FLUID POWER UPGRADE TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND EXTEND EQUIPMENT LIFE
From an enquiry about an overheating hydraulic power unit, CRAM has developed a comprehensive upgrade program for one of the country’s leading timber processors. Along with a tangible reduction in operating expenses, the program will improve plant productivity and extend the service life of installed hydraulically driven process equipment. Working alongside the mill’s engineering and maintenance teams, CRAM has identified a number of points along the process line where production efficiencies and savings can be achieved. The project has highlighted the diversity of the worldclass products, services and expertise such a specialist fluid power company can bring to a manufacturing environment. World-class components The problem of the overheating hydraulic power unit was solved with an upgraded cooling system package, including a new pump and filter matched to a larger capacity oil cooler. The overheating was the result of the installation of an additional hydraulic pump into the line and although the increase in oil temperature created by the additional pump wasn’t an issue in the cooler months, with higher ambient temperatures in summer combining with the hotter oil the system shutoff temperature of 70°C was being reached. Overheating ranks number two (behind leaks) on the list of most common problems with hydraulic equipment.
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Heating of hydraulic fluid is caused by operational inefficiencies. Inefficiencies result in losses of input power, which manifest as heat. A hydraulic system’s heat load is equal to the total power lost – PL – through inefficiencies and can be expressed as PLtotal = PLpump + PLvalves + PLactuators. Overheating can be overcome increased dissipation (installing a more efficient cooler) and decrease the heat load (by increasing the operating efficiency of the hydraulic system). The new cooling package eliminated the overheating problem and now this particular system in reportedly the coolest throughout the facility. Hydraulic valves are at the very heart of fluid power systems and for more than 25 years CRAM’s experience in resolving operating and performance issues around such valves has been a hallmark of the company’s positioning in the hydraulic power sector. As national distributors for Star servo valves, CRAM can now supply a viable, cost-effective range of valves of equal quality and performance to the more expensive products in the marketplace.
