Capital Equipment News June 2015

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

JUNE 2015

RAIL

n a strategic move to increase its diesel

locomotive engine component remanufac-

turing offering to the railways sector, Metric

Automotive Engineering has made a substan-

tial investment in gearing up its facilities with

new technology. This provides the company

with the ability to remanufacture and repair

crankshafts, cam shafts, connecting rods,

cylinder heads and cylinder blocks as well as

ancillary bushings and housings.

Metric Automotive Engineering has always

remained abreast of new technology and

has an operating philosophy of upgrading its

equipment suite to ensure that latest technol-

ogy is implemented. “This ensures that we

are able to meet or exceed OEM specification

on remanufacturing dimensions. This is im-

portant as it influences the overall quality of

the work undertaken and can affect the oper-

ational life of the component and the engine

itself,” says Andrew Yorke, operations director

at Metric Automotive Engineering.

The acquisition of one of the largest crank-

shaft grinders put into service in Africa allows

the company to service the growing trend

towards larger diesel engines. Capable of

grinding shafts of up to 4.7 m long and with

weights of up to 5 tons, this crankshaft grind-

er enables grinding of crankshafts from in-

dustrial compressors right through to the V16

locomotive diesel engine. Significantly, the

machine is paired with a set of compensa-

tors which dramatically improves the grinding

tolerances achieved by helping to eliminate

ovality and taper.

“There has not been a new machine of com-

parable size brought into the country for over

35 years. In addition to the crankshaft grinder

which is now in service, a unique custom built

crankshaft polisher, with a shaft capacity of

8 m, will be commissioned during the third

quarter of 2015. This custom built machine

will allow us to offer a quicker turnaround

time on crankshaft polishing as well as an

improvement on journal surface finishes,”

says Yorke.

The company also recently commissioned a

new generation three axis CNC machining

centre. This is the only machine of its kind in

Africa and is capable of line boring, surfacing

and blue-printing blocks up to 6 m in length.

Offering one of the most comprehensive re-

manufacturing capabilities in Africa, the com-

pany is currently mid-way with the expansion

of its facility. This will allow it to accommo-

date the increased demand for its services.

“We are able to refurbish large diesel engine

components and offer services such as cyl-

inder head remanufacture, cylinder block

line boring, milling, honing and boring, cam-

shaft grinding, crankshaft grinding, engine

assembly and dynamometer testing,” Yorke

points out.

In addition to standard remanufacturing pro-

cesses, which are undertaken by a core of

experienced skilled personnel using the latest

technology to produce a high quality reman-

ufactured end product, the company also has

the ability to salvage major components that

would otherwise be rendered unserviceable.

Metric Automotive engineering’s in-house

ISO 9000:2000 accredited repair and re-

manufacturing processes have been tried

and tested over the past 40 years and on-

going technician training allows the company

to stay abreast of the latest developments in

the sector. “We believe that our service levels

are directly influenced by the capabilities and

technical expertise of our team and as such

we subject our employees to the latest trends

in the market to provide our customers with

best practice in terms of remanufacturing,”

says Yorke.

All repairs and remanufacturing are comple-

mented by an extensive testing programme

that includes non-destructive crack testing,

crankshaft inspection, pressure testing of

cylinder heads and dyna testing of all engines

rebuilt by Metric Automotive Engineering.

“Metric Automotive Engineering might be a

family owned and run company, but it has

invested the resources and commitment

of three generations over a period to be-

come South Africa’s most comprehensively

equipped diesel engine and component re-

manufacturer. Leveraging our experience in

similar markets has allowed us to gear up

and provide an uncompromisingly high qual-

ity remanufacturing service to the diesel rail-

way locomotive sector,” Yorke concludes.

METRIC EXPANDS ITS ENGINE COMPONENT

remanufacturing facility for diesel locomotives