MechChem Africa February 2017

40 / 48

38 ¦ MechChem Africa • February 2017
⎪ Products and industry news ⎪
New trends in automation for flexibility
and products that are lighter and more
compact is on the rise, and according to
SMCPneumatics SouthAfrica (SMC), this
type of product development is becoming
more andmore standard. The all-purpose
series of valve manifolds from SMC is
available in three sizes, namely: SY3000,
SY5000andSY7000. Thanks to its flexibil-
ity and innovative redesign, the SY series
sees a 29% space saving in installation
while offering increased flow rates.
Looking at the SYseries’ use, twoof the
smallervalvesizesortwolargervalvesizes
can be mixed on one manifold to closely
SEW-Eurodrive recently
appointed Paul Clark to
headup itsRepair Service
Centre. “Effective and
efficient repairs are an
integral part of our Zero
Defects drive”, says Clark
who has given significant
input regarding SEW’s
assembly line at the Johannesburg manu-
facturing facility.
He explains that all units that can
be repaired are passed onto the Repair
ServiceCentre, or the SalesDepartment if
a quotation is required for a new replace-
ment unit. In addition, any equipment
that breaks down or requires attention
on-site is attended to by the Field Service
Department.
“It is important to find a balance be-
tween repair andmaintenance on the one
hand, and capital equipment on the other,”
Interactive lubrication website launched
Lubrication system technology and equip-
ment specialist, Lincoln Lubrication, launched
its interactive website at the end of last
year. “The new website incorporates the
latest functionalities without compromising
practicality and convenience,” says Lincoln
Lubrication sales manager for Africa, Danie
Swart. “While a website serves as an essen-
tial marketing platform, simplicity and user-
friendliness are fundamental to its success.
We have populated our website with useful
information but, with user convenience as a
key driver, we have also made sure that it is
easy to navigate, placing everything at the
browser’s fingertips.”
The new website encapsulates the com-
pany’s comprehensive product solutions and
provides direct technical product information
through links to supplier information sites.
“This gives us the benefit of staying up to
date with product developments and sharing
the latest technology with our customers,”
adds Swart.
An interactive enquiry field ensures
that sales and any other enquiries are di-
rected to correct departmentswithin Lincoln
Lubrication. The Google-active website will
conveniently direct customers to the loca-
tion of Lincoln Lubrication’s Germiston head
office as well as the company’s six country-
wide branches and regional distributors in
Mozambique and Zambia.
Clarksays.Whereasmajorcustomerssuch
as mines tend to opt for new equipment,
smaller companies prefer repair as the
more viable and cost-effective option.
“While a unit can be restored to its
original condition, it is important toweigh
up this cost against that of a new unit.
Our aim in the Repair Service Centre is
to restore units as completely as possible
to their original mechanical and electrical
condition,” he explains.
The Repair Service Centre is flexible
enough in that it can turn a repair around
in a single afternoon, if required. “We
have to be very responsive, especially
if you take into account clients such as
breweries ormanufacturing plants, where
any downtime has amajor impact on total
production and the bottom line.”
The Repair Service Centre also oper-
ates a Standby Service to cater for any un-
foreseen contingencies. In addition, SEW-
New head for SEWRepair Service Centre Eurodrive has a range of preassembled
products precisely for such emergencies.
There are certain companies that
engage in proactive maintenance, send-
ing units in to be checked in order to
prevent any potential problems or future
breakdowns. “SEW-Eurodrive plays a
major role in training customers about the
importance of maintenance through its
Drive Academy, in addition to full training
on our entire product range,” Clark adds.
The Repair Service Centre has a fully
automated system in place, whereby re-
pairs are logged in. “We open a parts list
in conjunction with an assessment sheet.
The unit is stripped, cleaned, and then
inspected. A full quotation is submitted
to the customer. Thenecessary repairs are
then processed upon receipt of an order
number. Theunit is testedaccording to full
German specifications, and a warranty is-
sued in terms of the repairs that havebeen
carried out,” Clark concludes.
New-generation SY-series pneumatic valve manifolds
match application flow require-
ments. The manifold offers
piping options to the top, side
or bottom with various port
size options. This results in a
flow rate of up to 1 500 ℓ per
minute through the biggest
valvemountedon themanifold.
The SY series offers further
savings due to its ability todrive
bigger cylinders with reduced
cycle times, mitigating the need for
larger, more expensive solenoid valves
and is available in either rubber or special
metal seal versions with the latter opti- mised for higher operating frequencies
andextendedlifetimeperformance;boast-
ing switching of up to 200-million cycles.
The SY series incorporates SMC’s
energy-efficientV100pilotvalve,apower-
saving option that reduces power con-
sumptionper valve coil down to just 0.1W.
The series offers a myriad of op-
tions, optimised for customised projects
and applications. A single valve can be
mounted on a base, for example, which
will offer flowrates exceeding 1500 ℓ/min
– connectedwith SMC’sM12waterproof
connector.
Overall safety in applications has been
improved via optional configurations such
as the addition of a built-in back pressure
check, which means it can also be retro-
fitted. A manual pressure release valve
for every cylinder canalsobefitted, where
required.
SMC’s
SY series can
use two smaller valve
sizes and two larger valve
sizes mixed on one manifold to
closely match application flow requirements.