the ETL can also make significant energy savings. Evaporative cooling is the only viable option when cooling large industrial or commercial areas, including semi-open spaces. Evaporative air cooling uses between up to 87% less energy than conventional A/C; it brings in 100% fresh outside air and utilises water for cooling instead of synthetic chemical refrigerants. Very easy to install and maintain, they are a great solution to improve air quality, especially in production areas where fumes and germs are involved.

To get more information about Breezair, you can browse www.breezair.com/uk or write an email to uksales@seeleyinternational.com Issue 35 PECM

103

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

A TRULY FRESH APPROACH ECOCOOLING

HOW EVAPORATIVE COOLING FROM ECOCOOLING CAN SAVE POUNDS AS WELL AS THE PLANET Evaporative cooling is fast becoming the only viable option for the protection of equipment and comfort of occupants in contemporary working and living spaces. Data centres, gyms, warehouses and factories all require particular cooling needs. Particularly spaces with mezzanine floors and/or high levels of insulation. Pioneers in efficient cooling technologies - EcoCooling, use direct evaporative cooling in their products and systems to deliver 100% fresh air, at far lower costs than refrigerated cooling methods. An EcoCooling system uses up to 90% less energy and runs at less than 10% in comparison to refrigerated air con. The systems are simple and safe for operators. Installation is streamlined, and lead times are quick with stock and spares on site as part of a UK-wide installation network. Tailored client solutions only require single phase AC supplies and can be retrofit or setup as part of a new build. All of this is available with low maintenance, high reliability cooling systems and tailored solutions for client needs; whatever the scale, age or purpose of the space. Data centres, factories, warehouses, gyms and leisure complexes have all reaped the benefits of EcoCoolers. Typical ventilation systems of the past are unable to maintain internal temperatures below 25°C during prolonged warm periods and refrigeration-based systems can be expensive to operate, whilst requiring frequent maintenance - not to mention the inherent pollutants they release into the atmosphere. Evaporative cooling, which can produce air consistently below 22°C in the UK climate, provides a solution which consumes only a fraction of the electricity, providing a typical ROI after just three years and pushing EcoCooling towards their goal of saving the country 1% on its total energy bill. That’s equivalent to shutting down a power station! The evaporation process removes heat without the need for refrigeration and units can produce a large continuous stream of comfortably cool, clean, fresh air. If you

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PECM Issue 35

need to cool small areas within a large space, ‘spot cooling’ (through evaporation) gives you the only viable option with highvelocity air that can be directed to a specific area, irrespective of the surrounding conditioning; something impossible to achieve with traditional Air Conditioning. Efficiency through simplicity is the core principal of evaporative cooling. EcoCooling carry this notion through every area of their complimentary design advice service. Capitalising on their vast industry experience, they work closely with consultants and end-user clients to optimise cooling technology for a modern world and apply progressive, innovative solutions to provide clean growth for a growing economy. The EcoCooler is the only evaporative cooler designed specifically for the UK and European industrial and commercial market. Having been operational for over 15 years EcoCooling have more than 4500 installations with a growing roster of different applications with clients as diverse as BT, TK Maxx, Cummins Diesel and Net-a-porter. EcoCooling pride themselves on their service to clients and are proud to be a family-run, UK-based company at the forefront of evaporative cooling technology.

Call for a free quote and to connect with an application engineer. 01284 810586 sales@ecocooling.co.uk www.ecocooling.co.uk

SAVE UP TO 90%

ON YOUR ENERGY COSTS.

EVAPORATIVE COOLING • Runs at less than 10% compared to refrigerated air con • Increases productivity, hygiene and condition compliance • No harmful refrigerants - only 100% fresh air • Avoids air recirculation - improves air quality/reduces smells • Energy Efficient Natural Cooling - decreases carbon footprint • New build and retrofit with solutions to fit a range of applications

EcoCooling: the established leaders in evaporative cooling UK-based with over 4500 installations worldwide; with clients including BT, Cummins Diesel, Premier Foods, Marks & Spencer, Net-a-Porter, Cambridge University, Talk Talk and CGG Veritas. Case studies online! Industrial Cooling: Provides 35kW of cooling for only 1.5kW of electricty. 14,000m3/hr of cool air for less than 12p per hour. ROI in under 3 years. Large UK wide network of installers ready to quote on a solution to fit your needs.

sales@ecocooling.co.uk | T: 01284 810586 www.ecocooling.co.uk | www.cloudcooler.co.uk

FASTENERS & FIXINGS

THE HUCK BOBTAIL

STAR FASTENERS

A HUCK® FASTENER THAT HAS IT ALL! The Huck BobTail® - small diameter 6.4mm to large 25mm permanent structural Lockbolt Lockbolts as an alternative to welding? Manufacturers of heavy equipment are actively investing in direct tension lockbolts. Installing a Bobtail fastener is significantly faster, stronger and safer than welding a joint. Let’s find out more…

BOBTAIL CONSISTS OF TWO PIECES, CALLED PIN AND COLLAR • The pin has rolled annular lock grooves (shallower than helical threads) with two pull grooves • The collar material is softer than the pin, with no initial grooves

THE INSTALLATION PROCESS - HOW IT WORKS • The pin is simply inserted into the prepared hole • The collar can be pre-spun onto the pin by hand if pre-assembly is required • When the installation tool is applied and activated, the tool swages the collar onto the pin resulting in high clamp forces • This force deforms the collar material into lock grooves on pin • The force generated by the tool locks the collar into place; this will not loosen

HOW IT WORKS / INSTALLS WITH SPECIAL TOOL • Clamps collar onto pin (called swaging), resulting in high clamp forces • Deforms collar material into lock grooves on pin • Locks into place, will not loosen

NO PIN BREAK • • • •

Eliminates waste Ensures high corrosion resistance Eliminates pintail slip hazards Greatly reduces shock load to installation tool, thereby extending tool life

SAFE, ERGONOMIC INSTALLATION • No torque or impact is transferred to the operator • Tooling is light and easy to handle • Its quiet to install – under 70 Db

PROVEN PERFORMANCE • Fastens without torque – delivers high, consistent clamp loads • Maintenance free joints – no retorquing required • Provides high vibration resistance – delivers joints that will not loosen • High fatigue endurance • Installs only two seconds • Visual inspection is all that is required; digital tooling can also be used to record results • The design of the fastener and tooling allows it to be installed in confined areas • Creates tamperproof joints

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PECM Issue 35

Installed Huck BobTail Lockbolts

Secure, Fast Installation Combining an advanced fastener design with the latest in easy-to-use, ergonomic installation tooling, the BobTail system delivers a strong connection and sets a new standard for ease of installation.

Quick Visual Inspection

■

Pintail-less design means reduced noise, no waste, and improved corrosion resistance

■

Visual evidence of successful installation provided by swage indicator (if any swage The installation tool is applied to The pin is inserted into the

At a predetermined force, the anvil

the

When swaging of the collar into

dots onpin collar flange are it is installation anannular pull grooves. the tool to to swage the collar into pin lockgrooves is complete, the tool prepared hole, and the collar iscrossed, The is inserted into the The tool When is applied At abegins predetermined force, When swaging of the collar is The activated, a puller in isthe nose to lockgrooves. ejects fastener spun the prepared hole, and the annular pull grooves. When the thethe anvil begins toContinued swage into pintheswaging lockgrooves is intothe indication apin.fullinto swage) installation tool applied Atpin’s a predetermined force, the anvil When ofand the releases collar thetool Theonto pin isof inserted the assembly the pin into tool, thepin’s collar into and pin, puller to complete sequence. collar is spun onto theispin. is activated, a puller inWhen thethe nose theswaging collar into the complete, the tool ejects annular draws pull grooves. the tool begins elongates to swage the collar pin lockgrooves isthe complete, the tool prepared hole, and the collar assembly draws the pin into the lockgrooves. Continued the fastener and releases causing the swaging anvil to press on developing precise clamp. ■ Collar is activated, a puller in the nose the pin’s lockgrooves. Continued ejects the fastener and releases the material into the lockgrooves spun onto the swaged pin. tool, causing the swaging anvil swaging elongates theinstallation puller toofcomplete the the collar, drawing up any sheet gap. to swaging elongates thethe collarcollar and pin, on a typical puller to complete sequence. *Based 5/8" the grade 8 fastener forms a permanent, vibration-resistant assembly draws the pin into the tool, press on thethe collar, drawing uponany and pin, developing precise sequence. causing swaging anvil to press developing precise clamp. “Dots” on the BobTail collar indicates The BobTail System delivers asheet lightening-quick installation cycleclamp. time for greater productivity – as fast as two seconds*. a full connection. gap. the collar, drawing up any sheet gap. *Based on a typical installation of 5/8" 8 fastener when at least onegrade is crossed by the This quick cycle is due, in part, to the short time required to apply the tool to the pin andswage initiate the installation ■The Low-swage technology for faster, swage –anvil. BobTail Systemallows delivers a lightening-quick installation cycle time for greater productivity as fast as two seconds*.

cycle. Once the operator engages the trigger, the swage and eject sequence is programmed to complete the cycle lighter tooling with parts thatain last longer.to the short The BobTail System delivers lightening-quick installation time for as fast two seconds*. This quick cycle is due, part, timecycle required togreater apply productivity the tool to– the pinas and initiate the installation without worker input.time required This quickany cycleadditional is due, in part, to the short to apply the tool to the pin and initiate the installation cycle. Once the operator cycle. Once the operator engages the trigger, the swage and eject sequence is programmed to complete the cycle For Oversized To optimize clamp, hardened washers such as ASTM F436, DIN 6916 or 14399-6 arethe recommended for use with holes and slots, along with good bolting practice. engages theHoles: trigger, the swage and eject sequence is programmed toEN complete cycle without anyoversize additional worker input. without any additional worker input. *Based on a typical installation of 5/8” grade 8 fastener

HuckBolt HuckBolt

Installed Gap Comparison

Standard Bolt Standard Bolt

INSTALLED GAP COMPARISON In addition, Huck BobTail lockbolts are not subjected to torsion In addition, Huck BobTail not subjected torsion during installation, so they lockbolts can safely are be taken to higher to preload during installation, so they can safely be taken to higher preload values than conventional bolts, resulting in a much tighter joint. values than conventional bolts, resulting in a much tighter joint.

COLLAR

NO GAP

The swaged collar collar forms The swaged forms overthe thelock lock thread, thread, over and eliminates the and eliminates thegap. gap.

DIBt APPROVED (German national technical approval) • BobTail has been approved in both static and dynamic applications • Retorque 25, 000/ retension of an installed Huck BobTail is not necessary BobTail

C L A M P ( lb f )

ail

Bobtail installation sequence Bobtail installation sequence BOBTAIL INSTALATION SEQUENCE

GAP

NUT

Regularnuts nuts and Regular andbolts bolts havegap, gap, which which allows have allows loosening by by vibration. forfor loosening vibration.

Huck lockbolts are a precision engineered two-piece fastening system. Bobtail can be installed in intensive vibration environments. They provide a direct metal to metal contact which eliminates the transverse vibration often found in conventional nuts and bolts. Huckbolts deliver superior joining, shear and tensile strength for an unmatched fastening solution.

Transverse Vibration Comparison 14mm class 10.9

20, 000

000 THE15,BOBTAIL FASTENER CAN BE REMOVED

10, 000 The collar cutter allows fast and easy removal – with a quick, simple change of tool attachment from the installation nose to the 5, 000 collar cutter. Nut and Bolt

As the UK’s largest distributor of the Huck brand, Star Fasteners have a This verychart closeshows relationship Arconic and isare proactive in nut and with bolt clamp scatter much wider compared designing and developing new ideas. With many added value decays to BobTail, and that once vibration begins, clamp load quickly services and years of product application Star with the with conventional nuts and bolts, whileknowledge, it holds constant Fasteners are able to offer a unique customer experience. BobTail.

0 0

APPLICATIONS

100

150 T I ME ( se c . )

200

250

Engineered for a wide range of applications including, truck and trailer, chassis, steel framed towers, construction, bridges, gantries, steel framed / modular buildings, solar, the possibilities are endless!

300

Telephone: +44 (0) 115 932 4939 E-mail: sales@starfasteners.co.uk

Issue 35 PECM

107

FLUID HANDLING

20 YEARS OF INNOVATION MAGNETROL

GUIDED WAVE RADAR AT MAGNETROL® The popular loop-powered transmitters we know as guided wave radar (GWR) burst onto the scene in the late 1990s. Here are some insights into this breakthrough technology and the effect it has had on the level measurement world. In GWR transmitters, the principle of time domain reflectometry (TDR) utilizes pulses of high frequency electromagnetic energy to measure distances. When a pulse reaches a dielectric discontinuity created by the surface of the process medium, the pulse is reflected and modern low power circuitry measures the time of flight. Magnetrol® experts were among the pioneers in the field of guided wave radar. In 1998, MAGNETROL released the first guided wave radar transmitter, the Eclipse® Model 705. Over the years, the ECLIPSE family has expanded to include a variety of probes for a broad range of applications, an enhanced version of the Model 705, and most recently the high-performance, cutting-edge Model 706 with best-in-class performance. Initially, the ECLIPSE was not considered to be very revolutionary. Why would a customer use a “RF capacitance-looking device” with a probe? Non-contact devices were also available at that time, and appeared to have clear advantages over a contacting device. With ultrasonic and radar transmitters already carving out their own niche in the marketplace, installing a probe seemed almost archaic. However, what the process industries have discovered over the past 20 years is that a probe contacting the process medium can be the key to accurate level measurement in those difficult low dielectric, high temperature applications. A probe offers a conductive path into the vessel upon which the extremely low energy signal can travel. This allows the maximum amount of energy to reach the surface, where it is reflected and sent back to the transmitter for interpretation. Liquids with very low dielectrics and specific gravities can be measured accurately. In addition, since the probe is a conductive path that maintains control of the signal, energy is not scattered within the tank where it can encounter objects that can create false targets. In other words, the initial perceived weakness of the product requiring a probe is actually the strength of the entire system.

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PECM Issue 35

The Eclipse® 706 The ECLIPSE family has also solved many nagging measurement problems over the 20 years of its existence. One major issue often found with radar devices is a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio, or SNR. If there is a noise level interfering with detection of the actual signal, level measurement can be affected. MAGNETROL leads the industry in guided wave radar devices with superior SNR. ECLIPSE devices also feature Overfill Safe Operation, a function that allows the probe to measure true level throughout the tank, with no “dead zones” at the top of the probe. Difficult process conditions, such as high-

temperature, high-pressure, or saturated steam applications, do not affect ECLIPSE devices, which are able to measure accurately even in challenging environments. These are just a few of the ways that MAGNETROL guided wave radar transmitters stand head and shoulders above other radarbased products. MAGNETROL continues to innovate in the field of guided wave radar, as we have for the past 20 years. To learn more about our transmitters, visit radar.magnetrol.com.

( PDUNHG LFDEOH

:DWWV XS WR N: DOORZ VFDOH XS IURP UHVHDUFK FLOTRONIC â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; SERIES PUMPS WR SURGXFWLRQ )LQG RXW FLUID HANDLING UNMATCHED IN TESTING PRUH DERXW RXU EHVWVHOOHUV PLQLVWDWÂ&#x160; XQLVWDWÂ&#x160; PLQLFKLOOHUÂ&#x160; XQLFKLOOHUÂ&#x160; DQG URWDFRROÂ&#x160; ZKLFK GHÂżQH WKH VWDQGDUGV Flotronicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series pumps have proved The 12â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series pump has check ball valve themselves unmatched when tested to seats engineered to allow drainage without RI WHPSHUDWXUH FRQWURO WHFKQRORJ\

exacting performance standards by EHEDG (the European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group). The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series offers peace of mind for the food, beverage, dairy and pharmaceutical industries - and any environment or process where avoidance of product contamination is paramount.

DOHV#URWDÓżRZ FRP

URWDÓżRZ FRP

The 10â&#x20AC;? version with 2â&#x20AC;? connections offers a pump solution ideal for customers with low to mid-range flow rate applications while customers seeking flow rates as high as 500 litres per minute will find the 12â&#x20AC;? pump with 1Â˝â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3â&#x20AC;? ideal.

manufacture w

inversion. This avoids the need to rotate a relatively large machine and lets the 12â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series pump remain in its normal operating position.

)RU IXUWKHU GHWDLOV FRQWDFW /DEWH[ RQ The features of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series combine with RU YLVLW ZZZ ODEWH[ FR XN WR VHH WKH U Flotronicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unrivalled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ONE-NUTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; technology to reduce down time and cleaning costs, maintain and even improve sanitary levels on site, and prevent wastage with less â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hold upâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of product.

Reinforced diaphragms are standard on the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series. Reinforcing plates ensure the pumps can withstand CIP/SIP pressures up to 6 bar in the production line. This means the pumps can be Cleaned in Place using fully automated CIP units incorporating external CIP pumps, without the need to bypass the pump. All â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series pumps are available with the option of BS, DIN or ISO hygienic connections.

PTFE Fluid Handling from Bohlender

Like all Flotronic pumps the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series pumps have been designed with ease of cleaning for all product contact and non-product contact parts. The 10â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Series pump has a support stand allowing rotation of the pump for easy and effective media draining. Gravity separates Web:fiwww.flotronicpumps.co.uk the ball valves from their seats in this inverted Bohlender offers a vast range of nished and semi Telephone: 01444 881871 position allowing cleaning fluids to easily drain in technical and fluoroplastics. away from the inverted delivery nozzle.

finished pr

A variety of different materials like PTFE, FEP, PFA, PEEK and enable innovative products to be produced with excellent ch LABTEX PTFE FLUIDresistance. HANDLING resistance and high thermal FROM BOHLENDER Labtex supplies leading laboratory products including HUBER liquid temperature control systems, DIEHM glass reaction systems to 100 litres, PREMEX and AMAR high pressure autoclaves, POPE wiped film or short path evaporators and distillation systems, Nutsche filter dryers, BOLA labware in PTFE and other technical plastics, Vacuubrand vacuum pumps, ASECOS storage solutions for hazardous materials to BS EN 14470-1 and SICCO desiccators.

We needle also work with LLG arings and Germany, the 3rd largest lab sealing materials supplies distributor in Europe have a catalogue of Over the and passed 20,000 items from over 200 solutionsrespected within brands.

n a slowly rotating twisting on hoses. d 316 stainless al to suit customer

Bohlender offers a vast range of finished and semi finished products in technical and fluoroplastics. A variety of different materials like PTFE, FEP, PFA, PEEK and others enable innovative products to be produced with excellent chemical resistance and high thermal resistance.

manufactures reaction vessels up to 6 litre capacity in PTFE or PFA. All parts exposed to the medium are either made completely of PTFE/PFA or jacketed like the thermometers.

Screw joints and ground joint components, tubing and connectors allow an infinite number of combinations to create sophisticated systems of fluid transfer using standard laboratory bottles and containers.

resistance and the safe use and care of fluoroplastic labware. Further advice on the pressure resistance of tubing and the correct choice for pressure or vacuum applications make the catalogue a useful reference.

Screw joints and ground joint components, tubing and conn allow an infinite number of combinations to create sophis The BOLA catalogue also includes systems of fluid transfer using standard laboratory bottle a wealth of technical information on the materials used including containers. physical properties and chemical

For distillation of strong acids or alkaline products manufactures reaction vessels up to 6 litre capacity in PTFE All parts exposed to the medium are either made comple PTFE/PFA or jacketed like the thermometers. For distillation of strong acids or alkaline products BOLA

www.labtex.co.uk

The BOLA catalogue also includes a wealth of technical infor Issue 35properties PECM 109 and ch on the materials used including physical resistance and the safe use and care of fluoroplastic labware

Fluid Carrying

INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE ENGINEERING LTD

Flexibility Articulated Torsion Pipework In Hoses Rotating Cylinders

Swivel Joints Swivel joints allow pipework to pressure 1/4” to 40” and beyond. Vacuum to over 20,000psi. Stock and bespoke production. Unique bearing/seal design for longer life. ISO 9001 CE marked where applicable.

Tel: +44(0)1663

Bingswood Trading Estate Whaley Bridge | High Peak | SK23 7LY | UK

E-mail:

735003

International Submarine Engineering Ltd. (ISE) is a world leader in the design, production and integration of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated marine vehicles (ROVs), human occupied (HO) submersibles, Active Towfish, semisubmersible vehicles, and related subsea tooling and terrestrial robotic systems. The company has evolved a unique skill set for turning difficult problems into tangible solutions. ISE offers extensive capabilities ranging from feasibility studies, detailed analysis, systems design, development, testing, quality control, and maintenance and

THE GF MODFLEX SYSTEM

field support. Great emphasis is placed on developing equipment with an emphasis on modularity, upgradeability, and ease of maintenance. ISE products have been working successfully in hundreds of applications around the world for over forty five years establishing our reputation for high standards of quality in our engineering design and manufacturing processes.

ISE www.ise.bc.ca

FLUID HANDLING

At Health ingredients Europe 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany, plant manufacturer Glatt Ingenieurtechnik will be presenting a newly developed modular and compact plant concept for continuous spray agglomeration. Featuring multi-step and multi-zone processing, the GF ModFlex is compact, flexible and features a new control system developed by Glatt. As more and more people adopt better-for-you diets, the demand for enriched and sugar-free foods, on-the-go drinks and dietary supplements is rising. But protein shake consumers will only become repeat purchasers if the powder dissolves quickly and without lumps; similarly, eaters of vegan ice cream won’t appreciate the presence of ice crystals in their tasty treat. Spray agglomeration during fluid bed processing ensures that proteins and sweeteners such as maltitol or cellulose derivatives can be properly wetted, have a more porous surface and are more flowable and easier to dose. Their bulk density is also significantly reduced, which is particularly beneficial for beverage powders in pods and capsules, which require precise dosing, mustn’t segregate and should dissolve completely within seconds. Even tabletable premixes and temperature-sensitive substances can be gently processed in this way. The new concept of the GF ModFlex system is both compact and flexible, is available with a short commissioning time and offers outputs of 200 kg to 3 t per hour. Other capacities and a future expansion can be accommodated. The low operating costs, among other things, ensure

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PECM Issue 35

economic-effectiveness, as the concept has been optimised in terms of energy consumption. The modular, ATEX-compliant solution with integrated WIP functionality and plate filter was specifically developed for continuous powder agglomeration applications in limited-height rooms. Commissioning after an installation period of only 12 days is possible because the predefined modules are already pre-installed and pre-assembled. They only need to be plugged in on site and production can be started right after the acceptance test. www.glatt.com

Brutal conditions. Strict regulations. Complex processes. But you always need to measure up.

This is why

level matters. In your plant, every level measurement matters. The efficiency, productivity and safety of your entire operation is at stake. That’s why Magnetrol® matters. We have the deepest experience in your applications and the broadest portfolio of level instruments for your industry. Our experts will help you identify hidden efficiencies, lower costs, improve production and reduce downtime. It all matters. Because in your world, level matters.

Connect with the level measurement experts at magnetrol.com

DRIVES, GEARS & MOTORS

CUSTOM-MADE GEARING DAVALL

DAVALL SPECIALISES IN PROVIDING A COMPLETE “TRANSMISSION SERVICE”

Davall Gears is registered to AS9100 for design and manufacture of gear systems, and markets the Spiradrive, a high torque, low backlash, gear and gearbox system. Davall Gears is an established leader in the field of custom-made gearing. This position has been attained by successfully combining extensive knowledge of industry, with the use of modern technology. The company is able to provide design and manufacturing solutions to the many and varied power transmission and rotary motion problems posed by their clients. Davall DSG specialise in the supply of standard, off-the-shelf power transmission product. These include spur (imperial and metric pitch), worm and wheel, helical, bevel (mitre, ratio, straight and spiral) gears and racks in both imperial and metric format, timing drives (classic, T/AT series, HTD, Powergrip GT and PolyChain), including belting and pulleys, universal joints (single, double and extending), flexible and rigid couplings, torque limiter (overload protection) , gearboxes (bevel, worm & wheel, spur and helical) and component fixing

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PECM Issue 35

bushes. All these components are suitable for applications ranging from research and development projects to machine maintenance, for model makers to large OEM manufacturers. Stagnoli srl [major supplier to Davall DSG] is one of the few companies that specialise in the design and manufacture of high volume, high precision, injection-moulded gears and transmission systems in “engineering plastics”. An in-depth knowledge of engineering plastics and extremely high standard of equipment has won this company much acclaim.

http://www.davall.co.uk/ Contact dsg@davall.co.uk Telephone +44 [0] 170 728 3131

Cross+Morse

Power Transmission Manufacturing Specialists Since 1984

◊ Manufacturing up to 1450mm diameter ◊ Turning - CNC lathes, Vertical Machining Centre ◊ Gear Cutting - Hobbing, Planing, Shaping Gears ◊ Bevel Gears, Helical, External & Internal cut Gears ◊ Rack Shaping, Broaching, Keywaying ◊ Vertical Boring, Centreless & Rotary Grinding ◊ Bore Honing ◊ Induction Hardening ◊ Drilling & Tapping ◊ Large stocks of Transmission Drive components ◊ CAD - CAM Design & Development ◊ ISO 9001 : 2015

Yes we can make it.

Cross + Morse. Shady Lane, Great Barr. Birmingham. B44 9EU sales@crossmorse.com Tel: +44 (0)121 360 0155 Fax: +44 (0)121 325 1079 www.CrossMorse.com

YELO TO SHOWCASE PRODUCT TESTING CAPABILITIES AT WHAT’S NEW IN ELECTRONICS

GEARS, DRIVES & MOTORS

Product testing specialist Yelo will be showcasing its capabilities at ‘What’s New in Electronics’ Birmingham 25 -26 September 2018. The multi award winning Northern Ireland company has been developing bespoke testing solutions since 1983 for a wide range of products including; medical sensors, security scanners, aircraft reading lights, heating control units, temperature/pressure level transmitters and music amplifiers. They keystone for these applications is their own proprietary YTE (or Yelo Test Environment) software that can be utilised with their own customisable hardware or can also be combined with almost any off-the-shelf hardware such as National Instruments, Keysight etc.

www.glatt.com

ABSOLUTELY DRIVEN NEW RANGE OF DRIVES AND VARIABLE SPEED GEARBOXES

For further information and sales contact Greg Smith on 01484 600200 or greg@labtex.co.uk

ATEX compliant to EC Directive 94/9/EC

Distributed in the UK by:

www.labtex.co.uk Issue 35 PECM

113

The NEW Solid Gear ‘One GTX’ Safety Shoe The ONE GTX from Solid Gear is a superbly constructed safety shoe with seven integrated layers to deliver excellent comfort and protection. It’s designed and built for active professionals who need a highly breathable, light and flexible safety shoe. With a GORE-TEX® SURROUND® membrane they’re fully breathable and ideal for warmer weather and combined indoor/outdoor activities. The shoe’s stretchable upper is water-resistant with amazing performance when it comes to breathability, fit and flexibility. What’s more, it has a honeycombed sole for enhanced grip and a composite midsole. It also has a stabilising heel support to minimise injuries from twisting. To get more information on Solid Gear - the Next Generation of Safety Footwear - visit the website at www.solidgearfootwear.com alternatively, call the Helpline on 01484 854788.

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PECM Issue 35

Are you worried about Forklifts skidding and bringing in dirt and water? If you have forklift trucks moving in an out of your warehouse or facility frequently throughout the day, the wheels are likely to be bringing in dirt and water from outside, especially in wet weather. This can lead to slips and falls, an unclean environment and the risk of forklifts skidding. Fortunately, there is a solution – Waterhog Forklift Mats. Forklift mats are designed to scrape and wipe forklift wheels as they drive over them to prevent dirt and water being tracked inside and around the warehouse. By drying the wheels this can also prevent forklift trucks from skidding and damaging fixtures, fittings, and goods. They are designed to make your facility or warehouse both safer and cleaner. For further advice or to place an order, call 0121 313 6748 or visit www.mats4u.co.uk today.

World leader in safety solutions for oil & gas process industry announces management changes World leader in Functional Safety, Engineering Safety Consultants Ltd (ESC), has strengthened its senior board by appointing Simon Burwood as Managing Director. Launched just a decade ago, the Londonbased business works in upstream/ downstream Oil & Gas, as well as power, process chemical and bio-containment facilities and plays a crucial role in supplying safety solutions and consultancy to help protect operations in the manufacturing and processing sectors. Simon, ESC’s former Technical Director, said: “Major incidents, such as Texas City, Buncefield and Deepwater Horizon highlight the need for active and managed safety measures and making sure these measures work when they are required to is key to what we offer. ” www.esc.uk.net

T +49 2961 7405-0 info@rembe.de

Made in Germany

Your Specialist for

PRESSURE RELIEF and

EXPLOSION SAFETY

Consulting. Engineering. Products. Service.

Gallbergweg 21 | 59929 Brilon, Germany F +49 2961 50714 | www.rembe.de

HEALTH & SAFETY

LEARN THE SYSTEM GLOBAL HEAT TRANSFER

UNDERSTANDING HEAT TRANSFER SYSTEMS SAVES TIME AND MONEY Some paintings reveal more detail the longer you look at them. At first, you see a countryside landscape, then you spot a face hidden in the scene. Optical illusions both confuse and intrigue but there are other systems that are more detailed than they first appear. If manufacturers look in more detail at their heat transfer systems, they may find problems they could prevent.

Staff training should include the basic functions of the system and the best practice for plant maintenance to optimise productivity. Starting up and shutting down a heat transfer system, for example, are fundamental skills needed to ensure efficient production.

In this article, Dave Dyer, technical sales engineer at heat transfer specialist Global Heat Transfer, explains how a detailed understanding of a heat transfer system can help manufacturers maintain efficiency and prevent costly downtime.

The main function of a heat transfer system is to distribute heat around a facility and to specific areas of the production line. The heating process begins at the main heater, which is comprised of a burner and coil which is cited inside the heater. The burner heats the coil containing the heat transfer fluid. A pump circulates the fluid through the system and controls the pressure. This main circuit of the system allows the fluid to travel around the plant efficiently, but more components are needed to ensure the system is safe and stable to use.

When operating in facilities that use heat transfer systems, manufacturers must ensure their plants run safely and efficiently to meet equipment regulations. However, in many ways, regulatory compliance is only a minimum in terms of safety checks and maintenance. The better the operatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding of the system, the more able they are to spot issues early and prevent costly downtime. To avoid problems that cause safety hazards and system failure, everyone in a manufacturing plant should know the specifics of the systems they work with.

THE INS AND OUTS

One of the most overlooked pieces of equipment in the system is the gasket, which connects flanges that seal the system containing the fluid. At any sign of gasket failure, the heat transfer system must be shut down to prevent hazards and to isolate the issue. Automatic valves are also in the system to regulate temperature and adapt to the product specifications.

SAFETY

A clean working environment aids productivity and keeps workers safe. Manufacturers can improve plant efficiency by cleaning and fixing leakages immediately as well as using the correct equipment based on temperature and other environmental factors. Leaving oil spills unattended or using plastic equipment can be a health and safety hazard. As well as protecting workers through cleanliness, purchasing and maintaining safety equipment can improve the efficiency of the heat transfer system. Spray guards are used around flanges and known potential leak points, causing the oil to coalesce back to a liquid and rendering it non-hazardous. This makes the leak safe but visible so manufacturers can solve the issue.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Though a system is only required to have one major and one minor service a year, plant managers have a lot to gain from proactive maintenance. Staff should proactively check the system as frequently as possible to look for wear and tear, leaks or other changes. Some visual checks denote external issues, yet visual cues such as inconsistent heating of final products, may be an internal maintenance issue. A lack of representative fluid analysis and proactive maintenance can lead to fluid degradation and carbon forming in the system. Implementation of a continuous maintenance programme for thermal fluid, such as Global Heat Transferâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Thermocare, can reassure manufacturers that it is not the fluid that has caused production issues. Looking at a heat transfer system alone is not enough to maintain its efficiency. Just like an optical illusion, studying each component reveals more details. With knowledgeable, trained staff and preventative maintenance, manufacturers can optimise productivity of their heat transfer system, creating satisfaction for workers just like when you spot both hidden images in an illusion. If you would like to learn more about AB Dynamics and its products, please visit www.globalheattransfer.co.uk

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HEALTH & SAFETY

THE ULTIMATE DEVICE EXTRACTABILITY

EDI CHANGES THE WAY WE MONITOR THE WORKPLACE The HSE’s push on employee health and safety is at the forefront of everyone’s minds at the moment. Exposure to environmental hazards in the workplace has been difficult to monitor, but the ProtectoScan EDI from Extractability will change that. The solution begins with the right choice of extraction. With extraction-based products, dust and fumes can be captured safely and removed from the breathing zone at source before the operator, or those around them, are put at risk. These solutions can range from fixed and mobile vacuum filtration systems, to dust extractors, extraction fans, air filters, flexible hoses, extraction arms and downdraft benches, all servicing the requirements of any manufacturing and fabrication facility.

THE FUTURE OF EXTRACTION Now we can utilise new ‘smart’ technology products that provide intelligent, data-driven protection in the industrial workplace. A case in point is the ProtectoScan EDI, the latest environmental control solution from Extractability. This indoor Environmental Detection Instrument (EDI) measures and records real-time data for dust particulate, noise, temperature and humidity. EDI also comes with an LED traffic light display, alerting users to any notable issues, providing instant feedback and a visual representation of what is going on in the workshop. Perhaps you’ve already taken expensive steps to improve conditions but are you confident the fume, dust or particle extraction, installed in your factory, is even being used? Users can also benefit from EDI email alerts when exposure limits are surpassed, indicating extraction hasn’t been switched on, and EDI can even switch these systems on for you. All live data sits at the users’ fingertips via WiFi on the dedicated WebApp, turning the EDI into the perfect solution, monitoring and recording exposure levels for every second of the day, 365 days a year and interacting with devices and protection solutions as necessary.

EMPLOYEE HEALTH The continuous monitoring of the environment in the workplace can contribute significantly to protecting the health of employees by enabling employers to take appropriate measures.

With products like EDI, they can set up the automatic integration of fans or similar devices, which, with optional additional accessories, EDI can control, thus removing the fume and dust that together pose such a problem in the workplace.

Extraction then is essential in helping employers remove hazards from the workplace, stay within the regulations, and improve industry and health among the workforce, creating a safe and clean workplace environment for everyone.

Fume and dust exposure is most commonly accompanied by symptoms such as muscle ache, nausea, and fatigue. Illnesses caused by, and associated with, exposure to fume and gases can include, but are not limited to: Pneumonia, occupational asthma and even cancer.

For further information please visit sales@extractability.eu www.extractability.eu/protectoscan-edi Issue 35 PECM

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RELIABLE RUPTURE DISCS REMBE

PRESSURE RELIEF DEVICE FOR CRYOSTATS AT THE INSTITUTE FOR TECHNICAL PHYSICS (ITEP) IN KARLSRUHE

As an organisational unit of the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, the key focus of the ITEP is on superconductivity and cryogenic technology. The scientists are currently working on nuclear fusion, energy technology components and the development of high-energy magnetic fields. With its comprehensive, practiceoriented service program, the institute is an established player in the national and international research and development sector. In order to provide clients and customers with the required services reliably and quickly, the institute focuses on high-quality equipment. These include the rupture discs which have been in use for the institute’s

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cryostats since 1996. The rupture discs were supplied by the German rupture disc manufacturer REMBE. For more than 45 years, the company has been protecting cryostats and other vessels and plant components from unwanted over pressure and vacuum. “Cryogenic processes and applications are one of our main specialties” says Dr. Stefan Rüsenberg, head of technical sales at REMBE. Friedhelm Kesting, production manager for more than 25 years adds: “We have already secured a wide variety of processes, from deep sea applications all the way up to space satellites. I am personally very proud to hear that our rupture discs have been providing reliable protection for such a long time.”

According to the manufacturer, the most important factor with cryostats is that the pressure relief used is leak-proof. Therefore, they recommend welded compact rupture discs which, in addition to the low leak rate, also offer a response at low burst pressures and very high vacuum resistance. REMBE employees see the great advantage of the rupture disc compared to a safety valve in the fact that, unlike a safety valve, a rupture disc cannot freeze up.

www.rembe.com/

MACH 2018 PREVIEW STRONG ADHESION WITHOUT HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES

Turn-key Solutions Nederman’s integrated industry solutions mean clean, safe, profitable working

Heraeus Electronics has developed a new thick film gold conductor paste that avoids lead and cadmium. Specially matched ingredients also ensure a denser fired film and excellent bond strength with the ability for etching. The new thick film gold conductor paste from Heraeus Electronics can be used for high-reliability applications such as medical devices as well as high-frequency circuits for communications. Those applications require high performance at high and low temperatures, in chemically aggressive environments, or extremely humid conditions. The paste performs well on dielectrics and on oxide substrate compositions even when multiple firing steps are required. Learn more about Heraeus Electronics on IMAPS 2018: https://bit.ly/2PiGJIB

DENSOSTRIP™ WINN COALES LTD USED ON REFURBISHED ROSS FOUNTAIN

Extraction & Filtration for : Welding & cutting

Foundries

Woodworking

Dust & Fume

Metal machining

Automotive

Composite machining

Nederman’s Solutions Team Delivers : As part of a recently completed £1.5million project to refurbish the historic Ross Fountain in Edinburgh, Winn & Coales (Denso) Ltd supplied Densostrip™ and Densostrip Primer™ to provide a permanently watertight seal between precast concrete units. These precast units form the trenches which house the underground supply of services to the fountain and were both supplied and installed by Creagh Concrete Products. The year-long restoration project on the new foundations and waterworks (under the Ross Development Trust) now enables the fountain to operate for the first time in years. Industrial Heritage Consulting Ltd were the project managers on the fountain conservation works. http://www.denso.net

Pre-studies

Commissioning

Planning

Training

Design

Maintenance

Installation Please contact us to arrange a free site survey 08452 74 34 34

Stand: H17-482

www.nederman.com Issue 35 PECM

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Hydraulic power & control worldwide Industrial

Energy pFBK-065 a mid-sized, highpressure, dualdischarge pump.

Defence

Mobile

Subsea

SSr-05 a subsea regulator, without the ocsillation. The Oilgear Subsea Pressure Regulator is a robust, precision device that controls the pressure within a given circuit by serving as both a pressure reducer and as a pressure relief. The SSR is available in various sizes and control options (pilotoperated, mechanicallyset, and electricallycommandable).

pVG-048 an extremely responsive high-speed pump. The PVG is a variabledisplacement, axialpiston pump with fast control response. The PVG thrives on low viscosity fluids and is available in a variety of control and porting options. It is designed to be a highperformance solution for your demanding applications.

pVV-200

pFBa-4

the flagship, highhorsepower pump.

a compact, highpressure pump.

The PVV line of Oilgear pumps represents the pinnacle of performance in a variabledisplacement, axialpiston pump. Pressure and flow demands continue to rise for our customers. The PVV is a pump that rises to the challenge.

The PFBA pump has proved itself successful for use with high water content and lowviscosity fluids. These axial piston pumps are used in a wide variety of applications, including oil and gas die casting and injection molding machines, high pressure test rigs, civil and marine projects, intensifier systems, extrusion presses, forging presses and high pressure forced lubrication systems for long turbines as well as metal forming machines.

Wide variety of applications: high pressure test rigs, civil and marine projects, intensifier systems, extrusion and forging pressure and other heavy duty metal forming machines.

introducing the pVV-180 and pVV-355 New additions to the ultra high performance line of PVV variable displacement pumps.

BEST UNDER PRESSURE The Oilgear Company provides robust hydraulic solutions for customers who prefer a partner not a vendor Our vision is to be the No.1 choice for hydraulic solutions in our target markets Oilgear engineered hydraulic solutions are amongst the most reliable and cost effective on the market. We drive the reduction of life cycle costs through innovation and engineering excellence We pioneer multi-fluid testing to promote the use of alternative hydraulic fluids As a partner we value customer satisfaction and being easy to work with Oilgear promote customer confidence through qualification

E: enquiries@oilgear.com T: 0113 394 7300

OILGEAR OFFER AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF MULTIFLUID, HYDRAULIC PRODUCT RANGING FROM 70 TO 1000 BAR ENERGY

OILGEAR ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS & CAPABILITY

INDUSTRIAL

TESTING & AFTERMARKET CAPABILITY • Hydrostatic Testing up to 1000 Bar • 6000 Bar intensifier rig

• Offshore Motion Compensation

• Pump dynamic performance testing (1000 Bar)

• Subsea Pumping Control • ROV Control

• Multifluid trials

• Blow-Out Prevention

• Rapid response emergency repair

• Hydraulic Press Control

• Routine service checks

• Electrical Amplifier Control

• Preventive maintenance • System performance diagnostics • Remote condition monitoring • Trouble shooting • Retrofit of new technology • System optimisation audits

• Sluice & Bridge Control • Transfer Barrier Control

MOBILE

• Finite Element Analysis • Computational Fluid Dynamics – System Simulation (SimulationX)

• Power On Demand life cycle cost reduction

• Variable displacement pumps • Fixed displacement pumps Hydraulic intensifiers • Bespoke hydraulic control systems • High pressure check valves • Pressure regulating valves • High pressure logic manifold valves • Subsea function valves • High speed relief valves • Screw-in cartridge valves

Visit our website to find out more about our products & solutions!

W: www.oilgear.com

MACHINING

INSPEKTO INVESTMENT INSPEKTO

MILLIONS TO BACK AUTONOMOUS MACHINE VISION Leading multinational industrial companies from Germany and Switzerland have invested more than US $10 million into Inspekto. The company is the founder and developer of the Autonomous Machine Vision category ─ a visual system that allows manufacturers to set-up, install and detect defects in production in minutes, without the help of any external experts or systems integrators. The start-up will meet the needs of a yearly multi-billion-dollar market across a broad range of vertical manufacturing sectors, including automotive and electronics. The $10 million injected comes from leading industrial players, as well as expert financial investors. Inspekto’s investors include: Grazia Equity, ZFHN, Mahle, Planven, THI Investments and Steinbeis. The company’s valuation post investment is in the region of $60 million. The funding is for Inspekto’s launch activities of Plug & Inspect™ technology driving its leading product, the INSPEKTO S70. During research and development (R&D), Inspekto collaborated with tens of leading DACH manufacturers to ensure the product is perfectly aligned with market needs and requirements. The company is now heading to its official launch at VISION 2018 in Stuttgart, where it will hold live product demonstrations and make its product available for general sale to manufacturing plants worldwide. “The INSPEKTO S70 is the world’s first ever Autonomous Machine Vision product, which will reinvent machine vision QA,” explained Harel Boren, CEO of Inspekto. “Leading players chose to invest in Inspekto because of its huge expected impact on industry,” added Boren. “This financial support offers a vote of confidence in the expected impact of Autonomous Machine Vision on the quality assurance (QA) industry – a multibillion-dollar market. Inspekto’s mission is to make quality assurance managers love their jobs, by giving them complete control of where, when and how visual QA can be conducted.”

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“Inspekto’s research team aspires to explore and push the boundaries of computervision and artificial-intelligence to allow autonomous machine-vision solutions for industrial manufacturers,” added Yonatan Hyatt, CTO of Inspekto. “Our introduction of zero-friction setup of inspection units throughout entire production lines is bringing factories to peak levels of efficiency and ensuring immediate detection of defects right as they appear in the manufacturing process. The current

financing will allow us to further deepen our domain-specific research, alleviating major points of pain in the industrial domain.” “As one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide, we identified early-on the enormous potential impact of Autonomous Machine Vision on production, performance and competitive edge,” said Johannes Diem, Corporate Planning, Corporate Strategy, Venture Capital and M&A Strategy at MAHLE International GmbH.

About Inspekto Inspekto is a German industrial company with Israeli DNA. Backed by leading industrial businesses from across the DACH region, the start-up is out to reshape the machine vision sector, introducing the first powerful entries into the new Autonomous Machine Category.

“Inspekto’s work with our plants has been consistently useful and led us to make our first-ever direct investment in a start-up company.” “Steinbeis has a long history of working closely with German industrial manufacturers,” explained Uwe Haug, Member of the Board of Directors of Steinbeis GmbH & Co. KG für Technologietransfer. “We identified early on the strategic impact that Inspekto brings

to German industry, across any vertical and vendor size, which is what drove us to make our investment in the company.” The company will officially launch at VISION 2018 in Stuttgart on November 6, when the product will be unveiled and become available for purchase. Inspekto’s S70 system is a small, smart, standalone visual QA product, which can be installed up to 1,000 times faster than a traditional solution, and at 1/10th of the cost.

Inspekto Autonomous Machine Vision systems are designed to put the Machine Vision market on a one-way course, replacing existing integrator-centric solutions by readyto-go out-of-the-box QA systems put at the very hands of the industrial plant QA manager. The systems are driven by Plug & Inspect™, the first integrator-less technology for visual quality inspection, gating and sorting, which eliminates the costly integration and customised developments that characterised traditional machine vision technology. www.inspekto.com. Issue 35 PECM

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MACHINING

A ‘DO IT ALL’ COMPOSITE PRESS AMRC

AMRC AND RHODES INTERFORM PRESS ON WITH NEW COMPOSITE FORMING FACILITY

Rhodes Interform, a specialist in bespoke composite and metal forming machinery, has recently completed the installation and testing of a ‘world class’ composite forming facility at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). The AMRC’s brief was to design, develop and manufacture a composite press that could ‘do it all’ as it would be used as a facility to assist a wide range of UK companies to stay at the leading edge of composite development. The state of the art facility, comprising of a 10,000 kN hydraulic press with six axis loading, high pressure RTM, twin die transfer tables, thermal fluid heating system and die splitter, is capable of a wide range of composite forming including Open and Closed Moulding, Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM), Prepreg, Compression Moulding and Thermoplastics. The project attracted funding from the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI). Rhodes Interform, part of Group Rhodes, based in Wakefield, worked very closely with the AMRC team throughout the design and manufacture phase of the project

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ensuring that the bespoke equipment was delivered both on time and to the client’s exacting specifications. Mark Ridgway OBE, CEO of Rhodes Interform, said: “This project has been a huge success as a result of great communication, teamworking and collaboration between our team and the AMRC. We are very proud to have manufactured a composite press that will be used by some of the world’s leading manufacturing companies to develop new technologies.” AMRC Composite Centre Research Engineer, Darren Wells, said: “It was great to support UK industry to build such a unique and capable piece of equipment. This press will allow us to take on a wide and varied range of projects for many years to come.” The machine will be available for use by companies looking to develop their composite capability through Research and Development. The facility has already been used as part of a successful joint venture to develop the future chassis of a UK based performance automotive company. This project is expected to evolve into full component production,, helping to bring hundreds of jobs to the Yorkshire region.

For more information please visit the website www.grouprhodes.co.uk or contact the Rhodes Interform Technical Sales department on + (44) 1924 37 11 61. About the AMRC The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) is a world-class centre for research into advanced manufacturing technologies used in the aerospace, automotive, medical and other highvalue manufacturing sectors. The AMRC has a global reputation for helping companies overcome manufacturing problems and is a model for collaborative research involving universities, academics and industry worldwide. Combining state of the art technologies with the AMRC’s expertise in design and prototyping, machining, casting, welding, additive manufacturing, composites, robotics and automation, digital manufacturing and structural testing, has created a manufacturing resource far beyond anything previously available in the UK. www.amrc.co.uk

MEBA3D: The fast and costeffective solution for removing 3D printed parts The MEBA3D metal bandsaw is equipped with a special clamping device that enables 3D parts that are printed on plates to be fixed to the device via moveable linear guides. The bandsaw saws the 3D workpieces removing them from the plate with the utmost precision. The operation is uncomplicated, requires minimal effort and keeps maintenance costs lower. If you have a MEBA saw you maybe able to enjoy the advantages of 3D sawing without buying a new saw? Compatable with a large scope of the MEBA range. Visit our website www.adsprecision.com to see the full range of saws we offer; manual pulldown saws to large CNC capacity automatic saws.

Tridan Engineering Tridan Engineering was established in 1968 and is a compact and efficient organisation approved to AS9100 & ISO 14001. An approved supplier to major organisations throughout the UK, Europe and USA, we supply parts to all sectors from aerospace and defence to the food industry. Using the very latest 5 axis, horizontal and sliding head machining centres, we provide standards of quality and service which, we believe, can only be matched by a few companies in the field. Our latest machining centre is a Mazak i-500 with a 6-pallet system, giving us a total of six 5 axis machining centres. Call - 01255 424937 Generic email – info@tridan.co.uk Sales Office – tridansales@tridan.co.uk Website address - www.tridan.co.uk Twitter - https://twitter.com/TridanEngLtd

EDJEAN TECHNICAL SERVICES, INC – Separation Waste And Treatment (SWAT) System EDJEAN TECHNICAL SERVICES, INC (EDJETECH), is pleased to announce the introduction and availability of its new S.W.A.T. System. The S.W.A.T. UF offers 0.05µ filtration employing PPG Industries Filtration Technologies (www. ppgfiltration.com) backwashable spiral wound membrane(s) at standard service flow rates to 15 gpm. • Automatic Process • Free and emulsified oil removal • Pre-membrane filtration • Clean-In-Place Tank • Permeate Holding Tank EDJETECH is a worldwide leading manufacturer of oil/water separators, central filtration/ recycling systems, industrial filtration systems including tube mill coolant filtration systems. 100% Made in the USA. Visit www.edjetech.com or call 1-800-2420525 to discuss your application today!

CNC ROUTERS & LASER CUTTERS Introducing the NEW CNC Routers This new range of affordable CNC Routers from ATA Engineering offers the same high quality build that you come to expect from a company that has been supplying CNC’s for over 20 years, along with support and technical back up. Standard sizes: 8 x 4, 10 x 5, 3m x 2m (Special sizes available on request) Call for more information or a demonstration, or visit www.atacam.co.uk

Introducing the NEW CNC Laser Cutters The NEW ATACAM range of Laser Cutters includes models for both metalic and non-metalic materials. They are equiped with co2 laser tubes, which can be used for cutting metalsheet such as carbon steel, stainless steel and non-metalic materials such as acrylic, MDF, plywood, etc. Model AL1390 (pictured) for Non Metalic cutting and Model ALM1390 for Metalic and Non Metalic cutting. Call for more information or a demonstration, or visit www.atacam.co.uk ATA Engineering Processes Ltd ATA House, Unit B, Boundary Way, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 7SS t: 01442 264411 e: sales@ataeng.com www.ataeng.com

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MACHINING

FOOD FOR THOUGHT DONGHUA

CHAIN THAT AIMS TO REDUCE MAINTENANCE COSTS AND DOWN-TIME UK Process, Engineering and Maintenance Industries face a number of challenges in the coming months planning for the repercussions post Brexit, however, choosing a Chain manufacturer with a global reputation and a wide range of high quality, innovative Chain products and bespoke industry solutions needn’t be one of them. Take the Food Processing Industry for example; minimising plastics usage, reducing food sugars and responding to price pressures all take their toll on productivity, so reliability is crucial when it comes to production line maintenance. Donghua Limited is the UK arm of one of the world’s biggest chain manufacturers – Hangzhou Donghua Chain Group – and supplies a range of Chain compatible with all leading manufacturers of food production machinery including Rademaker, Raque, Meurer, Johnson, Ishida, Krones, Bradman Lake, Baker Perkins, Panamat and more. Renowned for high quality and durability, Donghua has become the Chain of choice for many leading food processors. Donghua have developed a range of Chain that aims to reduce maintenance costs and down-time. Their Chain, which is available in a variety of materials and finishes including a special coating to protect against corrosion caused by aggressive wash-down procedures, comes with H1 Food Grade lubrication as standard.

UNIVERSAL ATTACHMENT CHAIN Donghua supplies the industry with Polymer Conveyor Chain and Bespoke Chain, but it’s their Universal Attachment Chain which has particularly piqued the interest of the Food Processing industry. Because of its revolutionary design, their Universal Attachment Chain can replace 99 per cent of chain from other manufacturers meaning companies are no longer tied to using one Chain manufacturer.

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MEASURE & MATCHING CHAIN What’s more, Donghua is one of only a few manufacturers in the UK able to accurately measure Chain to within 10 microns per metre (a human hair is 80-100 microns). And whilst Donghua Chain is already manufactured to close tolerances (chain from the same production batches are on average within 1/3rd DIN standards), this can be further improved with Chains supplied matched in sets to +/-0.5mm (up to 5 metres), ideal for Chain required to run in parallel and to ensure attachment links engage with the sprockets together to eliminate undue stress which is a major cause of fatigue failures on attachments.

PRE-LOADING CHAIN To help minimise the initial elongation associated with in-house built Chain and the stretching of Chain during regular use which creates uneven wear along the length of the Chain, Donghua pre-loads (pre-stretches) all Attachment Chain as standard, unlike Chain built by other manufacturers in the UK, so it’s ready and easy to fit from the box.

UK WORKSHOP Donghua is the only Chain manufacturer in the UK to have its own hot dip lubrication bath. Attachment Chain is dipped into H1 Food Grade hot lubricant which penetrates into the bearing areas that standard lube spraying would not reach. As the Chain cools, surplus lube drains away leaving an oil deposit inside the Chain which significantly helps to extend wear-life and reduce the need for routine maintenance.

24 HOUR DELIVERY Because Donghua’s Universal Attachment Chains are assembled, measured & matched and pre-loaded in their UK workshop, common builds are held in stock for immediate delivery or they offer 24 hour express delivery and 48 hour premium delivery.

For product samples and technical data about Donghua’s Food Processing Industry Chain, call 01902 866 200 or visit https:// www.donghua.co.uk/food-industry-chain

Tube

MACHINING

MACHINE TOOL 4.0 SCHAEFFLER

SCHAEFFLER AND DMG MORI PROJECT DEMONSTRATES HOW INDUSTRY 4.0 WORKS IN PRACTICE

As a global automotive and industrial supplier, Schaeffler is digitally transforming its entire business, which involves the integration of its mechatronics components, systems and machines into the rapidly expanding world of the ‘Internet of Things’. Through its Machine Tool 4.0 project, Schaeffler wants to demonstrate that Industry 4.0 is not an abstract, remote vision, but can make a contribution to added-value today. The digital networking of production facilities along the entire value chain is one of the most important goals of Industry 4.0. Schaeffler sees itself not only as a supplier for smart factories, but also implements new technologies at an early stage in its own volume production. The goal of being able to respond more quickly and flexibly to current developments in a rapidly changing world is a key motivation for Schaeffler to digitise its processes in all areas. In the future, the company will therefore digitally map the entire product lifecycle, from

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the initial concept to a new product, and from digital production planning to sales management. Schaeffler’s components such as bearings and linear guidance systems are used in critical areas of machines, which produce critical information about conditions and movements. In recent years, Schaeffler has invested heavily in research and development and has incorporated sensors, actuators and control units with embedded software into these products. With this, it is now possible for these parts to collect and process valuable data on the condition of a machine and then convert this data into added-value services.

MACHINE TOOL 4.0 – TURNING VISION INTO PRACTICE As a leading supplier and development partner for machine tool drive components,

Schaeffler is pursuing a specific digitalisation strategy, with the aim of providing data from a diverse range of processes using sensors, networking and analyses in order to offer its customers real added value. At its plant in Hoechstadt, Germany, Schaeffler has put a machine tool into operation that demonstrates how Industry 4.0 actually works in practice. Equipped with several dozen new and additional sensors, the milling machine, which was developed in close collaboration with leading machine tool maker DMG MORI, collects large volumes of data that can be evaluated in the Cloud. During production, the machine records more data than usual; it is the prototype of a machine tool in the IoT. The machine is not used in a research laboratory but in the ongoing volume production of high precision bearings. This means rolling bearings that are, in turn, used in machine tools.

is exceeded, an active warning occurs and the load can be adjusted immediately. This also covers vibrations on the machine components. Moreover, the effects of temperature fluctuations on the forces can be checked by using the operating panel. Demand-based lubrication on the machine also ensures that resources are saved, while also safeguarding the bearings’ functionality and thus the performance of the machine. The sensors in the machine send signals that allow, among other things, analysis of the condition of the lubrication film at critical points in the machine. If the condition is no longer sufficient, a signal will be sent to the Schaeffler CONCEPT8 and the required quantity of fresh grease is delivered to the bearing position. Machine downtimes caused by insufficient lubrication can therefore be eliminated. Furthermore, the CONCEPT8 reports on the remaining quantity of grease in the cartridge. Usually the grease cartridge filling levels had to be checked directly on the machine. Now it can be controlled digitally on mobile devices.

PRODUCTIVITY GAINS

The diameter and roundness must comply with the target specifications to approximately two microns. With this project, Schaeffler wants to demonstrate that Industry 4.0 is not an abstract, remote vision but can make a contribution to added-value today. Sebastian Mergler, Project Manager, Digital Services at Schaeffler comments: “In more than 60 different positions, the machine is equipped with sensors that record measurement values for pressures, vibrations and forces. These are primarily integrated in components that Schaeffler already supplies, such as in spindle bearings and linear guidance systems. These components are positioned precisely where things move on the machine.” “The machine tool’s condition is effectively transparent at any time. Every day, production processes become more efficient and easier to plan. The machine operator can schedule bearing replacement, which avoids unplanned machine downtimes,” he adds. Valuable data is generated at these measuring points, which is saved not only in the machine itself but also in preanalysed form in the Schaeffler Cloud. Communication with central servers takes place via a secure gateway. The condition of individual components on the machine tool can be viewed at any time, either using the operating terminal on the machine or using a device connected to the Internet, such as a tablet or smartphone. In order to clearly categorise the measured data, each component manufactured on

the new machine receives its own ID by applying a unique Data Matrix Code. All data generated during milling or in the subsequent machining processes can therefore be assigned later to a specific component. By comparing the data for the individual components, Schaeffler will be able to quickly recognise deviations, correct these, and in turn continuously optimise the manufacturing processes. The possibilities are huge, ranging from even higher precision in soft machining, to reducing energy consumption and lubricant supply. Ronny Hüttner, Precision Bearing Technology at Schaeffler says: “Recording the load data, particularly for the main spindle, the linear guidance and the TCP [tool centre point] allows potential overloads to be made transparent. This is beneficial to both the machine manufacturer and the operator. The user interface is the central interface here, providing the user with precise data about the current status of the production process. Determining the forces allows us to further optimise the load conditions in the machine.”

IMPROVED MACHINE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE To set and inspect the precise machine load is a very complex task. The operating panel at the new machine tool allows the correct main spindle operating load to be set and the current loads can be monitored whenever this is needed. If the load limit

The pilot project in Hoechstadt hopes to demonstrate how significant the productivity gains are through the improved use of data. What is important is that the project uses a real production process, which means Schaeffler can identify how Industry 4.0 works in practice, where the challenges lie, and how added value can be generated. Ultimately, it is hoped that Schaeffler will benefit from the pilot project in two ways. First, the company can present itself to the manufacturers of machine tools as a solutions provider for Industry 4.0, while also using the knowledge within its own production processes. Sebastian Mergler concludes: “Digitalisation allows us to take the next step towards Machine Tool 4.0, allowing all process and quality data for manufactured parts to be traced. In the future, data analyses will even make it possible to predict quality results. In other words, machine operators can proactively influence the manufacturing process.”

About Machine Tool 4.0 Machine Tool 4.0 is a collaborative project between Schaeffler and DMG Mori, which connects existing technologies such as sensors and digitised components to the Cloud – a real step towards true digitised production. The collected data from the machine tool is evaluated both locally and in the Schaeffler Cloud in order to feed the results back to the various site locations. www.schaeffler.com

MACHINING & MACHINERY

SPECIALISTS IN TOOLS & GAUGES WISEMAN THREADING TOOLS LTD

WISEMAN THREADING TOOLS LTD SPECIALISTS IN TOOLS & GAUGES FOR SCREW THREADS We have been supplying threading tools and gauges since 1987. Together with supplying plain plug and ring gauges this is all that we do, we therefore consider ourselves to be specialists in this field. We supply worldwide. We hold extensive ready stocks that include all of the standard stuff that others offer, but also includes taps, dies, die nuts, die head chasers, thread rolls and gauging for threads not normally available 'off the shelf '. Our real time stocks can be checked and purchased online at www.threadtools. com Just enter the thread details into the search box on the home page. You will be directed to the item, if stocked, or to our specials, (custom manufacture), sales team. who will quote to supply at competitive rates, in good time. As an account holder you can also order online from our listed in stock items, at your normal terms. We realise that you need the right item at the right price and quality, and in a reasonable time frame. We are geared to provide that. We can ship stocked items same day. Our experienced sales staff can assist and advise you on any technical issues. We welcome enquiries from resellers and can offer terms to suit. WISEMAN THREADING TOOLS LTD

11 Padgets Lane South Moons Moat Redditch B98 0RA UK 0044(1527)520580 sales@threadtools.com www.threadtools.com

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Threading Tool Specialists

HSS DIES & DIE NUTS Large shelf stocks for all Standard and many Special Threads. Check our stocks online.

THREAD CUTTING AND ROLLING HEADS and parts and repair service

THREAD ROLLS FOR ALCO & FETTE HEADS. READY STOCKS CUSTOM MANUFACTURURE

HSS TAPS Huge Stocks for all Standard threads CUSTOM MADE taps our SPECIALITY! We stock taps for many non standard (SPECIAL) threads

THREAD GAUGES all types. Large stocks for standard and SPECIAL threads. Any non stocked can be quoted for custom manufacture.

CHASERS FOR COVENTRY & LANDIS TYPE DIE HEADS Ready stocks for most size heads most standard and some special threads Geometry available for most materials. Custom manufacture our speciality!

All types; Spiral flute and point, Fluteless, Left Hand, etc, etc.

Wiseman Threading Tools Ltd 11 Padgets Lane, South Moons Moat. Redditch B98 0RA Worcs UK 004(0)1527520580 sales@threadtools.com www.threadtools.com Issue 34 PECM

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MACHINING & MACHINERY

THE POISONED APPLE EFFECT INSPEKTO

BREAKING THE CHAINS OF TRADITIONAL MACHINE VISION

In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the jealous stepmother of the protagonist orders the title character to be killed. Snow White escapes and is later discovered hiding in the seven dwarfs’ cottage. To further her evil agenda, the stepmother disguises herself as a hag to deliver a poisoned apple, which causes Snow White to fall into a deathlike sleep that can only be broken by a kiss from a prince. Here Harel Boren, CEO of Inspekto, founder of Autonomous Machine Vision, explains how manufacturers and their QA managers can ensure their QA story has a happy ending, just like Snow White’s. For decades, manufacturers have been the damsel in distress in a much more

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expensive story; the integration of Traditional Machine Vision. In this tale, visual Quality Assurance (QA), gating and sorting has always been the necessary evil, helping manufacturers reduce the risk of defective products. The process begins with the manufacturer identifying a need for QA and assessing whether a certain point on the production line is worth the time, effort and cost of implementing a machine vision solution. If it is, the manufacturer will then appoint a systems integrator to put together a QA solution for critical points on the production line. This is because implementing a Traditional Machine Vision solution requires a long process of planning, design and commissioning.

This lengthy procedure requires preparing Proof of Concepts, tedious test plans and development of the final applicable solution. To build that inspection solution, the appointed integrator is required to choose an array of lighting, cameras, lenses and other components. Once a solution has been defined, the integrator will then install it during a period of production downtime - an additional cost for the manufacturer. After all this work, you’d expect a consistent and trustworthy, reliable solution, equipped to deal with the challenges of the future. You’d be wrong. What many QA managers discover is that what they’ve actually been given is a poisoned apple.

TWIST IN THE TALE

Once a manufacturer has taken this course, they are trapped. Any changes to the conditions in the factory or to the product being manufactured requires the integrator to return to address the problem. In many scenarios, it requires the entire process to be repeated to design an entirely new solution from scratch. The manufacturer is held captive to the machine vision solution installed. In fact, many manufacturers feel they’ve turned out to be a ‘profit centre’ whose difficulties continually feed the systems integrator with more and more work – and more and more budget. Because implementing a traditional machine vision solution is so complex, it would be impossible for the QA manager or any other staff to complete the task themselves. The manufacturer has never had the choice but to accept the poisoned apple or run the risk of defective products. But this is about to change.

A HAPPY ENDING

Just like Snow White waited for Prince Charming’s kiss, the market has long been waiting for Autonomous Machine Vision. Developments in image registration, computer-vision, deep learning and other artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have enabled the development of Plug and InspectTM technology required to power a system that gives the QA manager complete autonomy. Autonomous Machine Vision provides the QA manager with the freedom to install and maintain his or her own systems, because it is straightforward to set up and install. Without any external help, the manufacturer can install and run a system anywhere on the production line and set it up within minutes. What’s more, the system is self-setting and self-learning, which means that when changes are made to the production line, the system self-adapts, so the entire process can be managed in-house.

Because of Autonomous Machine Vision’s affordability and immediacy, it opens up the possibility of Total QA, where machine vision systems are not limited to critical points but can be installed at all stages of the production line. Total QA allows the manufacturer to identify defects as they occur, preventing wasted time and resources. Autonomous Machine Vision liberates manufacturers from the poisoned apple trap. Instead, manufacturers are free to independently install, by themselves, visual QA systems at all stages of the production line to address defects early on-that’s a happy ending if I’ve ever heard one. The spell is lifted for QA managers, allowing them to live happily ever after. If you want to ensure you keep up to date with the latest news about Inspekto visit www.inspekto.com/ Issue 35 PECM

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MACHINING & MACHINERY

MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS UNSIG

UNISIG PRESENTS NEW MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS FOR MOLD MAKERS

UNISIG adds five new models to its proven range of deep drilling and milling centers. With the new range of UNISIG's USC-M deep drilling and milling centers, mold makers now have seven powerful and versatile solutions for workpiece diameters of up to 3.600 mm and workpiece weights of up to 30 t. All machines combine several processes in one machine: the deep hole drilling and milling on all four sides of a workpiece, while at the same time reducing setup times and increasing accuracy for mold makers. All machines support the high feed rates of modern indexable gundrill tools.

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In addition to the use of gundrill deep hole drilling tools, some models can even support the more effective BTA deep hole drilling tools for the high performance drilling of waterline holes. A CAT50 quill allows you to perform all deep hole drilling and machining operations within the machine's working range. The machines are equipped with a 360-degree rotary work table and a programmable deep drilling and machining spindle. These can be aligned via a pivot axis with 30 degrees down and 15 degrees upwards. The latest Heidenhain TNC 640 CNC controller and Heidenhain motors and drives are used. A full guarding with oil mist extraction completes the equipment.

This machine series has now been extended by 4-6 axis machines, for deep hole drilling with gundrilling tools and milling, with a universal spindle and a short changeover between deep drilling and milling operations for the efficient production of small to medium sized workpieces. In addition, 5-7 axis machines are available for the use of gundrilling and more efficient BTA deep hole drilling tools, each with a dedicated spindle for deep drilling and milling, to dramatically increase performance for mold makers.

High-end solutions include 7-axis machining centers for highly dynamic motion control, powerful milling spindle with gear reduction and optional pallet changer. With the model USC-M38, workpieces with a length of up to 2.000 mm can be conventionally machined and deep-drilled in one clamping. The larger USC-M50 can handle up to 3.000 mm long workpieces. The machines can be equipped with an automatic tool changer with up to 120 tool positions, a laser tool presetter, workpiece probes, Heidenhain glass scales for increased accuracy, as well as an automatic pallet changer. Further information on the USC-M series and the complete UNISIG machine program available at: www.unisig.com or at Moulding Expo Stuttgart, Germany, 21. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 24. 05. 2019. Issue 35 PECM

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bielomatik

X-Cel Superturn

Hallamshire Engineering Services

bielomatik is not only your partner for tailormade solutions, machines and systems for all relevant welding technologies, as well as automation and machining tasks. bielomatik is the only company offering the complete range of plastics welding technologies.

X-Cel Superturn is a manufacturer of critical precision machined components to exacting quality standards. Supplying global clients predominantly from the oil and gas, aerospace and nuclear industries, we believe that it’s our quality in machining, information systems and crucially, our personnel, alongside our approved in-house NDT, assembly and surface prep & coating plant, which defines our leadership in the field. Continuous investment in engineering techniques and machinery is critical to us, in order to raise our technical standards and provide cost-effective solutions, which is backed up by our comprehensive quality system and OHSAS 18001, ISO14001, API 6A accreditations.

Hallamshire Engineering Services is a leading manufacturer of materials handling equipment, such as pulleys, rollers and conveyors for industries that include mining, quarrying, agriculture and recycling.

The manufacturer from Neuffen, Germany enables international interested parties and customers to find, and apply, the best-possible joining process for almost any type of plastic. With over 70 years of experience in the development, design, build and supervision of machines and systems, bielomatik is more than just an expert for plastic welding technologies for different industries. bielomatik provides added value with individual process-neutral consulting concepts and comprehensive services with a human touch. www.bielomatik.com

The company goes from strength to strength and has recently won a major contract to supply pulleys for conveyors to Roltech Mechanical Ltd as part of a new 2000 TPH ballast washing system for a major UK quarrying company.

Our product range includes; • Subsea tooling, wellhead products/assemblies • Wellhead tools • Tree tools • Tubing hangers • Connection tools • High/low pressure housings • Conductor housings • Casing hangers/receptacles • Metallic seals • Valve bodies/trims

Roltech Mechanical chose to work with Hallamshire Engineering Services as it was looking for a company that could provide high service levels and technical expertise in conveying systems. Hallamshire Engineering Services is part of Group Rhodes, one of the largest Original Equipment Manufacturers in its field. www.grouprhodes.co.uk Tel: 0 (44) 1924 37 11 61

www.x-cel.com

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NoTap A method for working on pressurised pipes

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It offers great advantages to the Contractor and client alike – economy – no inconvenience or long shut downs. NO TAP – is quick – clean - positive. Work is confined to where it is required. Traditionally, modifications to pipe systems or repairs to leaking pipes or valves cause major inconvenience or high cost. Often these works involve draining down whole buildings and lengthy refill with attendant venting & de-aeration. Often the process can take many days to complete and re-commission. NO TAP engineering goes to the heart of the problem on pressurised pipe-work by being effective in the right spot. It eliminates drain downs, refilling and venting. It accomplishes your solution in an interval of time that other methods fail to achieve.

Further information contact our sales dept: C. A. Baldwin & Co, Valan House, 146-154 Wells Way, Camberwell, London SE5 7SY 020 7703 2138 info@cabaldwin.com www.cabaldwin.com

FURNACESPECTION™ FOR TEMPERATURE MONITORING INSIDE HIGH TEMPERATURE FURNACES

MEASUREMENT & MONITORING

Advanced thermal imaging system by LumaSense for continuous temperature monitoring inside high temperature furnaces in refining, metals and glass production The FurnaceSpection™ system accurately measures the temperature of product, refractory, and heat transfer surfaces inside natural gas fired This radiometrically calibrated imager provides users with a real-time tool for quickly and accurately identifying process abnormalities before they develop into problems that can lead to unplanned outages. The solution developed by LumaSense Technologies is a comprehensive imaging system consisting of an accurate 640 x 480 focalplane array thermal camera (MCS640) inside a rugged IP66, air cooled, protective enclosure. It can be equipped with Borescope lance-optics filtered at 0.85 μm wavelength to view through combustion gas and flames. These high-quality optics (either with straight or angled lenses), and a resolution of more than 300,000 pixels produce an excellent infrared image.

In addition, LumaSense offers advanced software as an option allowing simultaneous acquisition from multiple cameras, advanced analysis tools, support for OPC, analog and digital IOs, web service, and archiving functionality. FurnaceSpection’s proven technology provides critical insight for failure prevention and asset management. It helps operators monitor and control process temperature uniformity through streaming images and powerful software for analysis and historical trending,

outputs to automation and DCS, and a realtime web server to broadcast images on the plant’s local network. This system provides users a critical tool for improving process and product quality by reducing waste.

www.lumasenseinc.com info@lumasenseinc.com

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MEASURING & MONITORING

TEMPERATURE SENSORS LABFACILITY

LABFACILITY MANUFACTURE A WIDE RANGE OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS TO SUIT YOUR APPLICATION BI-METAL THERMOMETER TEMPERATURE GAUGES

Bi-Metal Stainless Steel Thermometer with bottom or back entry and ‘any-angle’ versions available. Use our custom configurator to send us your specific requirements, made to order.

THERMOCOUPLE CONNECTORS

We are Europe’s largest manufacturer of thermocouple connectors and accessories in IEC, ANSI and JIS Colour codes. The full range of connectors are available from stock for immediate despatch.

VERIGO COLD CHAIN DATA LOGGERS

Labfacility are now UK distributors of the Verigo Cold Chain range of Data Loggers for monitoring temperature, humidity and food storage quality - Introducing the new Pod Range. Cold Chain Monitoring Easier than ever. Save time, ensure quality, and increase visibility of your temperature-controlled logistics operations. NO wires or Wi-Fi required.

L60 THERMOCOUPLE & FINE WIRE WELDER

The Thermocouple Welder, manufactured by Labfacility, is a compact, simple-to-use instrument designed for thermocouple and fine wire welding.

THERMOCOUPLE CABLE / WIRE

We offer a wide range of thermocouple, PRT and extension cable / wire in stock for immediate despatch. Thermocouple cables are available in IEC or ANSI Colour codes. Insulation types include PFA, PTFE, PVC & Fiberglass.

Company Profile Labfacility are the UK’s leading manufacturer of Temperature Sensors, Thermocouple Connectors and associated Temperature Instrumentation and stockists of Thermocouple Cables. The Company has been trading since 1971 and is ISO 9001 accredited. We have two UK sites – West Sussex and South Yorkshire and export to over 85 countries. In addition to the stocked items, Labfacility also offers bespoke Temperature Sensors. We are specialists in the design and manufacture of custom-built temperature sensors at our 12,000-square foot Yorkshire plant located in Dinnington Labfacility manufactures a wide range of components and fittings for sensor installation. These include pot seals for mineral insulated thermocouples, bayonet caps and adaptors and closed end protection tubes. Additional components include compression glands, melt bolts, thermowells and a wide range of terminal heads. Quality and Service are key elements in the continued growth of Labfacility; technical support for both sensing and instrumentation is always freely available from our experienced technical sales teams. www.labfacility.com

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31 Ad st va S Oc nc ee to ed us b ST er - Eng at AN 1s ine D t N eri SC ov ng 4 em be r

Leaders in temperature measurement

Cold Chain Data Loggers

Labfacility are UK distributors of the Verigo Cold Chain range of Data Loggers for monitoring temperature, humidity and food storage quality Heading 3 Access data fast: use your

phone or tablet to get the data you need, when you need it

Free App available from Google Play or the App Store XE-4301-001

Available from Stock for Immediate Despatch

PB3 Reuseable Temperature Data Logger

XE-4320-001

PD1 Single Use 90 Day Temperature Data Logger

XE-4300-001

PA3 Reuseable Temperature & Humidity Data Logger

XE-4321-001

PH0 Quality Data Logger (3 Sessions)

XE-4302-001

XE-4311-001

XE-4310-001

PG1 Reuseable Cryo Data Logger with Blunt Tip Probe

www.labfacility.com Bognor Regis tel: +44 (0)1243 871280

PH0 Reuseable Data Logger

PE1 Reuseable Pointed Tip Probe Data Logger

sales@labfacility.com ShefďŹ eld tel: +44 (0)1909 569446

New thermodynamic pump monitoring system monitors pump performance and efficiency Corroserve has just announced further major investment in its Thermodynamic Pump Monitoring (TPM) System. As a result, the Leeds based corrosion protection and engineering services specialist can now monitor the performance of any class C industrial pump over its working life and as a result highlight significant cost saving opportunities for the user. TPM identifies pump wear and measures changes in performance and efficiency, allowing the customer to make informed decisions about refurbishment and the optimum time for any work to be carried out. It also identifies the most efficient pumping conditions providing customers with a detailed & accurate report. www.corroserve.com

NEW: ATEX certification of our eddy-current tachometer family The RHEINTACHO family of eddy current tachometers including an optional gearbox, has now been approved according to Annex II of the Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Directive 2014/34/EU for all EU countries and the UK. The project started due to the requests of potential customers requiring an intrinsically safe tachometers for special applications. After successful testing and re-documentation, the product range was certified, including the optional gearboxes, i.e. 12 different models in 4 different product type categories. These mechanical tachometers are used in various industries including refuelling of aircraft, paint production as well as paper and pulp production. For further information, please contact RHEINTACHO at sales@rheintacho.co.uk or call us at +44 (0)113 287 4411.

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NEW DAQ SYSTEM FROM HBM GROWS WITH YOUR NEEDS Now available from HBM – a market leader in the field of test and measurement – is the new GEN2tB portable measuring module, designed for high-speed measuring technology with sampling rates of up to 250 MS/s. Featuring a modular design, the GEN2tB Data Acquisition System is suitable for use as an entry level model, but can also be used as a high-end transient recorder – or even in mixed applications. Compact in size, yet powerful in use, the new GEN2tB system is suitable for both mobile and stationary use and can also be expanded to accommodate up to 12 voltage (or current) channels, 16 highspeed sensor channels (e.g., strain gauges or accelerometers up to 500 kS/s per channel), or up to 24 channels of fibre optic digitisers, or any mix of these.

A revolution in micro-defect measurement – Portable, Rapid and Accurate Spectrum Metrology has launched a groundbreaking handheld gauging system into the UK for rapid micro-defect/corrosion analysis directly on the shopfloor. The 4D INSPEC ® inspection gauge is a completely new method of reliably measuring micro-defects in 3D such as scratches nicks, pits, protrusions, radius of curvature of grooves, spheres and shafts – even rivet geometry. The 4D INSPEC takes the guess work out of 3D micro-measurement, quantifying pits, scratches, nicks, dents, bumps, porosity and corrosion on parts with complex geometries such as turbine blade sections (without the need for replication), engine components and drivetrain components.

HBM United Kingdom Ltd Tel: 01525 304980 Email: info@uk.hbm.com Web: www.hbm.com

Further details including a video presentation are on their webpage: http://www.spectrum-metrology.co.uk/ gauging-transducers/3Dmicrodefect.php

FilesThruTheAir™

PhoenixTM Ltd - Phoenix Temperature Measurement

FilesThruTheAir™ offers a comprehensive range of environmental monitoring products which could revolutionise the way that you monitor and record temperature and humidity. FilesThruTheAir™ have a wide product range to suit your needs, including WiFi enabled sensors with remote Cloud management, USB data loggers and Smart Thermometers. Our wireless enabled data loggers capture information consistently, accurately and automatically, transmitting alarms when a reading is out of set range. The simple interface, multiple user options and robust design appeals to a huge range of users and industries – from breweries to hospitals and pharmacies, food production to facilities management. Data can be viewed and easily downloaded in graphs or report formats via the PC software or online via EasyLog Cloud. www.filesthrutheair.com

PhoenixTM Ltd design and manufactures ‘thru-process’ temperature monitoring systems for the heat treatment industry. Providing solutions for various industrial sectors including heat treatment of aluminium and steel, ranging from raw materials (Slab, billets etc) to finished products, such as carburizing automotive components. Other applications include Paint and Powder Coating, Food Processing (HACCP), Glass Processing and Ceramic Firing. Protected by a thermal barrier, the data logger travels through the process and thermocouples measure the product temperature. A historic temperature record (Profile graph or TUS) is collected which then can be analysed using Industry specific software to generate AMS2750E and CQI-9 compliant reports. Understand, Control, Optimize and Certify your furnace process to guarantee product quality, process operation efficiency and regulatory compliance. +44(1353)223100 | sales@phoenixtm.com www.phoenixtm.com

Electromagnetic Flowmeter -All metal design-

M-Zert ISO 9001:2008 Registered Company

Stainless steel version

°F °C

NEW

Flow and temperature measurement

Monitoring function

∑

Total and partial quantity counter

2 configurable outputs

Display operation also with gloves

90°

Rotating colour display

Space saver

www.kobold-direct.co.uk

KOBOLD Instruments Ltd 8/9 Brunts Business Centre, Samuel Brunts Way, Mansfield, Nottingham, NG18 2AH Tel: 01623 427701 Email: info.uk@kobold.com

MEASUREMENT & MONITORING

REG FLOW RESTRICTORS KOBOLD

SMART MECHANICAL FLOW CONTROL FROM KOBOLD INSTRUMENTS One of the main benefits of Kobold’s REG flow restrictors is that they provide precise mechanical flow control and conditioning, so operate without any electrical power supply. They also maintain the constant flow rate of fluids with great accuracy (± 0.2 L/min) regardless of fluctuating inlet pressure. By using an impressively simple but unique principle, combined with precision engineered components the REG delivers quality and reliability ensuring lifelong and maintenance-free use.

HOW IT WORKS With the REG the constant flow is realized by means of stainless steel spring plates (the so-called control orifice) and a ring or control funnel arranged thereafter. Depending on the differential pressure, the gap between control panel and ring varies. This keeps the flow rate constant. Depending on the flow rate, one to four control panels are used in different arrangements.

IN COMPARISON The REG is unlike restrictor products from other manufacturers. Usually they use a combination of rubber and metal discs, each with a round cavity in the middle. Water pressure compresses the elastic rubber disc, which changes the diameter of the cavity and thus regulates the flow; however, this only works as long as the rubber elasticity is intact! Due to temperature, chemical influence and aging, the molecular structure of the rubber changes over time and as a result, the elasticity is lost, causing hardening of the rubber and therefore the flow cannot be regulated or guaranteed. This condition becomes problematic and above all expensive if this characteristic is underestimated or not pointed out. With the REG the maximum flow rate per controlling element is 40 l / min. There are options available with multiple elements in threaded and flanged connections, available in brass and stainless steel with a maximum differential pressure of 10 BAR. Thread connection sizes are ½ and ¾ male and female. The available flow rates (Single Element) are: 0,5, 1,2,3,4,6,10,12,14,16,18,20,25,30 and 40 l/min. With the REG, Kobold maintains a high degree of success in a wide range of industrial applications around the world. REGs are ideal for those applications where a constant flow rate is needed despite pressure fluctuations in the system, e.g. by switching on and off of consumers.

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Fields of application for the Kobold flow restrictor REG:

WATER SUPPLY Even water distribution

PUMP PROTECTION For protection against overheating during zero flow, water hammer and cavitation.

REMOTE HEATING DISTRIBUTION Optimum flow rates in the heat exchanger circuit.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS • Constant maintenance of different oil flow rates in a block system for lubrication in wind turbines. • Cooling and lubrication of CNC tooling and cutting machines, as well as various machining centers. • For cooling and maintaining the temperature of aluminum diecasting molds in car engine production or packaging machines for the food and pharmaceutical industries. • Cooling circuit X-ray machines, laser machines, photovoltaic systems. • Wire welding machines, coating and vacuum systems, induction hardening machines. • Water circuits for heating and cooling systems. • Use in printing machines for spray dampening. The REG limits the hot water consumption of the printing press in front of the spraying unit. • For protection against manual incorrect settings of the flow in machines and plants. • In areas with pressure fluctuations, REG ensure required water supply to machinery and equipment. • Dust suppression via constant flow through sprinkler.

DOSING APPLICATIONS For optimum mixing of liquids Accurate chemical mixing

WATER SUPPLY / AGRICULTURE / IRRIGATION Desired water distribution to all stables during livestock farming. Optimum flow rates at all delivery points. Irrigation control and irrigation systems.

FIRE BRIGADE AND FIRE PROTECTION APPLICATIONS Flow rate limitation and even distribution to all strands. Accurate foaming agent dosing.

EMERGENCY SHOWER SYSTEMS IN INDUSTRY Flow restrictors provide the required amount of water on all emergency showers

EYEWASH Flow rate limiters prevent excessive amounts of water.

WATER TREATMENT Backwash flow control avoids fluid loss. UV sterilization: Controlled flow rate for bacterial destruction.

+49 (0) 6192 299-107 info.de@kobold.com www.kobold.com Issue 35 PECM

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TECHNOLOGY

TOMORROW’S TECH HERE TODAY NOVOTEK

AUTOMATION EXPERT LAUNCHES WHITEPAPER EXPLAINING THE REALITY OF IIoT

Many countries around the world are introducing initiatives aiming to achieve industrial digitalisation in the next 10–15 years. However, industrial automation expert Novotek UK and Ireland argues that the technology is already available and businesses can begin digitalising operations by 2020. The company outlines the technologies available, and the value in using them, in its new industrial internet of things (IIoT) whitepaper, which is free to download from the Novotek website. The whitepaper tackles emerging technologies such as digital twinning, artificial intelligence and next-generation supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Novotek explains how each of these technologies can be used to benefit the modern industrial business, particularly in terms of significantly improving maintenance operations. “Whether you’re working in a food processing plant or an automotive manufacturing site, maintenance is an unavoidable part of industrial operations,” explained George Walker, managing director of Novotek UK and Ireland. “It’s in

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these roles that we’re already seeing digital technologies have the biggest impact, providing detailed insight for maintenance engineers and plant managers. This has an impact beyond just technical data; it can completely reshape a plant’s maintenance schedule to reduce costs, maximise uptime and minimise risk. “For example, it’s now possible to use digital twinning to create virtual representations of physical assets that draw from current and historical data. These twins allow engineers to remotely view how a piece of equipment is performing and when maintenance is required, but we’re also at a point where predictive analytics can be incorporated into this. This allows the system itself to identify trends and predict when maintenance is necessary, reducing planned downtime to an efficient minimum. “This is just one example of intelligent analytics and algorithms in maintenance that plant managers can begin investing in today. As our whitepaper explores, platforms such as Predix by GE Digital incorporate machine learning algorithms into the core platform itself, which can

analyse the vast amounts of generated data far more efficiently than any human worker. Engineers can use this to make truly impactful process improvements that can add value to the business.” Novotek’s whitepaper is designed to provide an immediate benefit to plant managers. According to the company, many businesses are still under the impression that the IIoT is a distant concept that is not yet practical. “Discussions around modern industrial automation and digitalisation are always very forward-looking,” continued Walker. “While businesses should create a digitalisation roadmap for the future, it’s important we don’t overlook the technologies that exist today. Plant managers don’t need to wait to begin seeing the benefits of industrial automation.” Engineers and plant managers interested in achieving more from digitalisation and automation can download Novotek’s whitepaper from the company website. www.novotek.com/en

Looking to save time, money, resources, fuel on your logistics? VEGAVIS offers one of the most versatile remote inventory and telemetry systems. Already used in thousands of applications by numerous companies and authorities to measure level, control distribution and optimise logistics. From river levels, to bulk powder silos or chemical tanks, VEGA can offer a ‘scaleable’, simple, enterprise IIOT solutions supporting efficient logistics. Sites can be easily visualised, grouped and geographically displayed with specific page control shared between users, along with

Also interested in really fast, rugged, light, accurate, customised and inexpensive pyrometer models for non-contact temperature measurements between –50 °C and +3000 °C? Or in infrared cameras? Visit www.optris.co.uk There’s no two ways about it: our extensive portfolio of infrared thermometers covers all the spectral, temperature and dynamic ranges you could want.

from £ 95

VEGA

Versatile.

TIME TO DIGITISE YOUR DISTRIBUTION?

soft alarms and messages set, enabling a seamless partnership between suppliers, transporters and customers. Of course the sensor that makes the measurement is just as important to ensure the data you gather is accurate and with VEGA you can rely on that!

Contact VEGA to discuss a trial system and competitive system packages for VEGA Inventory System.

Innovative Infrared Technology

www.vega.com/uk

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Visionscope Technologies Karl Storz rigid borescopes are particularly robust and designed for heavy-duty industrial use. With the HOPKINS® rod lens system, they reliably deliver exceptionally clear, sharp and bright images. Borescopes essentially consist of an optical system, mechanics, and a light guide system. The double-wall sheath and the special glass endpiece at the tip render the borescope extremely resistant to damage and wear and ensure optimal protection of the telescope. Special Features: • • • •

Pressure resistant up to +5 bar Metal layers to protect the optical system Resistant to oil, fuel & solvents Temperature resistant up to 150’C

Tel: 01709 540131. Fax: 01709 547481. Email: info@vst.org.uk. Web: www.vst.org.uk

Critical components cleaned to the most demanding quality standards, approvals and specifications William Hughes, the specialist manufacturer of springs and bent wire components for the global automotive and aerospace industries, now offers an expanded range of ultrasonic and non-ultrasonic cleaning techniques for critical components to the highest international and governmental approval standards. These include military and electronics specification components for applications that include LOX, Oxygen critical parts and hydraulic hoses. A video featuring the William Hughes ultrasonic cleaning capability is available to view on YouTube. Simply enter ‘Ultrasonic Cleaning William Hughes’ or follow this link: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvC_z2m6B6w For further details contact Tel: (01963) 363377 Fax:(01963) 363640 Email: sales@wmhughes.co.uk Website: www.wmhughes.co.uk

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Ammonia Filtration Key to Efficient Antibiotics Production

Delivering custom quality quickly

Amazon Filters has installed a combination SupaPore FPW / SupaPore VPBA filtration system at a leading antibiotics manufacturer’s fermentation plant enabling them to reduce production downtime resulting in significant cost savings.

Croft Filters are a leading UK manufacturer of over 32 years who specialises in supplying customised filtration solutions. The Company supplies to a range of industry sectors that including: Chemical, Oil, Gas, Energy, Pharmaceutical, amongst others worldwide.

Efficient antibiotic production requires high quality ammonia being used to adjust the pH of the fermentation process. However, the antibiotics manufacturer was receiving batches of ammonia of varying quality which required sterile filtering before use. Despite this precaution, the manufacturer was having to replace blocked final membrane filters on a daily basis resulting in unacceptable levels of production downtime and the high costs of replacement filters.

Croft can manufacture filtration solutions in any shape or design including: basket strainers, duplex filters, cone filters, cylinder filters and screen filters in perforated plate, wedge wire and woven wire mesh.

For further information please visit https://www.amazonfilters.com/ applications/pharmaceutical/ or contact Amazon Filters on +44-(0)1276-670600 / sales@amazonfilters.co.uk.

Quality of both product and service has been the key to Croft’s success and continues to drive the company forward. For more information: Call:01925 766265 Email:sales@filters.co.uk Visit:www.filters.co.uk

Hygienic Housing for Critical Aseptic Liquid Filtration Applications

Wilkinson Star announce new partnership with Tecna SPA, Bologna Italy

The 76B Series single cartridge housing from Amazon Filters is a high-quality product specifically designed for aseptic liquid pharmaceutical and healthcare filtration applications. The vent and drain connections on the 76B Series housing can be customised from a wide range of options to provide an optimised filter housing for your application.

TECNA is a high quality Resistance Welding product which Wilkinson Star has distributed for over 30 years. From 1 August 2018, we are pleased to announce Wilkinson Star as the UK’s sole exclusive importer of TECNA Resistance Welding Equipment.

Suitable for operating at temperatures from –10°C up to 150°C, and rated up to 10 bar and full vacuum, the PED and ATEX compliant 76B Series housing can be used for the filtration of both liquids and Group 1 gases. A high-quality cast Vee band clamp threaded closure on the housing ensures ease of use as well as high safety and security. More information at www.amazonfilters. com/products/filter-housings/ or contact Amazon Filters on +44-1276-670600 / sales@amazonfilters.co.uk

Wilkinson Star, Manchester, is one of the largest UK independent Importers and Distributors of Industrial Equipment. Founder and Chairman, Dr. John A. Wilkinson, OBE, commented; “My Company is looking forward to a renewed exclusive agreement with TECNA S.p.A. We have enjoyed the last 33 years but now we will go in many new directions and fields to become number 1 in the provider of Resistance Welding Product in the UK”. Wilkinson Star have heavily invested in testing and repair facilities for this new partnership to be able to provide a complete support package to Wilkinson Star distributors. www.wilkinsonstar.com

EEMUA CONFERENCE 2019 6-7 March, 2019 Bolton, Greater Manchester

Addressing the gap in the middle

EEMUA’s flagship biennial event is back by popular demand! This long established conference offers great networking opportunities, platforms to stimulate candid discussion and an open forum for lively debate.

For further information: Email us at: events@eemua.org Call us on: 020 7488 0801 www.eemua.org

A MUST ATTEND EVENT FOR OWNERS, OPERATORS AND USERS OF ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

NEWS & EVENTS

EEMUA (The Engineering Equipment and Material Users Association) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the EEMUA Conference 2019! This flagship biennial event is a key entry on the professional engineering calendar, as it offers great networking opportunities, platforms to stimulate candid discussion and an open forum for lively debate! The event will run for two jam-packed days on 6-7 March, at the Bolton Whites Hotel, in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Topical content The conference theme of “Leadership, Asset Integrity and Engagement: Addressing the gap in the middle” will fully explore how to overcome the disconnect between behaviour, leadership, asset management and asset integrity in a challenging risk environment. Delegates can look forward to a series of thought-provoking papers focused on a diverse range of issues such as:

An impressive line-up ofspeakers

• Risk-based procurement and supply chain management • Learning the lessons from inspection data • Achieving plant integrity through staff competency • Lessons learned from industry incidents and failure

The programme will feature a high-profile roster of industry experts from a range of prestigious organisations such as SABIC, Tata Steel, HSE, BOC, Ministry of Defence and more, who will all be on hand to share their expertise and learning with delegates!

Doesn’t this all sound exciting! Head over to our website for more information and details of how to book. But don’t delay, we only have 150 spaces, so hurry and register your place today! www.eemua.org Issue 35 PECM

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Stevenage Circuits The UK’s first privately owned fully digital manufacturer of PCB’s from quick-turn prototypes, pre- production through to full production support. Our extensive range covers rigid multilayers, flex, flex-rigid, mixed dielectric, metal -backed, Microwave, RF and mixed exotic materials. Our products are supplied into diverse end market sectors including Industrial, Scientific, Medical, Oil & Gas, Defence, Military, Aerospace and other High Reliability applications. Year on year capital equipment investments ensure that we continue to close the gap between technological advancements and capability. In addition to our UK manufacturing we have partnerships with offshore volume manufacturers where we offer engineering support from the UK.

Summit Chilled proves 20% cycle reduction! Summit Chilled, the intelligent process temperature control division of Summit Systems, has been selected to supply 18 x Thermoregulators to a tier 1 Automotive customer. After extensive trials on one of their large injection moulding machines, Summit Chilled suggested using a Frigel Duel Zone Turbogel RBD 130/24 instead of existing multiple 18kW tool heaters. Following the successful trial, it was concluded that ONE unit was capable of doing the job better than FOUR original units. With the Frigel Duel Zone Turbogel, they saw an 11% reduction on their cycle times added to a large reduction on capital costs. Therefore with reduced cycle time, halved footprint & capital costs payback was a matter of only a few months.

HebeData HebeData is a training delivery, control and management system, owned and managed by your company, to upload and deliver internal training and any required third party modules. HebeData offers: Transparent management of information targeted at specific training groups; Uniform training per group/job title/individual. Individual GDPR compliant personal passport (available on any device). Detailed reports to the system owner. Central management of training, to ensure that training is delivered, monitored and managed to every individual on or off site. Integrates an audit tool and Inmail. See www.hebedata.co.uk TopTech Award winner For more information please contact p.stratford@edatachase.com

www.summitchilled.co.uk

www.stevenagecircuits.co.uk

Kaiser & Waltermann Since exactly 50 years Kaiser and Waltermann is a certified system supplier for high quality fasteners. We are proud to have customers for our products in nearly every industrial sector all over the world, where the main consumers of our products are to be found in the automotive and electronical industry. Customers of Kaiser & Waltermann appreciate the cooperative partnership, the excellent know-how, high degree of flexibility and firm commitment. Put us to the test and ask us about our ideas for fasteners, for which you must accept no compromises in their quality and price. We look forward to your enquiry! +49 2393 9183 14 m.bende@kaiser-waltermann.de www.kaiser-waltermann.de

SciQuip Ltd

MacLellan Rubber

SciQuip Ltd supplies a wide range of testing and production equipment to industrial, manufacturing and R&D customers throughout the UK. The range includes Drying Ovens, Furnaces, Test & Climatic Chambers, Ultrasonic’s, Circulation Chillers, Balances, Shakers/Stirrers/Mixers, Sterilization & Depyrogenation Chambers, Freeze Dryers and Centrifugation equipment.

MacNetic, MacLellan Rubber’s latest product development, is a Metal Detectable Nitrile sheet rubber and compound which is becoming the material of choice for replacement seals & gaskets in current operating equipment after several major food processors specify the material which meets a plethora of technical requirements and standards demanded by the Food, Drink, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetic and Biopharma industries including Metal Detectable, EU1935:2004, ADI and Nitrosamine Free. MacLellan’s are in discussions with OEMs regarding using their new premium grade Metal Detectable NBR material in new equipment installations. The material, which is independently certified and tested, is suitable for gaskets, seals, joints, skirts and curtains used within safety critical industries.

SciQuip provides its customers with full before and after-sales support with fully trained product/application specialists together with factory trained service engineers using original manufacturer parts. The company is carbon neutral and leads the sector in terms of environmental awareness, recycling and sustainability. As a UKAS accredited ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 14001:2015 company customers are assured of the very highest quality and levels of service. SciQuip is an approved public sector framework supplier. www.sciquip.co.uk

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For product specifications visit https:// maclellanrubber.com/product/macneticm396-blue-metal-detectable-nitrile-rubbereu1935-2004 or call 01902 307711

l Pit ing/Fret ing HIGH QUALITY SURFACE TREATMENTS FROM CURTISS-WRIGHT SURFACE TECHNOLOGIES Curtiss-Wright Surface Technologies (CWST) provides high quality surface treatments which will improve the life and performance of critical components through its global network of over 70 operating divisions and specialist onsite teams. Our surface treatments have been successfully used by OEM’s in major industries such as aerospace, automotive, oil & gas and power generation for many years. We are only too aware of the logistical challenges and costs faced by our customers and so we can offer a “One Stop Shop” solution providing a wide range of surface treatments including Controlled Shot and Laser Shock Peening, bespoke and trade Coating Applications, Thermal Spray Coatings and Parylene Coatings for metal, alloy, plastic and electronic components as well as Analytical Services. We offer our customers a single source solution and point of contact for all their

surface treatments, supporting their requirements through our global network of over 70 worldwide facilities and on-site field teams, improving and reducing turnaround times and costs. We are specialists in protecting components from common failures and reducing maintenance costs for key industries such as aerospace, oil and gas, automotive, medical and general industrial markets. Building on the unique heritage of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers, CurtissWright Surface Technologies has a long tradition of providing innovative solutions and building solid and trusted customer relationships. Full quality and customer approvals including NADCAP, ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100 Rev C. To find out more please visit www.cwst.co.uk.

PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

Engineered coatings help with: l High lubricity/low friction l Anti-corrosion l High release/anti-stick l Low noise/anti-squeak

C.A.S.E.TM super finishing is used to: l Increase gearbox efficiency www.cwst.co.uk

l Reduce surface/contact fatigue

T: 01635 279621

l Decrease lubricant temperature

Shot peening is a cost effective method to help prevent: l Metal fatigue

l Pitting/Fretting

l Reduce transmission noise

Engineered coatings help with: l High lubricity/low friction l Anti-corrosion l High release/anti-stick l Low noise/anti-squeak C.A.S.E.TM super finishing is used to:

Engineered technologies Surfacetreatmentsforcriticalcomponents

l Increase gearbox efficiency l Reduce surface/contact fatigue l Decrease lubricant temperature l Reduce transmission noise

Engineered technologies Surface treatments for critical components CWST are exhibiting at the Engineering Materials Live show on the 10th May and Surfex Show on 23rd and 24th May 2018

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Kecol Pumping Systems Kecol Pumping Systems offers solutions to many product transfer problems – read on to find out more.

ecol Pumping Systems Ltd are manufacturers of Air driven, Positive Displacement Piston Pumps and Priming Devices in polished stainless steel or carbon steel, for transferring high viscosity nonflowable products from drums and containers as used in the cosmetic, food, pharmaceutical, chemical and general industries. Products in drums or similar sized vessels that normally need to be heated in order to reduce the viscosity - can be transferred cold. Products with a viscosity up to 10,000 Poise can be transferred (cold) using the Kecol Maxiprime Pump and follower plate system and is also used to transfer pastes and products that stick to the inside of an open top drum, wiping the inside of the drum or vessel, eliminating product waste. Kecol Air Powered Drum Pumps and transfer systems are suitable for all standard size closed top or open top drums and can be adapted to suit open top containers with an internal diameter up to 1200mm. Non contact parts as well as contact parts are available in polished stainless steel, clamp - type construction is also available for hygienic applications. Typical applications in the food industry include transferring tomato

The inside of a standard 200 litre Open Top Drum is wiped clean – as the drum is emptied – with minimal product waste

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puree, concentrated fruit juice, honey, fruit pastes, biscuit creams, jams, butter, margarine, sweet mince meat, sausage meat and meat pie fillings with cooked vegetables. Applications in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries include transferring mascara, petroleum jelly, face creams, base creams, magnesium hydroxide, aluminium hydroxide, toothpaste, lip-gloss waxes and suntan lotions.

Kecol’s articulated pump systems

The Kecol Follower plate system will also work on 200 litre Open Top Drums fitted with an aseptic bag – wiping the bag clean

Applications in the chemical and general industries include the transfer of paints, resins, adhesives, polymers, latex, high viscosity grease, mastic’s and inks – all pumped cold without pre-heating the products. As manufacturers, Kecol Pumping Systems can offer solutions to your particular product transfer problem, by offering a bespoke system designed to exceed your particular production requirements for single drum/vessel use or multi drum use.

Kecol Pumping Systems Ltd Faraday Drive Bridgnorth Shropshire WV15 5BJ T: 01746 764311 E: sales@kecol.co.uk www.kecol.co.uk

KECOL

STILL NO.1 FOR VISCOUS PUMPING SOLUTIONS With over 25 years experience in pumping viscous materials, Kecol is the number one choice of many of the World’s leading pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food manufacturers. Kecol equipment is used to transfer flowable & non-flowable materials from drums, IBC’s, mixing vessels and process vessels of various shapes, sizes and designs, without heating the material. Kecol’s extensive range of equipment is designed to transfer products from triple concentrate Tomato Paste through to Petroleum Jelly and Mascara, quickly, cleanly and efficiently from standard 200 litre drums, tapered or conical drums fitted with an aseptic bag, tote bins and IBC’s. Our vast experience has shown there are never two applications the same and that’s why we also offer bespoke systems designed and manufactured to suit your specific vessels and production requirements.

System for IBC’s

System for 4 x pallet mounted drums

Trolley Mounted Vertical or Horizontal pumps

NOW ATEX APPROVED

Tel: 01746 764311

Fax: 01746 763375 Email: sales@kecol.co.uk Here are just a few of the products we pump: • Petroleum Jelly • Magnesium Hydroxide • Mascara • Lanolin • Lip Gloss • Veterinary Creams • Eye Ointments • Paraffin Wax • Face Scrub • Teething Gels • Medical Adhesives • Toothpaste • Wax • Sun Lotions • Aluminium Hydroxide • Hand /Face Creams • Shaving Cream • Glycerine • Honey • Cake Batter • Butter • Mayonnaise • Peanut Butter • Fruit Concentrate • Margarine • Jam • Tomato Puree • Chopped Tomato • Pie Fillings • Syrups • Biscuit Creams • Caramel Products • Fruit Pastes • Cooking Fats • Fondants • Sweet Mince Meat • High Viscosity Grease • Mastic • Wood Filler • Silicon • Paint • Ink • Polymers • Epoxy Pastes • Sealants • Glue • Resin

www.kecol.co.uk

PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

A VIRTUAL FILING SYSTEM COPA

DIGITALIZATION OF THE PAPER CHECKLIST Perhaps one of the few pre-digital hangovers is the handwritten paper checklist. It’s a sight seen in many industries, an employee with clipboard and pen, checking off each step with a well-known ‘x’ or tick. Manufacturing is no exception. Here, Alan Binning, Regional Sales Manager for industrial automation software expert, COPA-DATA UK examines a digital alternative to manufacturing checklists, the Smart Checklist. Checklists are an important part of any business. These repeatable set of steps, performed in a sequential manner, enables people and systems to achieve a unified goal. This could be validating a product through visual inspection or carrying out scheduled maintenance. Regardless of what the checklist is for, using paper makes it a timeconsuming process that is prone to errors, with high risks of data loss.

ERROR AVOIDANCE The Smart Checklist method replaces illegible piles of paperwork. Taking the traditional checklist into the digital realm results in fewer errors, increased efficiency and better flexibility for employees carrying out these repeatable checks. No longer can paperwork go missing or fields be incorrectly filled out, but instead every event is stored securely with the user that is logged, in a digital format. Considering there is often a complex set of conditions, options and loops in every workflow, visualising this on a static piece of paper can be difficult. To make things easier, the Smart Checklist communicates the required workflow clearly, omitting certain actions from vision if previous checks deem them unnecessary. For example, in a simplified example of inspecting a product, the user may be asked to use a colour detection device when validating an automotive part. If the colour is not to standards, the next step may be to wipe with a cloth and then repeat the colour analysis. At this point, the part may need to be sent back to the relevant department for correction. Once corrected, the part can be returned to the original checker to continue the next workflow stages. Obviously, this wouldn’t be as easy to keep track of with physical paperwork. A digital checklist makes communicating these steps straightforward. The user only needs to see the options that are necessary

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for that particular application, rather than all possible outcomes. Similarly, the user must complete each step without skipping any — something easily missed on a physical list. Additionally, every Checklist can be started and ended with a signature, meaning without a valid username and password, a Checklist cannot be started or completed. This brings about huge benefits in security and traceability. Wiring diagrams, documents or 3D models can all be appended to the checklist if required, to reduce processing time. Using this digital format, users wont need to reach for additional guides or images. Instead, they can have everything they need in the palm of their hand.

COMPLIANCE Another advantage of the digital checklist is its simplification of compliance. Using this method, the user is guided through the list in accordance with pre-defined standards. For example, the ISA-88 standards. This makes it possible to prove CE conformity of a machine with the Smart Checklist. The Smart Checklist offers further benefits when used on mobile devices. Subsequent data processing can flexibly take place on different workstations in different countries,

coordinating multiple users carrying out the same workflow. All data displayed can be set to the users preferred language and in the relevant country-specific units of measurements. This makes the technology an ideal aid for cooperating between sites in different countries. It also helps that the Batch Control module, on which the Smart Checklist is based upon, is fully integrated with zenon. This means all modules, functionality and variables that can be used seamlessly with Batch Control are therefore also available for the Smart Checklist. The common sight of clipboards and pens during checking procedures may soon be a thing of the past due to the digitalisation of workflows and checklists. Almost every industry is digitalising its processes and manufacturing must do the same. It’s time businesses put an end to data errors and illegible piles of paperwork by making the move to the Smart Checklist.

If you would like to learn more about AB Dynamics and its products, please visit www.copadata.com

REMOVAL OF MICROPLASTICS FROM AXIUM PROCESS WATER STREAMS USING MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY The removal of microplastics from drinking, process or wastewater streams is a major step towards the reduction of microplastic pollution found in the environment. The use of plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products has already been banned in the UK and many other countries. However microplastic pollution is still being generated by the waste plastics already in the environment which are aging and self-abrading on a very wide scale. As a result, most water sources now contain background but rising levels of microplastic contamination, which can ultimately feed back into in the human food chain. Crossflow Membrane Technology (CMT), renowned for its success in the removal of bacteria, pesticides, suspended solids and colour from wastewater, is now a practical solution in the fight against the microplastic pollution found in most wastewater streams. CMT works as a physical barrier against microplastics

where the particulates cannot pass through the membrane on the basis of particle size, allowing only crystal clear commercially sterile, particle free water to be discharged. All the microplastic particulates and other separated impurities are safely retained in a low volume controllable form ready for further treatment. Axium Process also maintains a comprehensive range of mobile membrane filtration pilot plants and in-house laboratory services which are offered as a research facility for companies wishing to develop and optimise their processes. www.axiumprocess.com

QUAL@XY SUITE : MODULAR MES SOFTWARE FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

Infodream specialize in manufacturing quality control and our innovative solutions have helped companies achieve manufacturing excellence for almost three decades. Our modular suite caters for both SME’s beginning their SMART factory journey looking to create a paperless workshop through to large industrial groups implementing fully connected multi-site applications. Key functions of our solution include: • Work order management • Electronic job card and work instructions • Shopfloor data collection and traceability • Real time SPC and statistical analysis • Web portal for enterprise visibility and KPI management e-mail: contact@infodream.co.uk

web: infodreamgroup.com/

Process Cooling Solutions for Food & Beverage Systems A range of non-toxic high performance heat transfer fluids, with antifreeze function, for use in food and beverage cooling systems.

tel: 01792 586800 www.hydratech.co.uk

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PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING CARBIS FILTRATION

HIGH INTEGRITY PROCESS FILTRATION EQUIPMENT CFL has more than 35 years engineering experience manufacturing world class filtration products and equipment. We are a dynamic engineering company offering filtration and separation solutions for a wide range of applications. We pride ourselves on the principles of developing and delivering innovative manufacturing techniques and exceptional products, together with a friendly, professional and responsive service to our clients. Our experienced team strive to provide reliable, competitive and delivered on time products and equipment, with a highly professional and ethical approach at all times. We continually evolve to ensure we deliver cost effective solutions and services to our clients. With our vast experience in manufacturing parts for critical applications, along side our unique fabrication, machining and welding skills, we offer products and equipment in standard and high value materials. We are a trusted partner, and supplier to clients around the globe, our extensive range of products cover most duties, and provide the highest level of reliability, even in the most demanding of environments. “We pride ourselves on the principles of developing and delivering innovative manufacturing techniques and exceptional products”

Products include; High pressure filters, sintered metallic and plastic filters, reactor and column internals, nut shell filter internals, wedge wire screens, cartridge filters and internals, de-oiling and de-sanding internals, media support screens, laterals, collectors and headers, hydrocarbon removal filters, filtration equipment, vessels and housings. Our team of mechanical and process engineers are happy to help solve

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complex engineering tasks, our expertise and practical experience in the design, development and manufacture of process filtration equipment and vessel internals, makes us the ideal partner for your next project.

http://www.carbisfiltration.co.uk/ Tel: +44 (0)1642 635620 info@carbisfiltration.co.uk

AT CARBIS FILTRATION, OUR CORE BUSINESS IS FOCUSED AROUND THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF HIGH INTEGRITY VESSEL INTERMALS, PROCESS FILTRATION EQUIPMENT, SCREENS AND FILTERS

TEL: +44 (0) 1642 635620 INFO@CARBISFILTRATION.CO.UK WWW.CARBISFILTRATION.CO.UK

PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS THERMAL ECHANGE

THERMAL EXCHANGE LTD PROVIDES PROCESS COOLING & TEMPERATURE CONTROL SOLUTIONS Our design team are experts in the fields of process temperature control, heat transfer and refrigeration and can provide customers with cost effective solutions to a wide range of process cooling and temperature control problems. From car production plants, laboratories and hospital operating theatres to the pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, there is a broad range of applications Thermal Exchange can satisfy. Moreover, our products are supported by the knowledge gained through many successful installations since beginning business in 1982. At Thermal Exchange we understand the importance of personal contact and you can be sure that we will make every effort to fully understand your application before making our recommendation. If you have a process temperature control problem and need an effective and reliable solution, then we’d like to hear from you. The following products represent our key areas of expertise.

INDUSTRIAL CHILLERS

Our UltraChill industrial chillers are refrigerated process cooling systems suitable for a wide range of applications. Cooling outputs range from 0.89 kW up to 163.2 kW at working temperatures from –20 up to 30 °C in ambient conditions from -15 up to 55 °C. Typical temperature control stability is +/-2°C with +/-0.5°C available on request. The UltraChill range are robust, dependable workhorses that provide a reliable supply of process coolant at constant temperature and pressure. Housings are made from galvanized steel and externally coated with epoxy resin, thus providing corrosion protection against the harshest of environments. Typical Applications: HF Generators • Resistance welding machines • Lasers • Autoclaves • MRI scanners • Beverage Industry • Vapour degreasing • Digital printing • Pharmaceutical • Laser sorting • Induction heating • Food industry • Dairy

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AB Air Blast Box coolers are supplied as complete factory assembled and tested units and are suitable for indoor or outdoor applications. They are completely closed circuit and independent of mains, with negligible water loss, and only minimal maintenance is required to ensure long and trouble-free operation.

LABORATORY CHILLERS

Our CS range of air-cooled refrigerated laboratory chillers provides cooling outputs up to 8.5 kW with coolant temperatures from 5 to 25 ⁰C in ambient conditions from 5 to 35 ⁰C. CS laboratory chillers provide the perfect environmental solution to the wasteful and costly practice of once-through tap water cooling. The CS range are low noise in operation and attractively packaged in a compact, sturdy casework finished in two tone grey. No unit exceeds 715 mm in width and the addition of castors makes even the largest CS85 easily manoeuvrable between laboratories. The entry level CS laboratory chillers come with an impressive array of features fitted as standard. Digital temperature control provides simple adjustment, visual display and control stability to +/-0.75 ⁰C, whilst +/-0.1 ⁰C stability is provided as an option. Safety interlocks include low coolant level, high coolant temperature and high/low gas pressure warning. Typical Applications: Sputtering equipment • Chemical vapour deposition • MRI • Gas Chromatography • Electron Microscopes • X-Ray • Lasers • Rotary Evaporators • Vacuum Pumps

AIR-BLAST BOX COOLERS

Our non-refrigerated range of AB Air Blast Box coolers have many advantages over mains water or open tower cooling and provide an ideal method of maintaining suitable working temperatures in many process applications. Typically, they are designed to remove heat from processes where the coolant temperature is approximately 10°C to 20°C higher than ambient.

Applications Resistance Welding Machines • High Frequency Generators • Furnace Equipment • X-Ray Devices • Air Compressors • General Process Cooling

WATER TO LIQUID HEAT EXCHANGE UNITS

These are self-contained systems with heat exchanger, coolant storage tank and pump. Our water to liquid exchangers utilise chilled house water to remove heat from the process coolant via a liquid to liquid exchanger. They provide a barrier thus protecting your process coolant from potentially harmful cooling water that may be contaminated by corrosion, bacteria, or may simply not be compatible i.e. ultra-pure deionised water, oil or other heat transfer fluids. Our water to liquid exchangers provides process coolant at constant temperature and pressure thus ensuring your process remains at optimum performance. Typical temperature control stability is +/-1°C with +/-0.5°C available on request.

OEM BESPOKE SYSTEMS

In addition to our standard range of products we can provide custom designed systems. From a simple brief, we can rapidly progress to a 3D SolidWorks model followed by a working prototype. As well as simple water chilling systems, we can design for other fluids, including ultra-pure deionised water, transformer oil & perfluorocarbon.

www.thermalexchange.co.uk

PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

THE SKILLS SHORTAGE ISSUE CURA TALENT

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE FACTORY FLOOR BECOMES A REALITY When the skills shortage is discussed in manufacturing, a lack of engineers is normally the first issue that springs to mind. Yet, as Graham Smith, head of marketing at Microsoft recruitment partner Curo Talent explains, there’s also an IT skills shortage facing manufacturers. Developing the UK’s IT infrastructure across manufacturing sectors is essential. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) for industrial applications, brings a need for IT specialists to implement such technology, and train the manufacturing workforce on how to use it. As the use of AI and AR is becoming a competitive differentiator, IT specialists are more in demand than ever before. Unfortunately for some, the IT talent pool can appear arid — unless you know where to look. Many of today’s leading IT experts are found in the contracting realm. Expert contractors are ideal to implement projects in the first instance, setting these businesses up to use AI and AR. In fact, Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft said in a recent video, “The thing that’s most exciting to me and what we at Microsoft can do, is to make every company out there really an AI-first company, because they already have customers, they already have data. If we can democratise the use of AI tools, every company can then harness the power of AI.” So, what exactly is this new technology, and how will the manufacturing industry find it useful? Two years ago, Microsoft introduced Dynamics 365. The idea was to create more intelligent, adaptable business solutions that are integrated with Office 365 and built on Microsoft Azure. Now the platform is applying hyped terms, like AI and AR, to reallife work situations. Combining business data with Dynamics 365’s built-in AI capabilities helps manufacturers derive actionable insights, make predictions based on previous actions and events, and graduate from being reactive to staying one step ahead. For example, it means that overloaded maintenance workers can focus on the higher impact business processes.

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Microsoft has also launched smart AR glasses — HoloLens. Combined with Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, these are ideal to wear in the factory, where it sometimes isn’t practical to use laptops or other computing equipment. These glasses overlay information on the wearer’s field of vision to troubleshoot faults in machinery.

For manufacturers interested in building HoloLens readiness into their business, Curo Talent has just the right contractors with the right skills. Hiring on a temporary basis, over a permanent basis gives your business the flexibility to carry out these projects, and also increases your chance of finding the right person for the job.

For example, if an employee discovers a fault in a machine, they can use the glasses to video chat with someone who can offer advice. The person called upon can bring up instructions on the wearer’s view and draw virtual lines on their field of vision to identify specific wires and components.

Remember, it’s not just the engineering skills shortage that is posing problems, it’s also the IT skills shortage. To contact Curo Talent directly, e-mail hello@curotalent.com.

There is also Dynamics 365 Layout, which can help factory managers to design the floor plan of the production area with new machinery and equipment. In factory organisation, the smallest oversight in a floor plan can cause costly delays. This program lets plant managers visualise the factory layout in 3D, moving machines around using the HoloLens glasses and AR, meaning any issues can be dealt with in advance of a machine delivery. Whichever way manufacturers choose to use this technology, it’s implementation will require the right access to leading IT specialists. While there’s no doubt IT specialists are in high demand at present, hiring IT contractors over permanent IT employees is one possible solution.

About Cura Talent For more than a decade, Curo Talent® has built the most respected Microsoft freelance community in the UK. Utilised by Microsoft UK and users of Microsoft technology, its contractors empower organisations with capacity and scale to sell or deliver more. Curo is more than a recruitment agency. The company works in partnership with Microsoft freelance experts offering them relevant, interesting and leadingedge contract jobs. www.curotalent.com

FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR ANY ATMOSPHERE A

meriflex, Inc.® provides flexible solutions from conceptual design, prototypes to mainstream production and operates on a simple philosophy based on Integrity, Service, and Quality. Our commitment to this philosophy is put into practice on a daily basis in the manufacture of our precision bellows, flanges, and other quality products. With the latest in technologies we supply a wide range of industries ranging from Semi Conductor, Medical, Oil/Gas, Food and Beverage and Automotive. Our bellows and expansion joints are designed to absorb and reduce

PECM Issue 23

vibration and relieve structural stress from working under pressure, extreme temperatures, and other variables. We specialize in thinwall bellows. We also offer the highest quality metal braided flex hose in the industry. Our braided hose is designed for high pressure applications. It provides the protection needed for the inner convoluted hose to withstand high pressure and for vacuum or partial pressure applications requiring protection from hazards. Our stainless steel braided hose can be found on NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover, on still-in-development commercial spacecraft, and in countless other applications.

Also produced is a full line of bellows assemblies to complement our metal bellows. We manufacture bolt-style and clamp-style bellows assemblies, flanges, valve assemblies, and expansion joints. Every bellows assembly we make is ultrasonically cleaned prior to welding, and helium leak tested after to ensure weld integrity and defect-free construction.

2390 Railroad Street, Corona, CA 92880 Tel: (951)737-5557 www.ameriﬂex.net

PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

SPECIAL PRESSURE SOLUTIONS ACE APPARATEBAU CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING GMBH

HIGHEST PRESSURE – HIGHEST QUALITY

For decades, the team of ACE Apparatebau construction & engineering GmbH has been developing special solutions for industrial equipment, which are recognized worldwide. In the factory in Lieboch, ACE is able to produce apparatuses with pressures up to 750 bar, weights up to 600 tons and diameters up to 6.5 m in one piece. One of ACE’s premises is located directly at the river Danube so that hassle-free loading of up to 600 tons onto the ship is possible. The product range includes all different kinds of pressure vessels, heat exchangers, columns, reactors and special products such as FCC components. ACE is a competent and

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confident partner when it comes to plant shut downs and revamps. The diversified business activities and the flexibility of ACE’s employees permit a short-term project realization. ACE’s equipment has primarily applications in the petrochemical and chemical industry as well as in refineries and the ammonia/ fertilizer industry. ACE also offers chemical & process design services such as design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers, optimization of existing apparatuses, vibration analysis for straight tube and U-tube heat carriers, as well as

calculation of individual components, such as bundles, steel construction and fans, and simulation of the airflow and shutter control. ACE is part of the versatile Christof Group and the apparatus construction company group JCA (J. Christof Apparatebau Beteiligungs GmbH), which consists of three apparatus construction companies, all located in Austria, and one company for the mechanical processing of large parts in Slovenia.

www.christof-group.com/ace

ACE

Apparatebau Construction & Engineering GmbH

ACE is one of the leading suppliers for complex apparatus construction in Austria. Hans-Thalhammer-Str. 18 8501 Lieboch Ă&#x2013;sterreich T: +43 3136 63600-0 ace.office@christof-group.com www.christof-group.com /ace

PUMPS

UK SOURCING IS PARAMOUNT MARK WATER PUMPS

RISING TIDE FOR UK-MADE AFTERMARKET WATER PUMPS

Sourcing automotive aftermarket water pumps from a UK manufacturer is increasingly becoming the preferred option, as stresses within international supply lines continue to grow. There are a number of forces powering a trend to adopting UK made water pumps, including greater confidence in product quality, faster access to new products, more efficient supply arrangements and more security from international difficulties and currency fluctuations. This represents a significant change on the earlier position of buying on price alone and hoping that quality and service will be acceptable. David Lewis, plant manager for Mark Water Pumps Ltd (MWPL), manufacturer of the leading ProFlow brand, says his company is not only benefitting from the trend but also helping drive its progress: “We keep up with original equipment manufacturers’ (OEM) changes by constantly launching new products, usually at a rate of two per month. For instance, we will be the first manufacturer in Europe to introduce a new pump for Land Rovers 3-litre engine with a two-piece casting. This supersedes the earlier three-piece casting design, and is a perfect match for the original equipment (OE) pumps, both dimensionally and in terms of performance.” MWPL ensures quality by manufacturing its pumps at the plant in North Wales and carrying out comprehensive testing as well.

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“Our pumps have precise dimensional equivalence to the OE products and we do a full set of functional and life tests so that we can be certain of long-term performance in all conditions. Our objective is always to produce the best products on the market, so that we are the go-to option,” says David. To support logistics and efficient supply, MWPL maintains extensive stocks of finished products at its plant. This allows it to provide weekly deliveries so that customers do not have to tie their capital up in large stock-holdings. The company can even arrange emergency deliveries if necessary. This contrasts with some overseas suppliers, who require large orders before they will ship goods -and who cannot generally guarantee delivery dates. By buying UK-manufactured goods, customers are also free from currency fluctuations and other uncertainties such as tariffs, customs delays and political upsets. A key element of MWPL’s strategy is to offer market-leading customer service. “Having UK-based technical support means we can respond to any technical queries immediately and, if required, set up faceto-face meetings within 24 hours,” says David. “Our technical back-up is very much appreciated and is a major contributor to our success at winning repeat business. However, we are not resting on our laurels,

Mark Water Pumps will be the first manufacturer in Europe to introduce a new pump for Land Rovers 3-litre engine with a two-piece casting.

but are always looking for ways to improve customer service further.” “We have the simple objective of ensuring ProFlow is the best pump range in the aftermarket. This means ticking big boxes for quality, delivery, support, price and innovation. It is a multi-facetted approach that is greatly supported by the fact that we are a domestic manufacturer.”

About Mark Water Pumps Ltd Mark Water Pumps Limited is an automotive parts manufacturing company based in Wales that specialises in producing automotive water pumps for both OE customers and the Aftermarket supply chain. An extensive product range is available for the aftermarket, in addition to direct product supply for many large automotive companies, such as Volvo, Aston Martin & JLR. The company designs, manufacture and tests water pumps and cooling pumps for OE, OES & aftermarket applications. In-house design, high-pressure aluminium die casting, engineering, manufacturing, assembly and testing, plus a large stock facility are all located on one site. www.markwaterpumps.limited

Perfected Sealless Pumps

ELECTRO AD

Continuous innovation means HMD Kontro magnetic drive technology is now even more robust, reliable, economic and suited to even more applications • ZeroLoss™ composite containment shell • VapourView™ instrumentation that detects the presence of gas in a liquid • Secondary Containment options to enhance safety even further With new derivatives including vertical, high-pressure, low-flow, multi-stage and even extended sump versions, there is an HMD Kontro sealless pump that is perfect for your next project. Enquire today.

+44 (0)1323 452141 vince.lee@sundyne.com www.hmdkontro.com

Every day at Electro AD we are focused on achieving new goals and improving our standards. As an example, the production of two new products that will increase our portfolio will start soon. BOXER 30 will be one of these pumps, a quiet and high spec pump, able to deliver up to 90 lpm. On the other hand, the new JR model will allow us to offer a low standard flow pump of 1,5 lpm.

We are also thrilled to see the last details of our new facilities being built, and they will allow us to increase our production capabilities as well as housing our evolving RDI team. We are happy to provide such added value to our customers.

www.electroad.es

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ROBERT WATLING RETURNS TO UK SALES ROLE AT HMD KONTRO SEALLESS PUMPS

HMD KONTRO

LIQUIDS UNDER CONTROL • Specialists in BESPOKE CONTROL SYSTEMS, as well as offering a wide range of standard starter panels, level sensors, monitoring systems and kiosks. • T-T HI-DRO BOOST®, a range of FIXED and VARIABLE SPEED multiple clean water pump booster sets to provide REQUIRED FLOW and WATER PRESSURE.

Representing a renewed focus on their important home market, HMD Kontro Sealless Pumps have returned Robert Watling, also known by his nickname Spring, to the key Sales Manager role for the UK and Ireland. In particular, Robert is to represent the company in the important chemical and industrial market sectors, also a renewed focus for the company. Robert has over thirty years’ experience with magnetic drive pumps from HMD Kontro, much of it spent representing the company in the UK and in other European, American Asian and Chinese markets. He will work closely with HMD Kontro’s Channel Partners for these sectors, AVT

Pump (UK) and CPI Technology (Ireland). HMD Kontro are also improving response times, for both new pumps and spare parts, where required, by making a significant investment in component stock, which will allow faster delivery times for pumps used by the chemical and industrial process industries. To contact Robert, please email robert.watling@ sundyne.com or call 01323 452172 / 07714 257938. Alternatively, please see www.hmdkontro.com.

www.ttpumps.com

Tel: 01630 647200

PECM_pumps_controls.indd 1

Eliminate 52% of bearing failures

13/12/2016 14:44:07

Lubrication

Corrosion

11%

Other

Overloading

4% Particle Contamination

48% Misalignment

13% Disassembly

15%

A major study into equipment reliability has shown 52% of all bearing failures are due to particle contamination and corrosion caused by water contamination. The LabTecta®66 bearing protection range can reduce bearing oil contamination from 83% to 0.0003% significantly reducing bearing failure. Visit www.LabTecta.com for a 3-minute video showing statistics and technology www.aesseal.com

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PUMPS

INDUSTRY CHALLENGES SULZER OEMs are an excellent source of engineering expertise.

OPTIMIZING PUMP RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE The offshore industry faces two main challenges: maximizing production within the limits of the reservoir, and minimizing operational costs while maintaining the safety of the platform. Pumps form one of the main groups of equipment that influence the outcome of both challenges and they require expert knowledge to ensure continued reliability and performance. Murray Wilson, Sulzer UK argues that in each case, industry engineering expertise and commercial innovation are required to deliver these goals. Furthermore, the capital expenditure to improve reliability is most often far outweighed by the costs incurred by an unexpected failure and the subsequent costs of lost production. By taking a proactive approach and involving an expert maintenance provider, platform operators can deliver significant benefits to the business in the long term.

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE In the years following commissioning, the actual duty requirements of production pumps are likely to change - production rates may start to decline after the initial plateau period or the connection of additional wells may mean that potential production is being limited by the processing trains which were designed for lower volumes. As equipment is pushed to operate significantly outside of its original design envelope, this can often cause operating problems which impact reliability and ultimately affect platform production. This also results in increased maintenance costs as operators and equipment specialists are required to overhaul plant more frequently. Ultimately, the goal is to improve reliability and efficiency while reducing downtime and energy consumption, at the same time as satisfying API, ATEX, and many other engineering standards. However, this seemingly impossible task can be achieved through the implementation of preventative maintenance techniques and the adoption of the latest engineering designs for pumps.

Water injection pumps, seawater lift pumps, crude oil offloading pumps and fire suppression systems all require individual designs to deliver the best efficiency and productivity. At the same time, they also need specialist maintenance routines that will prolong reliability and effectiveness.

PROACTIVE MAINTENANCE A proactive maintenance regime is crucial to identifying potential issues before they develop into problems. However, this requires knowledgeable and experienced personnel to carry out the in-situ platform maintenance and these skills take time to perfect. The time required for this process can be greatly reduced by instigating a training program prepared by experts in equipment maintenance, who can pass on their collective knowledge in a structured and efficient manner. In terms of through-life maintenance cost, preventative action is almost always less costly than corrective action, and adopting a carefully managed, proactive regime is crucial to identifying potential issues before they develop into problems. Two of the most prominent symptoms that occur prior to failure in mechanical and electrical equipment are increasing vibration and rising operational temperature. Regular trending and analysis of radial and axial vibration signatures and thermographic / visual inspections of bearings, coils and electrical connections can prove invaluable. The latest developments in operational monitoring can be applied to existing assets and then used to determine the optimal point at which planned maintenance should be conducted.

UNDERSTANDING CAVITATION Most commonly seen on the pump impeller, cavitation is caused by a pressure difference, either on the pump body or the impeller. A sudden pressure drop in the fluid causes the liquid to flash to vapor when the local pressure falls below the saturation pressure for the fluid being pumped. Any vapor bubbles formed by the pressure drop are swept along the impeller vanes by the flow of the fluid. When the bubbles enter a region where the local pressure is greater than saturation pressure, the vapor bubbles abruptly collapse, creating a shockwave that, over time, can cause significant damage to the impeller vanes or pump housing. In most cases it is better to prevent cavitation rather than trying to reduce the effects on the pumping equipment. This is normally achieved by one of the three actions: • Increase the suction head • Lower the fluid temperature • Decrease the Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHR) For situations where cavitation is unavoidable, or the pumping system suffers from internal recirculation or excessive turbulence, it may be necessary to review the pump design or minimize the potential for damage using a bespoke coating system.

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STORAGE, HANDLING AND DISTRIBUTION

ADDING GENUINE VALUE CROCODILE

DESIGNING BESPOKE PACKAGING SOLUTIONS TO PERFECTLY FULFIL CLIENTS’ NEEDS Crocodile began as a family company back in 1991 in response to a growing demand for innovative and versatile industrial packaging solutions. To this day Crocodile remains entirely family owned and run and the goal of providing high quality sophisticated packaging solutions that add genuine value to clients has not changed. Crocodile has a truly global outreach, with manufacturing partners in China, Germany and the USA. But the key to Crocodile’s success is it’s commitment to quality, which is why all aspects of the business from design to manufacturing, right through to delivery of the product is managed under the same roof in Swindon. By controlling every aspect of the business Crocodile ensures that only the best product and customer service is delivered. Crocodile does not sell from a catalogue, but custom designs bespoke packaging solutions to perfectly fulfil clients’ needs. We visit prospective customers and listen to them in order to ascertain as much information as we can about exactly what they want and need from their packaging. Our team of CAD Engineers will then design a packaging solution based around these needs, which we will then present to clients for approval or feedback. Crocodile’s unique clip system means that packaging can be flat packed and reused, which dramatically cuts customers’ total costs and provides a sustainable, environmentally friendly way to ship goods. In 2006 Crocodile opened a Timber Frame Division in order to provide economical timber products to the growing timber frames industry in the UK. For the last 12 years Crocodile Timber Frames has been manufacturing high quality products for use in schools and homes across the UK. Our aim is to win customers by delivering a first class but cost effective solution and performance. We then passionately wish from then onwards to continue supplying the customer every time they need packaging. This only happens if service is of the highest quality. We aim to provide

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this as a minimum requirement, every time and to never lose a customer. This can only happen if a company is made up of individuals that share this goal. Crocodile is very proud to have such staff.

www.crocodile.uk.com 01793821555

PROUD OF YOUR PRODUCT?

LE I D

t e L

e k ta

! t i f o e r a c

O C O R C

CALL US ON: 01793 821 555

www.crocodile.uk.com Unit 62, South Marston, Swindon Wiltshire, SN3 4TA Email: quentin@crocodile.uk.com

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT

EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE MOBIUS INSTITUTE

KEEP LEARNING WITH CBM CONNECT

Access to hundreds of condition monitoring videos, articles, podcasts and technology solutions.

CBM Connect uses advanced technology allowing you to see only content that is important to you.

Solve issues at your plant by referencing great case studies and by having discussions with your peers online.

Do you have something to share? Contribute an article, case study or answers to other’s questions.

Condition Monitoring

Vibration Analysis

Thermography

www.cbmconnect.com Oil Analysis

If you are involved with condition monitoring and reliability improvement, you know there is a lot to learn, and there is so much at stake. As they say, “you are only as good as your last recommendation”. But how do you keep learning? Do you randomly ask google and keep your fingers crossed (that you find what you want and that it is accurate and up-todate)? Well, now there is a much better way to stay ahead, and to contribute if you are willing to share. CBM CONNECT is a new website that is filled with videos, tips, articles, and minicourses that covers the topics you need – well, assuming you are interested in the following technologies: Alignment & Balance, Condition Monitoring Management,

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Wear Particle

Motor Testing

Ultrasound

Lubrication, Motor Testing, Oil Analysis & Wear Particle, Thermography, Ultrasound, and Vibration Analysis. If you are familiar with the Mobius Institute animated training, including the now famous “Nine Minutes of Knowledge” videos and popular webinars, then you will love CBM Connect. But CBM Connect goes way beyond Mobius. CBM Connect has bought together practitioners, industry experts, and solutionprovider technology savants who have all joined forces to make CBM Connect the center of the known CBM universe. CBM Connect is not like any other site. You can declare which topics interest you, and you won’t see content on the other topics.

Lubrication

Alignment

Balancing

If you are tight for time you can watch twominute tips, five-minute facts, and nineminutes of knowledge videos. Or you can read articles, watch longer videos, or attend webinars. Whether you want to detect problems or prevent problems, you will refresh what you were taught, and expand your knowledge and skills at CBM Connect.

Visit www.cbmconnect.com. You can optionally register, without any charge, and be notified about topics that interest you, add content to your personal library, and take “learning paths” (like mini-courses), and more.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO LEARN AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

A CONTENT-RICH RESOURCE FOR CONDITION MONITORING PROFESSIONALS CBM Connect is a rich resource of educational articles, informative webinars, videos, engaging case studies and learning paths to develop knowledge and skills that will help condition monitoring and reliability professionals solve the tough problems and avoid equipment downtime.

LOG ON TODAY!

www.cbmconnect.com Issue 34 PECM

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ASSET

RELIABILITY

ASS

PRACTITIONER [ARP] TRAINING & CERTIFICATION

RELIAB I

CATEGORY - I ADVOCATE

III

CATEGORY - II RELIABILITY ENGINEER

CATEGORY - III PROGRAM LEADER

ACCREDITED CERTIFICATION FOR RELIABILITY PRACTITIONERS Practitioners and leaders involved with the important role of improving the reliability and performance of an industrial facility should be recognized for their knowledge, experience, and contribution.

PRACTITION

MOBIUS INSTITUTE’s Asset Reliability Practitioner (ARP) training and certification recognizes the knowledge and basic experience of people at three levels; the Advocate who contributes to the initiative, the Reliability Engineer, and the Leader of the program. Additionally, the certification scheme separately recognizes reliability engineers and program leaders who have proven competence through verifiable experience. ARP CATEGORY IIx and IIIx are the only certifications in reliability which provide the highest and most important recognition; your experience. The ARP CATEGORY I-III training is aligned and available through global Mobius Institute training centers and via online learning. Our certification is accredited and recognized worldwide. ARP certification is quickly becoming recognized as the highest standard in reliability certification.

GET STARTED TODAY!

www.mobiusinstitute.com/arp

TRAINING & RECRUITMENT

CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP EU AUTOMATION

HOW BUSINESSES CAN HELP TO CLOSE THE ENGINEERING SKILLS SHORTAGE

Watson and Crick. Lennon and McCartney. Hewlett and Packard. Three examples of successful collaborations whose achievements had a dramatic and longterm impact on their respective industries. To make a significant impact on the engineering skills shortage, a collaborative effort is also needed. Here Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director of obsolete industrial parts supplier, EU Automation explains the role businesses can play in bridging the gap. Engineering is a high-tech industry that relies on having well qualified, skilled and trained talent. Businesses are searching for employees with the digital and technical expertise to equip them to join the workforce of the fourth industrial revolution. The problem is that major industrial nations, including the UK and the US, have reported difficulty finding skilled talent. The pace at which the engineering industry is changing exacerbates the issue. Due to the onset of Industry 4.0, the skills required in a manufacturing role are considerably different than they have been in previous years. The World Economic Forum reported that 35 per cent of the skills required for jobs across industry will change by 2020. Technology is becoming obsolete faster than ever and is making some skills obsolete with it. The UK Government reported that 12.6 million adults lack basic digital skills, which could make it challenging for them to work in a digital, connected facility. Education has a role to play in ensuring the workforce has

the relevant skills, but so do parents, Government and engineering businesses. So, what can companies do to help bridge the gap?

APPRENTICESHIPS

By taking on an apprentice, a business can teach young people the relevant skills needed to succeed, giving them the opportunity to earn while they learn. Apprentices are trained in current technology, so there is no time for it to become obsolete between education and starting work. Companies are now beginning to offer higher apprenticeships, which allow young people to train to degree level while working at a company. This allows young people to reinforce their theoretical knowledge with practical experience. National Grid, BAE Systems and Siemens are just a few companies offering technical apprenticeships to help young people improve their skills this way. New apprenticeships are being launched in line with the introduction of new technologies, such as one of the Manufacturing Technology Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programmes, which is dedicated to additive manufacturing. Apprenticeships focussing on new, innovative technologies will help the workforce be ready for the future workplace. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about training the new workforce. Because of the rate of technological change, companies must upskill their existing workforce to ensure

they are equipped for the digital future and prevent a skills gap from opening. The importance of upskilling was highlighted in the 2017 Made Smarter report, which called for a Commission to lead the upskilling of over one million industrial workers in the UK.

OUTREACH

Companies can also engage with school children to help increase the pipeline of talent entering science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers. This can include work experience, careers events and hosting workshops or tours. Engineers and scientists can register to become a STEM ambassador and volunteer at such events. This gives young people the opportunity to gain insight into what a career in engineering is really like. Companies like Siemens offer extensive outreach programmes to help tackle this issue. The skills shortage is putting pressure on engineering businesses to do more to safeguard future recruitment. Businesses can lay the foundations for a digital future by training new staff, upskilling their existing workforce and reaching out to children and young people to encourage them to consider a STEM career. In collaboration with the Government, other businesses and the education sector, we could really make a lasting difference, much like Watson and Crick, Lennon and McCartney and Hewlett and Packard. www.euautomation.com Issue 35 PECM

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Servicing & Repairs of Rotary Valves and Diverter Valves Free of charge assessment by a DMN engineer Genuine spare parts used to the original manufacturer’s specification Comprehensive 12 month warranty with continued support with all refurbished DMN valves Refurbishment service by the original manufacturer ATEX certification and validation services

DMN UK Ltd. T +44 1249 818 400 dmn@dmnuk.com

COMPONENTS FOR BULK SOLIDS HANDLING

WESTINGHOUSE

www.dmn-shop.co.uk

www.dmnwestinghouse.co.uk

Process Valves & Instrumentation Ltd We are a global provider of an endless selection of process equipment. Established in 2010 and based in Congleton, Cheshire. PVI boast a combined industry knowledge of over 60 years with our team having varying experience with both mechanical and instrument solutions in all industrial sectors such as Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Oil & Gas & Food/ Beverage and have exclusivity with WEIR BDK for their sleeved & Lined plug valves. We also have partnerships in place with ARI, IFM & Gestra and many more giving us unrivalled access to their many products and global support. In addition, we also work closely with other brands ensuring we are able to offer you the very best products at the most competitive price. 01260 277025 www.pviltd.co.uk www.datastorgroup.com sales@pviltd.co.uk

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Actuated Solutions offers widest range of APL Switchboxes on market One of the UK’s leading valve automation providers, Actuated Solutions, is announcing it now offers the widest range of genuine APL switchboxes on the market, and has even more product developments in the pipeline. With six different APL switchboxes currently available - starting with the very competitive aluminium bodied APL2 and extending to the new high specification, ATEX approved APL7 Explosion Proof switchbox with integral solenoid valve - Actuated Solutions continues to offer the market a one-stop-shop for all valve automation projects; whatever the level of complexity. www.actuated-solutions.co.uk/

Bee Valve Offers Hard-to-Find PVDF Cam Couplers/Adapters Bee Valve Inc. manufactures a complete line of hard-to-find PVDF cam couplers/ adapters. This material is partially applicable where ultra-high purity or UL94-VO listing is required. PVDF is chemical resistant halogens and strong acids, even at higher temperatures. PVDF couplers/adapters are the preferred choice for corrosive chemical, ozone and high radiation applications. Bee Valve couplers and adapters are available in sizes from 1⁄4 in. to 3 in. All couplers feature stainless steel handles and pins. EPDM gaskets are standard, Buna-N and Viton are also available. All Bee Valve couplers and adaptors are interchangeable with other military spec couplers and adaptors. www.beevalve.com

PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED IN PORTUGAL

thesilverfactory.pt

Big-waves · Nazaré · Portugal

MASTER THE ELEMENTS www.valsteam.com

When it comes to face massive amounts of pressure and condensed energy there are no place for mistakes.

We are experts in uid control systems.

STEAM TRAPS | PRESSURE REGULATORS CONTROL VALVES | HEAT EXCHANGERS AND MUCH MORE Zona Ind. da Guia, Pav. 14 - Brejo · 3105-467 Guia PBL PORTUGAL · (+351) 236 959 060 · adca@valsteam.pt

VALVES & FLOW CONTROL

ONE STOP SHOP VALSTEAM

GROUNDBREAKING PRODUCTS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND CLEAN STEAM AND FLUID SYSTEM

At Valsteam Adca Engineering SA we are completely focused on providing groundbreaking products for industrial steam and fluid systems. The project started more than 35 years ago, as industrial pipeline and steam boiler house contractors, already building pressure vessels and auxiliary equipment in-house. Since then we have grown up to become a full-service steam equipment and valve manufacturer, assuring the complete production cycle: design, machining, welding, assembly, tests, quality and packaging. The company started small, with its first manufactured product being the thermodynamic steam trap, followed

Come visit us at www.valsteam.com

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by float and thermostatic steam traps, pressure operated pumps, humidity separators, and heat exchangers. Up to now, the company consolidated a very wide range of products and solutions for steam and other industrial gases, present in the process industry. “Today, we can proudly stand as a “one stop shop” with more than 6.000 different products and more than 15.000 product parts for all kind of industries.” From standard and non-standard series to tailor-made products Valsteam Adca is one of the European companies with the largest range of products. The product range can be divided into six sections: steam traps, pressure reducing valves, control valves, pipeline ancillaries, special construction equipment and Adcapure, the hygienic/sanitary line. Today Valsteam ADCA has two production facilities with a total manufacturing

capacity of 22 000 square meters, located in a small village in the ocean side of Portugal. The team today consists of 70 people that together drive this Portuguese caravel along in five continents and more than 80 countries, with the same ambition their ancestors were driven by: to reach more. We are now a global company, but we kept the best that a family owned business can keep: agility in developing new products, the flexibility in production and the proximity to our staff and clients. The requests of our clients for different special products encounters in our company the willingness and determination for accepting new challenges, leading us to always look to and invest in state of the art machinery supported by advanced engineering software’s that allow our teams to continuously increase the productivity and the quality of the products.

GERICKE ROTAVAL TEAMS UP WITH UTC SWINDON TO CREATE NEW EXHIBITION VALVE!

VALVES & FLOW CONTROL

A group of 4 students studying for their BTEC Level 3 in Engineering, have been invited to work alongside members of the RotaVal team to design and create an exhibition valve with moving parts. The HDM150 valve will be used for exhibitions by RotaVal and the Gericke Group around the world and will also be used for training of new staff, agents and distributors. As the Chair of Governors at UTC Swindon, RotaVal’s MD Beverley Ford is a strong advocate of workplace based education and is thrilled that the students are going to be a part of this project. We are looking forward to seeing and exhibiting the finished product next summer. For more details contact T: +44 1249 651138 E: sales@rotaval.co.uk W: www.rotaval.co.uk

• Fully Machined from Stainless Steel • Rapid Access for Cleaning • Full Clean-in-Place • Increased Productivity • Minimum Down Times • FDA Double Lip Seals

+44 (0) 1249 651138 sales@rotaval.co.uk

Issue 35 PECM

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INCREASING EFFICIENCY ROTORK

ROTORK ELECTRIC VALVE CONTROL CONTRIBUTES TO COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS Rotork CVA electric control valve actuation technology is helping Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) to increase efficiency and reduce energy costs at its Wakefield production plant in the UK. An important part of the plan involves saving the on-going cost of providing and maintaining an instrument air supply for traditional pneumatic control valve actuation. This is being implemented by the introduction of the Rotork CVA control valve actuator to perform modulating and failsafe valve duties. A recent example is on the production line where the adoption of Rotork CVA technology for a demanding valve duty has considerably reduced the cost of energy consumption when compared with traditional pneumatic actuation with no loss of performance. Andy Reynolds, Automation Engineer at the Wakefield plant, explains: “We wanted to remove the need for compressed air as much as possible in the area and reduce costs. Based on average air usage of 2m3/hr for a 3” control valve at £0.05 per m3, the running cost would be £870 per annum. The CVA actuator, using an average of 10 Watts at £0.15/kW, would cost £13 for the same period. This represents a minimum saving of £857 per annum per valve, as this figure does not take into consideration any leaks in the system. “Up to now, electrically actuated valves could not respond fast enough to maintain good pressure control in the bottle filling machine. Rotork were confident that their CVA actuator would not only give a similar performance to our existing valve, but would also be cheaper to run. “To prove this, the performance of the existing pneumatic control valve on the main product feed into the filling machine was first monitored and recorded. The CVA actuator was then fitted to the same valve and connected to the existing 4-20mA control signal from the PLC.

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“After running and monitoring the CVA actuator in a 24-7 operation for one month, the results from the two actuators were compared. The graphs clearly show that in production mode the CVA performs equally well, if not better than the pneumatic actuator. However, when in Clean in Place (CIP) cleaning mode, the performance of the CVA is much better than the pneumatic. This is because the

CVA actuator does not overshoot the set point like the pneumatic actuator does when the set point is lower and back pressure in the circuit is higher when in CIP mode.”

www.rotork.com

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DATA CLARITY NOVOTEK

UNDERSTANDING DATA SERVITISATION AND DATA OWNERSHIP Data is the most important raw material in industry. Yet few understand who owns it after it is created, or what rights they have while storing it. A lot of the issues that data ownership presents are not what they seem at first glance. Here, Sean Robinson, service leader at utilities control systems provider Novotek UK and Ireland, explains who owns what with regards to industrial data and explains what risks can arise and how to protect your business from them. Forbes reports that we produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. This huge quantity of data allows businesses to extrapolate trends, fine tune their systems and create simulations with a high level of realism. Although for many, this means that data has been commoditised to a certain extent — being freely traded like any other currency — for private businesses, data is still very much a valuable asset to gain a competitive advantage from. Here, establishing ownership of the data becomes an important issue. Before diving into more complex matters, lets address the simple answers to the simple questions. The platform on which you store information does not own your data, just as when moving house you might store your books in a storage box, but the removals company doesn’t own them. In the case of industrial data it should be securely encrypted, meaning that even if someone could access your books, they wouldn’t be able to read them! Furthermore, all questions of ownership should be clearly delineated within the user contract. Therefore, the contract is the best way to fully understand how much protection you have, and fully comprehend all the niceties of who owns what in every situation.

LEASING, RECORDING AND STORING

Now for the more complex issues. In industry it is very common for companies to lease all kinds of parts, from pumps to machine tools. It is also likely that one or both of the companies in question, the provider and the company renting the product, will want to record data. They may even use a third party for the recording process. As such, there could be an argument for split ownership of the intellectual property created. Luckily most of this information will not be interoperable. It may deliver deep insight into the machinery, but small variables could make the information useless when applied to any part not in the exact condition of the original. Variables including humidity, altitude, temperature or, in the case of a pump the makeup of the fluid being pushed through it will have a huge impact one the inferences that can be drawn from the data. This represents a natural defence against misplaced or stolen data. However, this is not a fool proof protection. For example, let’s say you produce a slurry for a specific chemical product. The pump must be finetuned for the slurry’s specific granularity, because it contains a variety of specifically sized pellets that are central to its use.

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To make sure you don’t crush the pellets, you should finetune the pump that you have leased and in so doing share the tuning data paired with sensitive information to the pump company. Armed with this information, the pump company could theoretically deduce the process. If you lease multiple parts from the same company, they could, over time, deduce your entire process. With your entire process in one hand, and all of your finely tuned data in the other, there is nothing to stop the leased equipment provider from selling the information to a competitor or otherwise misusing it. They would also be able to access all the benefits of your painstakingly made improvements at zero cost. To stop this from happening there are many ways to protect your IP. The first is to only release certain information, for instance only the vibration information about the part. This will allow finetuning to be performed while protecting your IP. Another method is flushing your data. This is for occasions when the sensitive information must be stored within the part itself. Flushing your data means that, after your lease is over, the device has all of your sensitive information, such as recipes or formulas, wiped from it.

THE IMPACT OF SMART SENSORS

If all your data is collected by smart sensors, a novel method of protecting it, while allowing all parties to obtain useful analysis, is to use an IoT platform, such as GE Digital’s Predix. This allows the user to take in all primary sources of data and then send the applicable parts and analysis to the relevant parties. This allows for seamless transparency in data ownership and privacy. Overall, the best way to protect your data is to set out clearly in your contract who owns what. Thinking through the outcomes that could be created by mishandling sensitive before signing those contracts is sensible. Stipulating precisely what can be retained, what has to be anonymised and what must be deleted after a run is complete is the only way to completely protect your IP. After all, you can build walls to protect yourself but if you hand out keys to everyone what good are they? By applying these suggestions, we can make sure that the vast quantity of data that is generated every day in our manufacturing plants, buildings and warehouses is not wasted or misused. Instead we can make sure that the data is protected, whilst also bearing fruits useful to all. www: https://www.novotek.com/uk/

CORIOLIS

MASS GAS

ULTRASONIC

VORTEX

omega.co.uk/flow

MAGNETIC

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