MARKET FORUM in just over three months. It involved a complete rewind of the rotor, which has a cruciform-type winding configuration.
Quick Turnaround
“It was complicated by the fact that we found it necessary to redesign the winding and insulation,” Craig Megannon, general manager at Marthinusen & Coutts, explains. “The original coil had developed a fault due to the fact that it had been vacuum pressure impregnated, which by forming it into a solid block caused differential expansion between the copper windings and the steel of the rotor body. We solved this problem by introducing thicker insulation and thinner copper windings, which were neither VPI’d nor glued to the pole body. From left: Rudi Els, coil shop manager; William Martin, specialist winder and Craig Megannon, GM during the rewind of the Xinavane mill’s alternator rotor at the company’s Cleveland facility
Marthinusen & Coutts recently performed a rush job for sugar producers, Tongaat Hulett, in repairing the rotor of the 20 MW salient pole synchronous alterna-
tor at its Xinavane mill near Maputo, Mozambique. The division carried out the complex task at its Cleveland, Johannesburg, facility
“This achieved the desired result, as proven by the tests we carried out on the rotor windings on completion of the job,” Craig concludes. Marthinusen & Coutts, Richard Botton, Tel: (011) 607 1700, Email: richardb@mandc.co.za, www.mandc.co.za
Cut Price and Costs Easy to use and set up, and low running costs are the hallmarks of Afrox’s extensive range of automated plasma cutting equipment. “We strive to implement turnkey profiling solutions that match the longer-term cutting needs of fabricators,” says Afrox Applications Development Manager, Heating & Cutting, Hennie Van Rhyn. “Specifically for cutting stainless steels and aluminium, we offer customers a range of packaged plasma solutions built around combining cutting tables from leading European manufacturer Pierce with Thermal Dynamics’ plasma cutting technology. “We couple Pierce’s flexible range of precision CNC profile cutting tables with Thermal Dynamics’ water mist plasma technology, which offers an excellent combination of features for metallic materials such as stainless steel,
aluminium, copper and titanium,” says Hennie. The Thermal Dynamics automated plasma cutting range includes the Standard Cutmaster A series, a light duty cycle, entry-level air plasma system that provides an economical and flexible solution. With benefits that include easy setup and use, as well as superior cut quality up to 120 Amps, the Cutmaster A series offers solutions for light, medium and heavy applications. “By combining the Ultra-Cut XT series with Pierce CNC cutting tables, and customisable widths and lengths, we can offer fabricators HD plasma cutting
The Benefits of ISO Certification It has become hugely important for suppliers to the mining industry to comply with the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Not only do international standards have economic, societal and technological benefits but they also balance technical specifications of products and services, making the industry more efficient by
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breaking down barriers to international trade. Rand-Air highlights that an ISO certification is especially significant in providing customers with assurance of quality management. Rand-Air has been servicing the mining industry for the past 40 years and believes that an ISO accreditation is critical in this highly competitive and
THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER
VOL 66
March 2016
solutions at a fraction of the price of competing technologies. And by adopting water mist technology, ongoing production costs can be slashed, too,” Hennie concludes. Afrox, Hennie Van Rhyn, Email: Hennie.vanrhyn@afrox.linde.com
demanding sector. “Customers need to be met with the highest possible standards in terms of reliability and performance, this in turn increases customer satisfaction as well as improves the standard of health and safety. ISO is intended to assist organisations to meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements,” explains Bongani Thobela, SHEQ Manager for Rand-Air.