Varied uses in industry

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32861, 9 March 1972, Page 13

Varied uses in industry

Compressed air equipment supplied by the Swedish firm, Atlas Copco, is playing an important part in a wide range of major industries in Christchurch. In some of the plants concerned there is hardly a process in manufacture and assembly that is not facilitated by the use of compressed air. At Steel Motor Assemblies Ltd, for instance where

Toyota, Mazda and Ford vehicles are produced, air from Atlas Copco compressors is used to work the saws that open the cases, the spot welder, the sanders for sanding down the metal and later the paint between coats, the spray guns fot applying the paint, power tools for assembly work, the hoists for the body decking, and to apply the underseal. The greater safety with compressed air equipment is an important consideration in such production, especially in explosive atmospheres. “With highly flammable materials in our paint-mixing and phosphating operations, we couldn't use an electric motor,” said the firm’s general manager (Mr J. Pearson).

“Another advantage with an air tool is that if it meets an obstruction it will just stall. The motor does not bum out, as can happen with an electric tool.”

Very fine control is essential for lining up the vehicle components, and the easy control with compressed air lends itself to this operation. The fine degree of control also enables women to handle the 44-gallon drums of underseal. VEHICLE ASSEMBLY In the essembly of PAYloaders, fanners’ tractors and other farm construction equipment at International Harvester Company of New Zealand, Ltd, compressed air equipment has reduced assembly times and helped the company to compete successfully not only in New Zealand but also with the export of PAYloaders to Australia.

Assembly of trucks has been rationalised and a change made to a bay type of assembly of PAYloaders. “We felt that air offered us significant advantages for the type of work we are doing, so we installed a new Atlas Copco compressor and equipped our plant with air hoists which are driven by Atlas Copco air motors,”

said the firm’s product engineer (Mr M. Maxwell). EXACT CONTROL “We use air in positions where we need to have exact control of lifting and drop for the positioning of heavy components.” A ring main air system has been installed, and with tees at every joint it is possible to tap any point to get an air supply. For the PAYloader that is being exported to Australia, use of a large air-powered impact wrench to tighten the big IJin diameter axle bolts and ryloc nuts has greatly reduced time and effort over the previous hand methods. Before using the impact wrench, up to an hour each was taken to tighten these bolts in awkward positions. “Low maintenance on the equipment and the fact that we can service it ourselves almost immediately are two important advantages in using air,” said Mr Maxwell. The safety aspects of compressed air were also important, he added. CLEANING Until recently the outside of a building was washed by hand and practically all that was done for the outsides of buildings was to paint them. Now, however, with the ; aid of compressed air, detergent can be speedily and economically sprayed on the walls of a building to give them a quite new, or at least much cleaner, appearance. Crothall and Company, Ltd, which provides a service in all fields of cleaning, not only throughout New Zealand but also in Australia and the United States, uses a unit specially assembled by Atlas Copco to clean buildings in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington. The unit comprises a compressor, a pump and two hose reels.

“With the advent of pressure pumps in New Zealand there was a good likelihood that we would change from hand washing of the outside of small buildings to machine washing of big buildings,” said Crothall’s Christchurch manager (Mr C. Hill). ECONOMICAL “Being able to add a detergent to the water and put this through a pressure pump opens a field that up till now has been unprofitable.” The water and the detergent are put into a highpressure pump and released through a spray gun with pressure nozzle. But first the

detergent material is heated by taking the exhaust from the compressor and passing it in a coil through the detergent tank. “Blasting off does 25 per cent of the cleaning job and the detergent 75 per cent,” said Mr Hill. Because cleaning in this way is a quick operation the cleaners can use a crane and there is thus a big saving in not having to erect scaffolding. CONSTRUCTION For construction of the Christchurch police’s 14storey building there is complete reticulation of compressed air. W. Williamson Construction Company, Ltd, uses air for demolition and ground clean-up, for sunip pumps, for scabbiing and drilling holes, for concrete grinding, and for sheet piling. All that is needed to have a supply of compressed air at any point is a 30ft or 60ft length of hose. The air is supplied by an Atlas Copco portable compressor, and the tools used on the job include pneumatic screwdrivers and drills.

The plant superintendent (Mr W. Hughes), who came to appreciate the value of air in construction when using pneumatic vibrators on the Cobb hydro project, lists security as one of its major advantages. “The tools can’t be taken. Air discourages people from breaking into the job.” Among other advantages, Mr Hughes said, was the safety factor. He mentioned also that work could proceed under any conditions, there were no dangerous cables, and the equipment had a longer life and was cheaper to recondition. ROADING

Roading is another industry that makes good use of compressed air. ' British Pavements (Canterbury), Ltd, uses compressed air equipment for pumping liquid bitumen and spraying bitumen, for quarrying and loading rock, and for road breaking and cutting. The firm’s service vehicles are equiped with a compressor, and air is used also for sandblasting the concrete trucks and metal trucks and for painting. The management of British Pavements considers air much safer, more positive and more reliable for these operations than alternative methods.