POWER TRANSMISSION
Design
In the beginning Robin did all the design work and draughting himself, not only because of his flair as a mechanical problem-solver, but also because he has the practical experience from being a hands-on man who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty to delve into a problem on site. “We now have draughtsmen who do the drawings which, in the case of profile cutting, for instance, is integrated directly to the profile cutter on the workshop floor,” he explains. “However, with complex designs I do get involved, especially gearbox overhauls where the gears have to be drawn because they’re so damaged they can’t be measured and there are no specifications available any more.”
The small lathe which got Robin started
galvanised plating used to make their air ducts for underground ventilation.
Innovation
“First we tried to get hold of a machine which could roll flat sheets into tubing with a ribbing, but nobody had anything like that,” he adds. “We then tried to source just the rollers, but that was even more unheard of. We put our heads together and started designing the roller set with a rise in one set and a valley in the other. This we built into a manuallyoperated machine which produced perfect ribbed tubing for the round ducting the client required.”
With complex designs I do get involved, especially gearbox overhauls where the gears have to be drawn because they’re so damaged In the workshop Robin proudly shows off his prototype of the machine, including the first length of duct tubing they made on it. The mining company is over the moon with the result. They’re going to fit an electric drive and gearbox to drive the plate roller before it will be set up in a proper production line at Rodecon’s premises for the mass production of tubular ducting lengths for the mining industry.
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN MECHANICAL ENGINEER
VOL 62
Turnkey projects
Apart from manufacturing drive components such as drive shafts up to 4 metres in length and 1.5 metres in diameter, the company gets involved in projects on a turnkey basis. “The OR Tambo project is a good example of where we did absolutely everything,” Robin says. “They did not have specifications for the drives required to move the huge hangar gates, so we designed from scratch, made everything here in the workshop and then did installation on site with our own crews during night shifts when there was very little activity at the hangers. We even go to the trouble of drawing up our own Gantt charts to manage the project professionally in the time slots available to us.” Robin’s inquisitiveness on how things work since he was a kid has certainly paid off. “My father used to just shake his head when all toys were taken to pieces in my young days just to see how they worked,” he says in conclusion. “Our business philosophy is based on always being prepared to find a solution to a mechanical problem and our customers appreciate that fact that we’re always prepared to go the extra mile to make their lives easier with innovative high quality work.” Robin Mugawazi, Tel: (011) 868-5265, Email: robin@ rodecon.co.za, www.rodeconengineering.co.za
March 2012