Product category:
Tanks, pipework, nozzles, tube fittings
News Release from: Corus Northern Engineering Services | Subject: Wyman-Gordon
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 02 June 2008
CNES builds and installs new pipe
grinding machine
CNES has successfully built and installed a large grinding machine for Wyman-Gordon, a Livingston-based manufacturer of the seamless pipes used for the offshore oil, gas and power generation industry
The new grinding machine, which measures 19m in length by 2.5m wide and 4.5m high, weighs approximately 70 tonnes and has a 16m travel for the grinding heads The machine will supplement the original Wyman-Gordon grinding machine, which is more than 40 years old: it will help to reduce lead times for process pipe
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 2 Oct 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The new grinding machine will be used to grind the outside diameter of seamless pipes, which vary in length from 5m up to 12m, with diameters from 200m up to 1,200m (as long as the weight does not exceed 15 tonnes).
The grinding machine grinds the outside casing to give a smooth, flat finish to the pipe.
Wyman-Gordon manufactures a range of Class 1 rotating parts for military, civil and industrial gas turbines applications.
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These products include gas turbine engine shafts, structural and landing gear forgings for military and civil aircraft, as well as manifolds, sphere tees, valve bodies and seamless pipes for the offshore oil and gas industries.
The Livingston plant employs around 275 staff and the plant covers 477,500 square feet.
The new grinding machine is part of a significant capital investment expansion project at the Wyman-Gordon Livingston site.
The plant boasts one of the world's largest 'clam shell' furnaces, which is used to heat treat the seamless pipes.
After visiting the CNES workshop facilities in Scunthorpe, representatives from Wyman-Gordon were confident that CNES had the technical know-how and experience to manufacture the grinding machine.
In addition, the CNES Scunthorpe Machining Workshops are fully equipped with heavy duty cranes and lifting gear, plus excellent machining facilities, which would be required to carry out the new grinding machine build.
The majority of the new machine (in terms of weight) is in the rails and travelling beam, which had to be lifted in one piece, and so heavy duty lifting gear was required.
As Chris Morris, Senior Plant Engineer at Wyman-Gordon comments: "CNES handled the job extremely well and there were few problems during the project.
After visiting the Scunthorpe workshops, we were very confident that CNES could handle the work.
The workshops had a very professional feel to it, was organised and clean, the approach and organisation were excellent and material was flowing through the workshop".
As John Backhouse, Business Development Manager Offshore and Energy at CNES states: "Our engineers had to manufacture the new grinding machine from the original drawings.
The existing grinding machine at Wyman-Gordon includes both metric and imperial components and so CNES also had to cope with a mixture of original imperial drawings and new metric ones in order to build the new machine".
CNES received a contract from Wyman-Gordon to build the new grinding machine back in May 2007.
The machine was built and ready to ship in November 2007.
Delivery and installation - also undertaken by CNES - took place in December 2007 at the Wyman-Gordon factory in Livingston.
The grinding machine has since been placed inside an acoustic chamber at the plant and has just completed commissioning.
Chris Morris continues: "The new grinding machine should cut lead times considerably for process pipe.
The working relationship between CNES and ourselves has been excellent.
So much so that off the back of this first job, we've given CNES additional work, which includes the manufacturing of new safety staircases and platforms for our works.
This job is totally unrelated to the grinding machine work but we felt we should give it to a supplier that we could trust".
For more information on Corus Northern Engineering Services, please visit the website or contact David Scatchard. Request a free brochure from Corus Northern Engineering Services ...
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