The milling machine before the retrofit Our technical service engineers were asked to retrofit a spindle inverter on an #Okuma horizontal CNC milling machine at a large engineering company. The machine dates from the 1980s and we received the enquiry as a spindle motor repair – but with no fault found, the machine's inverter was diagnosed to be the issue. The inverter had undergone several repair attempts prior to our involvement, so a retrofit was decided. After reverse eng

Callum, an apprentice engineer at Westin Drives. What are the needs of apprentices in your business? The Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades would like to know It is formulating a programme that will train people how to fix machines, instead of writing reports about a job, with few to no practical elements. The AEMT needs our help to gather data and take it to the next step. We all have our thoughts on the quality of training, and there's a chance to help here wi

This failed gear from a manufacturer in the sugar industry was sent to us to be prepared for investigation by an independent laboratory. Our engineers carefully cut out a section that included chipped teeth to allow the material properties and quality of the case-hardening to be analysed. Westin Drives provides a comprehensive gearbox service in conjunction with our sister company, Westin Engineering . We are able to diagnose, repair and refurbish all types of gearboxes found

A large pharmaceutical manufacturer asked us to repair the geared motor on this mobile pump. Besides finding the best fix, our engineers also view the repair process as a chance to improve the performance of a unit. In this case, the efficiency of the pump was increased to premium level IE3 by fitting a replacement motor from WEG and a Radicon gearbox. The original inverter was found a new position on top of the motor by water jet cutting and fitting a spacer, designed by our

Two of our technical services engineers travel to the Netherlands this week to carry out work on Europe's largest tyre recycling project. A UK recycler secured €150 million in funding to build the pyrolysis plant in Delfzijl where 20 million spent tyres a year will be treated. Our engineers will be on site to install control panels, pumps and process instrumentation for the water treatment plant. Our technical director will join them next month to commission the installation.

Alongside repairing and rewinding electric motors, maintenance and servicing form key parts of our work at Westin Drives. Take these Lenze geared motors and motorised rollers, which have come from the logistics industry. Oil leaks can become a problem with the gearboxes, so our engineers have devised a new sealing arrangement with SKF to enhance their working life. As these units feedback speed to the drive system, a combination of electrical, mechanical and electronic skil

T Level student Lewis starts to take a motor apart under the experienced eye of Tom Jackson Lewis Cunningham takes apart an industrial electrical motor under supervision in the Westin Drives service centre. He has joined us for ten weeks as part of his T Level course at Kirklees College, Huddersfield. The two-year technical qualification blends classroom learning with industry placement and Lewis,18, is the first such student we have taken on. His course in engineering, manuf

We said goodbye last week to our workshop manager, Steve Ormondroyd, who has moved on to develop his career. Remarkably, he and his father Tony, now retired, served Westin Drives for a total of 68 years. Steve began his 19-year-stint as an apprentice under the exacting eye of Tony, who was then the workshop manager. It was a pleasure to see Steve follow in his dad's footsteps and, in due course, receive promotion to that senior position. Steve, the young apprentice. As well a

A sophisticated new conditioning monitoring service has been launched by Westin Drives. It's an exciting development in preventative maintenance in which permanent vibration sensors are installed to allow constant monitoring of customers' essential assets. Once installed, data from the sensors can be analysed by our technicians, and the client, to help forestall issues that could cause expensive downtime. The first systems were fitted last week for a local textile manufactur

An engineer who began as a workshop apprentice at Westin Drives has been made a director. Adam Daffern, 28, will become Technical Director of that company and of Quality Servomotor Repairs. The promotion follows his achievements in developing technical services in Westin Drives and the integration and relocation of QSR. While working in the technical department at Westin Drives, Adam studied for a degree in engineering management and was awarded first-class honours from Hudde

Westin Drives is one of the first companies in the country to have achieved compliance with the AEMT's new codes of practice. The new codes aim to set a benchmark standard for the industry, with an obligation to maintain the highest quality of business integrity, technical ability and service. Westin Drives has been in existence for more than 100 years, working to the highest standards in electrical and mechanical engineering. The speed in reaching compliance is further evide

Rising star nomination: Oliver Wilson Westin Drives is delighted to have been nominated in four categories in the finals of the 2025 Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades annual awards. The categories are: Project of the Year: Diesel to Hydro-Electric Motor Conversion Service Centre of the Year : Quality Servomotor Repairs Contribution to Skills and Training Rising Star Award : Oliver Wilson The AEMT says: 'The judging panel, which included independent experts, pres

The induction motor after an urgent repair in our Huddersfield Service Centre A faulty motor arrived from a customer in the food industry. A quick turnaround was essential as it came from a mixer on a food line. The 30kW geared AC induction motor was given the customary full inspection, which indicated that a rewind and gearbox service were required. Our workshop team is used to tight timetables and the motor was repaired and returned to the customer on time to ensure there w

The motor gearbox after repair by Westin Drives engineers. Below, as it arrived at our Service Centre. When our engineers finish a repair, the original doesn't just work well, it often looks like new. Take this motor gearbox. It is fitted with a back stop that drives a conveyor in the glass recycling industry. This device allows it to run in one direction, so if the conveyor is stopped, it doesn't allow it to start creeping backwards under the weight of the loaded conveyor. A

The Siemens motor and, above, the Hoyer motor ready for dispatch following repair. These two motors – a 37kW Hoyer and a 40kW Siemens, used for driving pumps – were sent to us from a firm in the petro-chemicals industry. After careful assessment, they were mechanically refurbished by engineers in our Huddersfield service centre. As part of this comprehensive process: Stator windings were washed and stoved before being spray varnished. Bearings and shaft seals showing signs of

Apprentice engineer Callum refits a fan motor on to its housing following a repair. It was one of two fans from a hospital that arrived for inspection in our service centre. Each was stripped down and the state of the windings carefully assessed. New bearings were fitted and the motor was then repainted ready for dispatch. Our engineers offer a variety of fan services including refurbishment, balancing, upgrades and replacements. We also supply a variety of products. So plea

This water cannon, sent to us by a fire equipment company, is intended to send spray into waste recycling pits in case of fire. It is in the Westin Drives service centre to enable our technical engineers to program the control panel, below, to influence the precise direction and flow of the four jets on the cannon.

We recently carried out a comprehensive overhaul on this 68kW ABB induction generator from an Endurance E3120 wind turbine. These...

This Lenze panel was custom-built for a client in the water treatment industry, with detailed specification requirements, such as wiring...

Here’s a great example of the full refurbishment service we carried out for one of our clients.