At In-Situ Machining Solutions, we are always working towards improving our industrial machine repair services and guaranteeing the longevity of our results for our customers. Whilst we conduct emergency repairs globally, we also offer a regular repair service that can be scheduled and planned in advance, as is the situation with this case study.
An impressive international mining company tasked us to conduct an 18-month contract for crankshaft refurbishment and repairs at multiple sites across the world to prevent crankshaft failure.
Refurbishment can be a cost-effective choice as businesses don't need to invest in full crankshaft replacements unnecessarily. Still, the time taken to refurbish the parts can be costly when conducted in the traditional manner of taking the crankshaft off-site.
The challenge the client faced was to find a reliable team to conduct this refurbishment to a high standard while also reducing the required downtime to minimal levels. Fortunately, these are two requirements that we knew we would fulfil.
The work started in October 2016 and concluded in the first quarter of 2018, totalling 80 days on the job. During this time, our experts refurbished a total of 8 complete crankshafts at multiple locations using the most cutting-edge orbital machining and polishing equipment in the industry. We develop our own machining tools through focused R&D and field experience to make the best results portable and conduct the results on-site.
When visiting one of these many mining sites around the world, we conducted an agreed-upon plan that would ensure each site received the same quality of work. Generally, this consisted of the following:
The crankshaft main bearing journals (diameter 300mm) and crankpins (diameters ranging from 280mm) were initially inspected to determine a complete understanding of their condition and to generate a full scope of work for the shaft.
Fifty-two main bearing journals were super finished and polished to re-instate the manufacturer's specified surface finish, remove any surface corrosion/scoring, and ensure the flatness of the journal.
Three crankpins were machined (removing between 2mm and 4.5mm) and undersized due to seizures/failures. All main bearing and crankpin journals were completed to OEM standards and exceeded our client's expectations. We worked closely with the site manager to make these repairs coincide with the engine overhaul; our engineers worked to an extremely tight timescale to minimise downtime to the engine and ensure we completed our scope of work on or ahead of schedule.
The versatility of our various on-site machining services enables our teams to conduct not only the repairs listed here but also other industrial machine repair operations in any environment around the world. Here are some other related case studies documenting where our teams have successfully proved this versatility for other industrial businesses globally:
Our teams of expert engineers consistently prove their capabilities to adapt to any challenge in even the most remote locations. We operate a 24/7 emergency response service with the capability to travel to any site in the world.
Contact us to organise your own emergency or regular in-situ machining services for your crankshafts or more and see for yourself the reduced downtime that on-site repairs provide.
