M A G A Z I N E
Manufacturing industry depends on a supply chain of SMEs providing components as well as the machinery used to build and test their specific products. These secondary producers in turn require the services of companies such as Pirtek to construct aspects of their kit. As such, Pirtek Plymouth was called upon to design and integrate the hydraulic pipework and hose sets on a test machine designed and built by control and automation specialists Applied Automation, for a major primary producer in the automotive industry. Based in Plymouth, Applied Automation Ltd designs and manufactures bespoke solutions for automation and control in industrial solutions to a broad range of sectors including automotive, pharmaceutical, marine and transport as well as smart homes, supplying companies across the UK and around the world. The company employs more than 150 designers, engineers, project managers, sales engineers and professional specialists. “We’re in a creative game,” says Mark Redsell, senior design engineer at Applied Automation Ltd. “We spend our lives creating engineering solutions to automate mechanical assemblies and processes.” Applied Automation Ltd was asked by a major automotive manufacturer to design and supply a machine to run a set of accurate pressure and flow tests on an engine component. In addition, this part was to be secured by a mechanism to simulate the “in-vehicle” sealing assembly, with nine fixture points, each exerting up to one tonne of clamping force. A similar application had previously used a single hydraulic press exerting engineering. It has a wealth of experience providing innovative
the required clamping load evenly across the component. This may have been a simpler mechanism but due to space constraints, the need to more accurately simulate the in-vehicle loading and to provide easy access for both operator loading and future routine maintenance, a new design was required. So based on the customer’s brief, Applied Automation designed and built the bespoke Functional and Final Test Machine. As part of the clamping system, Applied Automation contracted Pirtek Plymouth to design and integrate the hydraulic pipework. As well as accuracy, ease of use comes into the design of both the machine itself and the hydraulic circuitry that make it work. Mark explains, “Ergonomics is an important part of a machine design. Access for the operator loading (heights and reach) are critical. You can’t have obstructions or sharp edges, etc.
The same considerations apply from Pirtek’s point of view. “It wasn’t just a case of supplying the hydraulic pressure lines,” says Lee
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