MechChem Africa August 2017

Africa’s largest crankshaft polisher

With the installation and commissioning of the largest crankshaft polishing machine in Africa, leading diesel engine component remanufacturer Metric Automotive Engineering is once again ahead of the curve.

“ T his custom-engineered, one-of- a-kind machine is capable of ac- commodating crankshafts with lengths of over six metres,” says Andrew Yorke, operations director at Metric Automotive Engineering. “It represents our philosophy of investing in the latest bespoke and best practice technology, so that we can offer our customers around Africa a world- class standard of service.” Yorke says that while crankshafts have traditionally been ground and then polished on grinding machines, this is certainly not the ideal solution. “Polishing debris con- taminates the crank grinding machine and this can lead to accelerated wear on critical areas of the machine,” he says. “Moreover, not all crankshafts need to be both ground and polished; some only need polishing, and doing this on a grinding machine is not the best use of this asset.” Metric Automotive Engineering’s dedi- catedpolishingmachinewill significantly raise the company’s productivity, enabling even more rapid turnarounds on those crankshafts that require only polishing and not grinding. “We will also employ this machine to pol- ish camshafts after the re-profiling of the component, or if the journals and lobes only require a polish and not a re-profile,” says Yorke. “Polishing of these components after

grinding is vital, as it removes grinding burrs and ensures that the surface finish is ideally matched to the require- ments of the bearing materials they run on.” He emphasises that, in the case of crank- shafts and camshafts, therearejournals,which

Metric Automotive Engineering’s custom engineered, one-of-a-kind crankshaft polishing machine is capable of accommodating crankshafts with lengths of over six metres.

to 100 ℓ /min and 2 800 bar at 19 ℓ /min, respectively. Both T3 and T4 Series units are suit- able for demanding applications and for single or twin-gun operation. Most common applications include clean- ing, descaling, coating removal, pipe cleaning, marine growth removal, floor cleaning and heat exchanger cleaning. “Of paramount importance for a project of this size and measure is both the supply and quality of equipment, which in this case, included high pressure pumps and associated tooling. It is essential that all of the equipment supplied runs without any breakdown to ensuremaximumuptime during a short maintenance window,” says Storer, adding, “At Total Blasting, we ensure the highest possible rates of uptime by sup- MetricAutomotive remanufactures heavy diesel engine components for a range of dif- ferent end-user industries andhas developed a long and impressive track record over al- most 50 years. It has generated its extensive capabilities by staying abreast of the latest global developments in diesel engine tech- nology. To ensure the highest standards and expertise, it also maintains close affiliations to the leading diesel engine OEMs. Repairing and remanufacturing modern run on the bearings and lobes, which have roller followers carrying high loads. These require the best possible surface finish in order to prevent roller skidding or seizure. “By polishing these journals and lobes to the correct surface finish, we can return themtoOEMspecification or better,” he says. “In turn, this leads to improved component performance and longer engine life.”

Metric Automotive remanufactures heavy diesel engine components for a range of different end- user industries and has developed a long and impressive track record over almost 50 years. diesel engine components to their original OEMspecification is an exacting science, says Yorke. “It requires long-term development of expert skills and ongoing investment in specialised equipment such as this state-of- the-art polishing unit,” he concludes. q

Chevron refinery gets high pressure clean Chevron’s refinery inMilnerton, CapeTown, underwent its annual shutdown recently, duringwhichhigh-pressure industrial clean- ing of the plant and equipment was con- ductedusing equipment fromSouthAfrica’s leading water jetting solutions company, Total Blasting.

Total Blasting director, Bradley Storer, remarks, “Our client, who was commis- sioned to oversee the industrial cleaning of the Chevron refinery plant and equipment, needed reliable rental pumps for the job, because the bandwidth of their own equip- mentwouldnot suffice for the scope of such a project.” Equipment supplied to the project by Total Blasting to cleanheat exchangers, pipe linesandprocesstanksincludedtheirT3and T4 Series units, working at 1 000 bar at 50

Total Blasting’s T3 and T4 Series units.

plying thebest andmost suitableequipment we have, alongwith excellent technical sup- port to back it. “Welookforwardtoarepeatpartnership in the near future, when our rental fleet and technical team will be commissioned to support both the Sasol Secunda and Natref refinery shutdowns later this year,” he concludes. q

12 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2017