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Air and fluid power specialist Thorite has appointed Gregg Blyth as Business Development Manager for the North East region, as part of its national growth strategy.

Gregg has more than 20 years’ experience in sales and business development and a wide breadth of knowledge, having previously worked for companies including Nike, Yell UK and, most recently, JTI (Japan Tobacco International).

He will be based at Thorite’s North Shields branch, in Orion Business Park – one of the company’s ten regional Trade Counters.

Thorite is the UK’s leading independent supplier of air compressors, air tools and pneumatic and fluid power process products, supplying over 70,000 products from more than 100 global brands.

A key objective for Gregg will be to promote Thorite’s comprehensive aftermarket offering, including compressor servicing and maintenance, air purity testing, air leak detection and energy saving solutions.

Gregg said: “I believe there are many opportunities to develop and grow the North East region for Thorite. I’m looking forward to learning, progressing, and developing as an individual in my career within a more technical and challenging sector.”

Thorite Sales Director, Mark Yates, said: “Our one-stop shop service with 360 aftermarket support is central to our plans to achieve £10 million growth over the next five years.

“We have a strong customer base in the North East and I’m delighted that Gregg is joining us to enhance our services in the region.”

Rising energy costs and more stringent legislation guiding sustainable practices is spurring companies to re-evaluate processes and seek new tools and technologies to reduce waste and overcome challenges in today’s industrial environments.

Eindhoven, Netherlands. 8^th August 2022: Fluke, a global technology leader in the manufacturer of compact, professional electronic test and measurement tools and software, today shares the top three trends that are enhancing operational efficiency in today’s industrial environments.

Challenges posed to industrial operations managers by the pandemic have now been superseded by the rising cost of energy, and the need to deliver on net zero ambitions. As the price of energy continues to increase, the need to reduce costs and deliver on shared sustainability goals intensifies for small-to-medium sized enterprises through to large corporations.

Paul Feenstra, Vice President Fluke EMEA, at Fluke said: “We are working together with our customers to help drive new initiatives to improve operations, increase efficiencies, and take reliability to a new level in the 21^st century.”

• Reducing energy costs with upgraded technology and cloud-based data monitoring

Approximately 90% of all companies use compressed air in some aspect of their operation, such that it is often referred to as the fourth utility. Recent developments in industrial acoustic imaging technology have enabled the fast identification of leaks in compressed air systems used in industrial and manufacturing environments. Fluke’s ii900 Industrial Acoustic Imager features an array of microphones, providing visualisation of sound field within an expanded field-of-view and on a distance of up to 70 meters, that enables maintenance teams to visually locate air leaks very quickly and accurately in compressed air systems.

Beyond the improvement of rugged handheld tools, monitoring practices are also evolving with the use of internet-connected instruments. Analysis and data is captured on a cloud platform allowing operators to monitor the key performance indicators (KPI) of compressed air systems including energy, electric power, flow, pressure and leakage flow. Fluke’s LeakQ™ Report Generator creates detailed air compressor leak reports from images captured by Fluke ii900 or the ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager and calculates the energy savings once the leaks are repaired.

• Using data to deliver predictive maintenance

For generations, maintenance professionals have used preventive maintenance to avoid equipment failures and turned to reactive maintenance when assets failed. With the emergence of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies, maintenance professionals can now connect tools, software and sensors to collect, store and analyse multiple data sources in one place. The pandemic accelerated investment in technologies that make remote monitoring possible. The technology enables reliability and maintenance teams to meet up-time requirements no matter how fluid on-site staffing might be. The trend for remote monitoring will continue, with small scale operations turning to remote condition monitoring services.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have held the promise to quickly identify trends and adapt quickly to changing operational conditions. Software armed with prescriptive analytics is finally meeting up with modern condition monitoring hardware to spark a revolution in the use of AI/ML in maintenance operations.

Now a new race has emerged to pair that hardware and software with ML and AI algorithms. Companies, like Fluke, are working to combine technologies so that the software can identify trends, recognise data patterns and make specific recommendations for equipment maintenance.

• Digital SI speeds integration of critical equipment measurements

The accelerated uptake in digital measurement solutions for industrial applications can save time and money, whilst facilitating a shift towards predictive maintenance for systems. Although modern measurement digital devices are typically not fit-and-forget solutions, the increase in digital measurement solutions paves the way for verification technologies that can help to reduce the maintenance burden on personnel, without compromising on accuracy or reliability.

Digital SI (International System of Units), an initiative created as part of the industry 4.0 revolution, relates to the creation of a globalised system to transmit calibration certification information electronically. This is critical as the exchange of data and the data itself are the basis of highly automated industrial processes. The system ensures measurement traceability from all calibrations performed and enables sharing of information in a paperless manner. This speeds up the integration of measurements that can be performed using critical test equipment as part of an integrated factory enhancing maintenance efficiency and plant efficiency.

“The tests we have faced within the last 24-36 months is delivering a growing awareness among top management that fundamental changes in maintenance best practice need to occur in order to protect the bottom line,” said Paul Feenstra.  

“This is music to the ears of progressive industrial managers who have been advocating for investments to improve efficiencies and reliability of systems. Now is the time to make the case to adopt innovative technologies, tools, and processes to ensure your company maintains a competitive edge and thrives in this new environment.”

For more information about Fluke’s specialist products and services, go to: https://www.fluke.com/en.

Crossflow Energy Company is utilising bearings supplied by R.A. Rodriguez (U.K.) Limited to help revolutionise the world of wind power. The KDM slewing ring with external gear is helping Crossflow to widen the adoption of ‘small wind’ technology and open up a wealth of market opportunities with the potential to be as commonplace as solar in everyday renewable applications.

Offering a unique way of bringing affordable, reliable power to many parts of the world which rely on small-scale diesel generation to meet growing essential power needs, Crossflow’s hybrid energy solutions leverage the company’s know-how in maximising renewable energy capture from a combination of wind, solar and battery storage. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels and their damaging consequences, these solutions incorporate Crossflow’s patented resilient wind generation and ‘2 in 1’  Eco Tower system.

In its development process, Crossflow has addressed historical challenges associated with harnessing wind power, such as high turbulence and veering winds, plus past limitations with reliability, noise and vibration. However, in order to develop successful product solutions, the company relies on high-quality engineering components, including bearings.

“We needed very large bearings to fit around our wind turbine towers,” states Rebecca White, Commercial Director at Crossflow Energy. “Rodriguez was one of the few companies that had slewing rings in the required size. We also needed robust and resilient bearings to take the force of incredibly strong wind loads.”

Crossflow looked at three or four different vendors but, in the end, R.A. Rodriguez (U.K.) Limited was the only supplier which had the right type of bearing – in the right specification – ready to go off-the-shelf: the KDM.H.A.1155.00.10 slewing ring with external gear. Slewing bearings consist of an inner ring and an outer ring, one of which usually incorporates a gear. Both rings typically feature an attachment hole, which allows for optimised power transmission between adjacent machine components.

“The bearings we scrutinised from some other suppliers wouldn’t have stood up to strong wind loads on a continuous basis,” says Rebecca. “In contrast, the Rodriguez bearings are durable and match the characteristics of our low-maintenance turbines. Furthermore, we’ve received great support from Rodriguez since the outset. They’ve cleared up any issues right away; it’s been a really helpful, consultative process.”

The KDM slewing ring is now an important part of a new product design from Crossflow Energy.

“Previously, our turbines didn’t fit around towers, they sat on top,” explains Rebecca. “In order to open up the potential of ‘small wind’ for the telecoms industry, given that telecoms equipment sits on top of telecoms towers, we needed to utilise bearings that would allow our turbines to fit around towers. We assembled the first KDM slewing rings to our new product in early 2022.”

Crossflow’s self-powered Eco Tower integrates the company’s unique Transverse Axis Wind Turbine and co-hosted telecoms equipment with conventional solar and battery technologies to create a 24/7, self-powered communication mast. Eco Towers provide reliable and affordable energy to the telecoms sector, facilitating 4G/5G connectivity in off-grid rural ‘not spots’ and delivering a far greener alternative to fossil fuel generation.

The KDM bearings, which rotate the blade system to allow the turbine to yaw around the tower, fit all models in Crossflow’s 3.6 kW rated Turbine range, offering both accurate positioning and smooth, efficient rotation.

Concludes Rebecca: “The bearings are a great fit. Tolerance can be a real issue in machine engineering, but we’ve faced no difficulties in that department. Most importantly of all, the bearing’s high-quality material ensures it is sufficiently robust to offer a long service life.”

The varied and specialist services available from Hoist & Winch Ltd have come to the rescue of a cement industry customer that was looking to replace a large rotor used in its production process. Thanks to the design, manufacturing, test, certification and installation services offered by Hoist & Winch, the cement works was able to avoid the long lead times associated with buying original OEM equipment, and successfully complete a highly complex and challenging lifting operation.

In essence, the objective was to lift and replace a large rotor fitted with pivot-mounted hammers that break down the media as part of the cement manufacturing process. Located at the base of a very large production enclosure, a pair of bearing journals provides support for each end of the rotor. Hoist & Winch had to design and arrange manufacture of equipment that would help to lift the worn and replacement rotors in and out of position in a precise manner without damaging any adjacent equipment, including the main drive motor and gearbox.

The cement works last performed this particular maintenance lift to replace a worn rotor in 2010 using a pair of lifting lugs that had since been disposed of. New replacement lugs were only available from the original supplier of the cement production process equipment on a very long lead time, which did not meet the requirements of the customer’s programme.

With a total design weight of 80T, rotor lifting was courtesy of a pair of tandem-controlled 41T SWL (safe working load) wire rope hoists located on monorail beams arranged at 90° to the rotor bearing journal stub shafts.

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Kicking off the scope of work and working closely with a long standing trusted Sub Contractor, Hoist & Winch set about designing two 41T SWL rotor lifting lugs. As the basis for this task, the company used the customer’s drawing of the 600mm diameter rotor stub shaft profile and site photographs of the original lifting lugs. Other assignments here included accurate surveys of the existing hoist runway beam centres and the hoist unit hook profile. Hoist & Winch then produced general assembly drawings for a final dimensional check on site and customer approval of the design concept.

As well as manufacturing the rotor lifting lugs, the Hoist & Winch scope included design and manufacture of a special mandrel that would allow proof load testing of the lifting lugs prior to delivery to site. Each 41T SWL rotor lifting lug had to undergo a test rig mounted, 200% static proof load test. Hoist & Winch also performed non-destructive testing (NDT) involving visual, X-ray and magnetic particle inspection (MPI) procedures, while dynamic load testing of the rotor lifting lugs took place at the customer’s site using the new replacement rotor as the test load in advance of the lifting operation.

After passing all testing requirements, Hoist & Winch issued a LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) Thorough Examination Report and Proof Load Test Certificate for the new rotor lifting lugs, along with 3.1b Material Certification for all materials used.

To see the project to its conclusion, Hoist & Winch witnessed the customer’s use of the rotor lugs during a planned plant shutdown for the lifting operation to take place. In so doing, the company also provided standby breakdown cover for the pair of tandem-controlled 41T SWL wire rope hoists.

“This project demonstrates how our diverse and comprehensive portfolio of services can come to the aid of almost any lifting requirement,” says Andy Allen, Director of Hoist & Winch Ltd. “Our professional team has decades of experience in lifting equipment services, for all applications. If your plant has any kind of lifting demand that would benefit from the input of industry experts, our team can help, beginning with a no-obligation discussion about the task in hand.”

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Visit www.hoistandwinch.co.uk for further information and to view recent case studies.

Six Work Trouser families to satisfy every need on site - sustainably.

 Snickers Workwear’s trouser families are suited to any kind of work on site. Delivering maximum functionality, comfort, protection and mobility they’re the products of choice among discerning professional tradesmen and women. For them, sustainable, street-smart, body-mapping clothing are key parts of their product choices.

Hi-tech fabrics, functionality and fit are the hallmarks of these market-leading products. The AllroundWork trousers are ready for any kind of work in any trade. FlexiWork trousers deliver superior freedom of movement. While LiteWork trousers keep you cool, dry and ventilated.

Then there’s RuffWork trousers, reinforced and tough for the roughest work on site. ProtecWork protective wear for hazardous environments and certified High-Vis trousers when personal visibility on site is a priority.

work environments.

Snickers Workwear Trousers also deliver certified protection with the patented KneeGuard System for greater flexibility, comfort and durability. It’s what makes them the optimal choice for craftsmen and women who need to get every job done comfortably and sustainably on site. 

 Getting information on the Snickers Workwear trouser families is eay. You can call the Snickers Helpline on 01484 854788, checkout the website at www.snickersworkwear.co.uk or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Water Jetting Association has introduced an Audited Member programme giving its members a powerful new opportunity to promote the  standards they set to customers.

The initiative gives users of water jetting services greater assurance that contractors displaying the Audited Member logo meet the WJA’s high standards.

It has been made possible by the introduction of an audit procedure that requires new and renewing members to provide more information and evidence to show services are aligned with WJA codes of practice.

David Malin, Chairman of the WJA Technical Committee, whose members have been overseeing the development of the auding procedure, said: “We’re excited by the opportunities presented by our Audited Member programme.

“It’s going to help the WJA safeguard trusted water jetting standards and, thanks to the quality of the data we’re gathering, will play a key role in helping us to raise them over time.

“Equally important, also, is the opportunity it provides members to promote their services, and make the most of the advantages of being members of the WJA.”

Companies and organisations that use water jetting services, along with regulatory bodies, look to the WJA to set and uphold vitally-important safety and technical standards, said David Malin.

He added: “At the same time, our members join the WJA because they share our values and know customers will be assured by their association with us. The Audited Member programme will help us achieve both outcomes.”

The WJA has now added a range of new questions to its application forms for new members and for companies renewing their membership.

These are designed to extend the amount of information the WJA gathers about the safety and technical standards and processes companies work to, including equipment management and training.

The auditing process is closely aligned to standards detailed in the WJA’s codes of practice – the Blue Code for high and ultra-high water jetting, the Red Code, for use of water jetting in sewers and drains, and the new Purple Code, for pressure washing.

It also requires members and renewing members to abide by the principles laid down in the WJA Charter of Professional Conduct, covering issues that include professional behaviour, competence, incident investigation, and equality.

High and ultra-high pressure water jetting contractors – under the C1 and C1P (Provisional) categories – have been the first to undergo the auditing process. Auditing for members and prospective members in C2 to C6 categories will be rolled out over time.

All members who pass the auditing process will be allowed to display an ‘Audited Member’ logo on their websites, and promote the enhanced status they have achieved to customers and prospective customers.

Development of the auditing system has been led by Jeff Haigh, a WJA Ruling Council member and a qualified auditor.

Under the auditing system, all the new information provided in application forms is being carefully examined. Gaps or inconsistencies are resolved with applicants. Only then can the applications move to the next stage in the approval process.

The WJA also retains the option of carrying out visits to work sites or to company offices as part of the auditing process.

The WJA is grateful for the patience and cooperation of members during the introduction of such a fundamental new programme, said Jeff Haigh. Learning would be fed into later phases of its roll-out.

He added: “This is designed to be a positive process. The WJA wants to support applicants at every stage, sharing information and expertise that will help them with their applications, and to meet the standards we all want to achieve.”

www.waterjetting.org.uk

Enerpac announces the new PP-Series electric and diesel-powered power packs to supply hydraulic flow to Enerpac portable machine tools, including flange facing machines, clamshell cutters, hot tapping machines and decommissioning tools. The hydraulic power packs are also compatible with other brands of portable machine tools.

The Enerpac PP-Series includes a total of four hydraulic power packs comprising two electric and two diesel powered models. Variable pumps within the power packs allow pressure and flow to be adjusted for specific applications.

Electric PP-Series Power Pack

Portable machine tool operators with access to an electric power supply can choose between the electric powered hydraulic power pack 11 or 15 kW models - each available with a choice of voltage options for use throughout the world.

Machine Specific Control Pendants

Many manufacturers of hydraulic power packs provide a simple general-purpose control pendant as standard with each unit. Although this is adequate for simple machining tools, it is of little use to control other machine types such as gantry mills, or 3-axis milling machines.

To meet these different applications, customers buying an Enerpac Electric PP-Series Power Pack can get exactly what they need. The range of pendant options offered provides a perfect match to suit the specific machine tool. In addition, for operator safety emergency stop buttons are provided on the power pack and the control pendant.

Diesel PP-Series Power Packs

For working in remote locations, customers have a choice of 19 and 44 kW units. These more powerful power packs are the optimum choice for larger machine tools used for operations such as hot tapping and decommissioning.

Both the Enerpac Diesel PP-Series PP19 and PP44 units are diesel powered and meet the EU Stage V and EPA tier 4 final regulations for emissions. Each includes a 50-liter diesel tank, which, in the case of the PP44, can provide up to 12 hours run time at maximum torque. Also included in the diesel power packs is a spark arrester for added safety in explosive environments.

Unlike the electric units which work with pendants to provide control, the PP19 and PP44 power packs require a separate hydraulic control panel and machine specific hose kits. The hydraulic control is connected to both the machine tool and the hydraulic power pack. The control panel houses all the controls needed for a specific machine’s requirement.  In addition, the Diesel PP-Series power pack features a pressure-less switch to remove pressure and flow.

Choice of Hose Kits

A 10-meter hose kit is supplied as standard and longer hose kits are available as accessories for single-supply, dual-supply and triple-supply applications. Triple supply hose kits allow three hydraulic motors to be connected to the power pack simultaneously, along with spindle control the operator can also select the required axis (x or y) from the pendant.

Machine operators choosing an Enerpac Electric PP-Series Power Pack can also benefit from an optional cart to enable easy positioning and storage within a workshop environment.

Site Ready

For ease of handling and deployment, the Enerpac PP-Series electric and diesel-powered power packs are enclosed within a protective frame and Forklift truck and vertical lift points

For more information on the Enerpac PP-Series electric and diesel-powered power packs, visit www.enerpac.com.

All four university teams sponsored by Henkel and its industry-leading LOCTITE^® products finished in top 20 positions at this year’s Formula Student 2022 competition, which took place at Silverstone on 6-10 July. The University of Southampton, University of Hertfordshire, University of Bath and University of Sheffield achieved 9^th, 12^th, 15^th and 17^th place finishes in the overall standings, with all achieving top 10 results in individual disciplines.

Formula Student is Europe’s most established educational engineering competition, an event that uses motorsport to inspire students. Backed by industry and high-profile engineers, such as patron Ross Brawn OBE, the competition aims to develop enterprising and innovative young engineers. Each team is tasked with producing a single-seat race car before presenting it to a hypothetical manufacturer, with all going through a rigorous testing process made up of static and dynamic events.

The University of Southampton, which entered its very first electric car in 2022, not only took a highly creditable 9^th place overall, but finished 3^rd in the design competition and 4^th in the cost discipline. Among the innovative LOCTITE products contributing to this fine performance were LOCTITE 3090, a fast fixturing, gap-filling cyanoacrylate adhesive that works well on most plastics, rubbers and metals. The University of Southampton also took advantage of LOCTITE EA 9497 epoxy adhesive, LOCTITE EA 9466 epoxy potting resin paste, LOCTITE EA 9461 epoxy structural bonding adhesive and LOCTITE SF 7414, a blue, high-viscosity, fast-drying paste that allows the visual detection of any movement during the adjustment of parts.

The University of Hertfordshire was not far behind, finishing 12^th overall, a result built on success in categories such as cost (5^th), business presentation plan (6^th) and design (10^th). Again using an electric powertrain, the car leveraged the benefits of products such as LOCTITE 770-NC Frekote^® as the mould release agent for composite components, all of which the team manufactured in-house. Further products in evidence on the race car were TEROSON^® PU 6700, a polyurethane-based adhesive used for bonding composite structure panels to the chassis, while another important product was LOCTITE HY 4070, a fast fixturing cyanoacrylate/acrylic hybrid adhesive that the team used for bonding rubber around sharp composite edges.

Finishing 15^th overall was the University of Bath, supported by highly noteworthy finishes in the design competition (6^th) and cost category (7^th). Based on mission statements for 2022 that included improvements in weight reduction, handling and reliability, the University of Bath tapped into the benefits of products like LOCTITE 770-NC Frekote epoxy mould release agent for advanced composites, LOCTITE Frekote B15 mould sealer, LOCTITE EA 9466 epoxy potting resin paste and LOCTITE SI 5910, a gasketing product for flexible flanges with good resistance to oil and joint movement.

Also managing a top 20 finish was the University of Sheffield, which was 17^th overall supported by an impressive 8^th place in the design competition. For this year’s race car, the University of Sheffield manufactured its first carbon-fibre monocoque chassis. Among other products, Henkel supplied LOCTITE EA 9497 for repairs to both the chassis and mould, as well as for sealing a number of aerodynamic components. Another important product was LOCTITE HY 4070 instant adhesive for structural bonding.

In addition, the teams deployed a myriad of LOCTITE threadlocking adhesives, gasket sealants, retaining compounds and cleaning products, all of which contributed to a highly successful Formula Student 2022. Plans and developments are already underway for the 2023 race cars.

For more information go to: www.henkel-adhesives.co.uk