NEWS FROM WESTIN DRIVES

Engineers at Westin Drives aim to return repaired items in an excellent condition – and usually cleaner than when they arrived.

The thorough cleaning of mechanical parts to remove grease or carbon deposits prior to repair ensures effective and safe performance. 

If a motor is not cleaned thoroughly, for example, a residue of carbon dust could cause internal sparking or a short circuit.  So our deep cleaning also prolongs the life of repaired jobs.

Our previous method of scrubbing parts by hand was overtaken this week by investment in a Torrent high-pressure parts cleaner. 

Components up to 50kg in weight are placed in the machine’s enclosure and pressure-sprayed with detergent by a protected operator. Parts up to 65×40×40 cm can be cleaned comfortably and accessibly.

Even the most heavily soiled items – from bearing caps and gear boxes to pump interiors and brush holders – emerge looking like new.

Workshop manager Steve Ormondroyd says: "For our customers, the new machine offers a quicker and more effective cleaning service."​

Our pump specialist Tom Mitchell, above, is busy at present with a variety and unprecedented number of pump repairs. One of the latest to be completed involved a large, horizontal split-case water pump. 

As well as the routine repair, which involved thorough cleaning and replacement of the bearings and gaskets, he modified the mechanical seal arrangement in an effort to improve it. 

All the critical internal dimensions were measured and work to bring them back to tolerance was undertaken in our machine shop. We then balanced the impeller to ensure longevity, particularly within the bearings. 

The repaired, re-polished and re-painted pump can be seen ready for dispatch, below. Good job, Tom.

By Richard Bruffell, Internal Sales
With many years of experience in the supply and repair of fluid transfer pumps, Westin Drives has struck up a partnership with British pump manufacturer Calpeda. 

This important relationship was arrived at after rigorous product investigation and real world application knowledge. 

Extensive product training has been supplied by Calpeda in the correct selection of a wide variety of products from centrifugal, multi-stage, self-priming, in-line and submersible pumps through to the more complex booster set selections.

Its support underlines the value and commitment already recognised by the team at Westin Drives.

It is a pleasure to report that Westin Drives was named Service Centre of the Year in the annual awards of the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades.

Our Service Manager, Michael Limb, above centre, received a plaque and certificate at a gala dinner in Coventry. A video of event highlights can be seen below.

The awards showcase the best achievements from the electrical and mechanical trades sector in a global celebration of business and professional excellence.

The AEMT citation said: "After a circa £1m investment in the facilities, incorporating a 20 tonne lifting capacity, state-of the-art CNC machinery and a technical training room, Westin Drives now provides its customers with a broad range of services from its Huddersfield-based service centre. 

"The company is set-up well for the future of its industry. It is investing in recruiting and training apprentices, as it sees this as a vital requirement in filling the skills gap the industry is experiencing."

Michael said: “We were thrilled and delighted to receive the award from the AEMT. It was a great pleasure to be recognised for the effort we have expended in establishing our new facility. 

"Everyone here has played a part in achieving this honour. We are the beneficiaries of considerable investment which has been used to equip our workshop and build a team of highly skilled engineers to support our customers. 

"In doing this, we have devoted particular attention to promoting apprenticeships with the intention of acquiring and developing the skills we need for the future.”

When a major retail chain discovered the geared motors on machines in their distribution warehouses had become obsolete they turned to Westin Drives for a solution. 

The original unit was a bevel geared motor fitted with a motor-mounted inverter. The customer needed the new units to occupy the same space as the original, with the same critical mounting dimensions and the performance and durability of the originals.

Technical manager Fraser Lynch evaluated the full system in order to offer a realistic solution. The task was complicated by the fact that the customer needed to be able to retrofit motor-mounted inverters from old units, due to profibus issues.

The solution was to use the new Lenze g500 range of bevel-geared motors, which had the option of the same output flange diameter and shaft dimensions.

This had additional benefits, such as being able to use a smaller power motor (0.75kW rather than 1.1kW on the original) helping to reduce the energy consumed.

The advantages of using this type of gearbox are:

• Highly efficient right-angle gearbox with a compact design for space-optimised assembly.
• Standardised shaft and flange dimensions for easy machine integration.
• Low backlash and high torsional stiffness guarantee precise results during positioning.
• Improved gearbox cooling due to compact flange design.

‘Rightsizing’ the unit for the application means the unit operates at optimum efficiency and minimises damage in the event of a seizure on the machine. To future-proof the motor-mounted inverters, the solution can be easily retrofitted with the updated model. 
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After an exhaustive trial the customer was delighted and placed an order for an initial 25 units.

We are delighted to announce that we are finalists in two categories of the annual awards run by the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades.

The awards showcase the best achievements from the electrical and mechanical trades sector in a global celebration of business and professional excellence.

Our workshop supervisor, Steve Ormondroyd, has been nominated for the Rising Star Award. This recognises junior employees who have made a significant contribution to a company and/or the industry. 
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Steve, below, started at Westin Drives as an apprentice motor technician. He now supervises the electro-mechanical repairs team and workshop quality procedures and practices. 

Meanwhile Westin Drives has been nominated as Service Centre of the Year.

This award goes to any service centre that has achieved recognition for services to industry in areas such as technical expertise and advice, environmental considerations, ingenuity, market penetration and growth, and on-time delivery and service.

The winners will be announced on November 29 at a gala dinner in Coventry.

The machining capability at Westin Drives has been enhanced by the arrival of a CNC lathe. With a little help from our team, it was delivered to our precision engineering department.

The benefits to customers of this sophisticated machine include:

• Exceptional accuracy
• Consistency
• Faster turnaround of jobs
• Lower production costs
• Increased volume
• Greater flexibility in manufacture

The provision of CAD software on the lathe allows our engineers to design bespoke components for customers or to import their files in DXF format. After the completion of a job, files can be stored for repeat work.

It also means that a particular design can be manufactured tens, hundreds or thousands of times – and each finished product will be identical. 

Our machine shop supervisor said: "We are pleased that this new extension of our capability offers significant benefits to established and potential customers."

To give our customers the best electric motor rewind service, Westin Drives has invested in a portable, 12kV surge tester. 

This sophisticated device is employed to diagnose problems with motor windings that arrive for repair at our Huddersfield Service Centre. It is also used for the final check on all finished jobs before they are returned to the customer.

Surge tests are vital because they are capable of revealing turn-to-turn insulation weaknesses. Such weaknesses, found at voltages above the operating potential of the device under test, can be signs of the impending failure of a motor. Surge tests are also used to find shorts and other faults in windings and coils.

An added benefit is that it can be taken on site for the swift diagnosis of a problem or trending the condition of a winding over time as part of a predictive maintenance plan.

In addition, the surge tester generates a comprehensive report on the state of each tested winding, which is then provided to the customer.