Client: LARGE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURER -

Problem: To replace an inefficient and unreliable oven system

Aerotherm were contacted by a large automotive manufacturer in order to replace one of their oven systems.
The previous oven was deemed inefficient and unreliable. It was costing a lot to run, causing long amounts of downtime and needed a large amount of factory floor to house it.
Aerotherm’s reputation for high quality & energy efficiency meant that the automotive manufacturer turned to us for a solution.
Following the success of this oven, Aerotherm were approached in order to supply a further oven system for a complete new project line. This was intended for the manufacture of luggage area lining for standard motor vehicles.
Requiring the oven for a new project line meant that the company insisted that it met strict criteria for energy consumption, maintenance and floor space required to house it... As well as tight delivery deadline.

Solution:

Aerotherm replaced the existing, unreliable oven with a smaller, smarter, energy efficient oven.
This bespoke product, was designed, manufactured and installed by Aerotherm.
For the new production line, Aerotherm supplied a compact, user friendly, energy efficient oven which is maintenance friendly and has fewer moving parts.
Both ovens included a built in heat exchanger to divert heat when products are not in the oven meaning that the energy consumption is minimalised whilst no product is in process.

Benefits:

Aerotherm delivered two energy efficient, compact and reliable oven systems which will provide safer working conditions while resulting in lower running costs and less downtime.
The company have since returned to Aerotherm for further work after the successful completion of these projects. Aerotherm Engineering also provided relevant safety barriers and extraction out of the building, as well as ensuring safe delivery to site.

Client: AIRCRAFT COMPONENT MANUFACTURER -

Problem: To test the feasibility of the production of Composite Turbine blades (ELF scheme)

A Major Aircraft Component manufacturer had undertaken a new project aiming to create a Composite Turbine blades (ELF scheme) made completely of composite materials.
The ELF programme is being undertaken by the Aircraft component manufacturer and aimed at bringing new engine fan blade technologies to market. The composite engine fan blade being developed aimed to improve aircraft engine performance and reduce emissions.
Building a research facility in the Isle of Wight, our client was looking for companies to supply large bespoke equipment in order to achieve this goal. High service standards were paramount to our client who insisted on the latest technology to ensure energy efficiency and precise temperature conformity.

Solution:

Aerotherm proposed the design, build and install of a large bespoke box oven system for the curing of composite blades.
This oven had to maintain tight tolerances as well as high efficiency.

Benefits:

The client’s high standards of compliance as well as a need for innovation resulted in Aerotherm providing a bespoke solution to suit their exact needs.
With the requirements met and exceeded, in tandem with high levels of innovation they were provided with a custom built curing oven system which maintains tight tolerances, reduced operating noise and is achieving the predicted energy savings.
Also with this being in the testing phases Aerotherm insight and experience paid dividends into this research and development stage.

Client: ATTWATER GROUP -

Problem: Potential high levels of dust and excessive workspace heating costs

The Attwater Group are specialists in the manufacture of industrial laminates, insulating materials and carbon composites for a wide variety of applications. Their success has led to an increase in the production rate of components, however as the machining involved in producing their products generates large volumes of dust, which had threatened to overwhelm the existing extraction systems. The extracted air was vented into the atmosphere, resulting in high energy consumption costs to heat the replacement air and maintain a comfortable working environment.

Solution:

Aerotherm installed two custom designed extraction systems, incorporating high efficiency HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) quality filter media, which enabled the filtered air to be returned to the work areas. On the larger of the two systems (39,000 m³/hr of air) an innovative return air system was designed and installed, returning 75 per cent of the filtered air back to the work area.

A new feature was also added to the extraction systems, whereby the system supplied was provided with general purpose detachable vacuum hoses.

Benefits:

This system has resulted in a much more comfortable working environment with stable temperatures, cleaner air within the factory and a large decrease in heating costs. The energy savings are dependent on external temperatures. An example of this is if the external temperature is 0˚C then the energy saving will be greater than 191 kW/hr to maintain 20˚C in the workshops.

Client: DYSON DOMESTIC CERAMICS -

Problem:

Dyson Domestic Ceramics (DDC), manufacturers of a variety of ceramic fibre artificial coals had developed and installed a new manufacturing system for one of their products which resulted in high levels of ammonia being given off during the drying/curing process. These concentration levels would have been above both the permitted Worker Exposure Levels (WEL) and the EPA emissions to atmosphere.

Aerotherm staff were approached to design a system to satisfy both parameters so that production could commence safely and within the regulations.

Solution:

Aerotherm's solution was the design and installation of a comprehensive fume extraction system, incorporating an impingement plate gas scrubber, using dilute sulphuric acid as the scrubbing liquor.

Benefits:

The extraction process exceeded the high cleansing standards specified by our client.In addition, the resultant spent scrubbing liquid was acid rich ammonium sulphate; Aerotherm staff advised Dyson that this had commercial value, as it is the basic constituent of many fertiliser products.

Consequently, Dyson was able to sell the spent liquor and to avoid disposal costs - an extremely cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution.

Client: AUGUSTA WESTLAND HELICOPTERS -

Problem:

In order to save energy and reduce costs Westland were undertaking a project to progressively decommission their boiler houses but, before this could be done, they were faced with the problem of heating several of the chemical tanks on the Blade Treatment Line.

Solution:

Aerotherm staff designed and installed a complete new heating system including electric immersion heaters, level sensors - monitoring high and low liquid levels - and a new intermediate control panel linked to the main control panel. Safety features included automatic heat cut-off as result of over temperature, low liquid level and high liquid level as well as automatic liquid supply pump cut-off to prevent overfilling.

Benefits:

The client was able to successfully decommission the boiler houses, without any disruption to production, with the new system providing reliable heating and also the bonus of added safety features.

Client: H.J.HEINZ - Chilled and frozen foods

Problem:

Located in rural Norfolk this plant processes potatoes to produce a variety of part fried potato products. Heinz management initiated a project to further reduce odours being emitted from the site.

Solution:

Aerotherm staff were contacted to investigate and resolve the situation. Our investigation confirmed that the equipment installed was no longer capable of performing to the customer's high standards.

The company had installed a total of three fume scrubbers over a period of time. The first of these was a void type water spray unit, after which a packed bed unit had been fitted followed by a ‘bio bed’ unit. These three were fitted in series and interlinked with ductwork.

Our staff proposed a modification to the primary void scrubber by fitting a new collection/sump tank under the scrubber and installing a two stage automatic chemical dosing system complete with ph control. The primary stage dosing liquor was caustic soda to break down the fats and the second stage liquor sodium hypochlorite to oxidise the odours.

Benefits:

This resulted in a drastic reduction in the odour emissions, surpassing the standards set by Heinz.

Client: CROWN AEROSOLS - Aerosol container manufacturer

Problem:

Neighbours to the factory were complaining about noise levels, especially during the night.

Solution:

Aerotherm staff identified the noise as coming through the plant room louvered doors. The frequency and pressure of the fugitive sound was identified and Aerotherm then designed and supplied acoustic screening systems to capture the sound emissions.

Benefits:

Noise levels are reduced/subdued to a level more acceptable to the neighbours.

Client: CROWN AEROSOLS - Aerosol container manufacturer

Problem:

Plant room overheating causing chiller units to cut out with subsequent failure of vacuum pumps. This was causing severe interruption to production, especially during warmer months.

Solution:

Extraction hoods were placed directly onto the chiller unit cabinets to facilitate full removal the units of the vented hot air. Not only do the hoods prevent this warm air from entering the plant room but it assists in the cooling operation of the chillers. A suitably sized air input fan was also installed to ensure adequate replacement air.

Benefits:

Plant room does not now overheat and therefore no down time for production.

Client: GOODRICH - International aerospace company

Problem: Extraction system that was ineffective and difficult to use

Goodrich invited Aerotherm to assist with their continuous improvements programme. In a critical production area, Goodrich found that the operatives had difficulty using the existing extraction system.

Their risk assessment procedures emphasised the urgent requirement for an improved ergonomically designed solution.

Solution:

Aerotherm designed, manufactured and installed a new extraction system that was easy to use and enabled the operators to adjust extraction arms to accommodate different sizes and widths of aircraft wheels. The best-performing filter unit was selected with HEPA filters, allowing the filtered air to return to the workplace.

Benefits:

Operatives now use the extraction system which is effective in removing the cadmium dust particles and saving energy through the recycling of air to the workplace.

Client: INTERNATIONAL FASTENER MANUFACTURER -

Problem: Production expansion and insufficient electrical power supply

The client had ordered an additional electric furnace from Aerotherm. However, Aerotherm surveys determined that the electrical supply was insufficient to run the new furnace alongside existing ones.

Solution:

Aerotherm changed the design of this new furnace to gas fired, to enable the furnace to be operated at any time. The result was a furnace that actually gave the client a faster production rate - and this led to two further gas fired furnaces being ordered, complete with car transfer system and product handling system.

Benefits:

Using an Aerotherm state of the art control system, the plant is now operated with fewer operators. The client congratulated Aerotherm on their design solution and resultant operating cost reductions.

Client: TECHNOLOG -

Problem: Hazardous solvent fumes

The Technolog Group manufacture smart metering solutions for water, gas and electricity.

Technolog requested Aerotherm to assist in their LEV system improvement programme, with particular focus on the reduction in the requirement to use breathing masks.

Solution:

Aerotherm designed, manufactured and installed three bespoke extraction systems to achieve the client's objectives. and to comply with all current legislation.

Benefits:

The benefits to the client are a clean and healthy working atmosphere and masks are no longer required by operatives in the designated areas.

Client: SUNSEEKER INTERNATIONAL - Builder of world renowned yachts & motor cruisers

Problem: Inadequate dust & fume extraction

Sunseeker planned to use an existing production area to prepare large yacht moulds. the existing dust extraction system would have been totally inadequate  for the new process.

Solution:

Aerotherm staff were commissioned to supply and install a dual-purpose extraction system to remove paint fumes during spraying and particulate removal. during surface remediation operations.

Benefits:

The result for Sunseeker was a single, efficient system that provided high levels of extraction, exceeding clint specified performance standards.

Client: LOCKHEED MARTIN - International aerospace, security & IT company

Problem: Failing oven causing downtime and high repair costs

Lockheed had serious operational issues with an existing 13 metre “coffin” oven, that had been supplied by another manufacturer. Lockheed had failure problems requiring repeated replacement of the fan, heater battery and element connections, resulting in considerable downtime and expense.

Solution:

Further to the separate supply of a composite cure oven, Lockheed approached Aerotherm to modify the problem coffin oven. We designed, supplied and installed a high efficiency heating and supply fan arrangement using a purpose-designed fan unit and heater battery.

Benefits:

Lockheed have congratulated Aerotherm on resolution of all their operational issues. The oven performance (temperature uniformity) is greatly improved and reliability is no longer an issue. Significant energy savings have also been achieved through implementation of the Aerotherm solution.

Client: IDEAL STANDARD -

Problem: High energy consumption and costs

Large workspace areas requiring heating and heavy energy consumption by drying kilns.

Solution:

Aerotherm designed and installed new dual purpose systems – to pre-dry products, whilst also re-using waste heat from the kiln to heat the factory workplace.

Benefits:

The Aerotherm system gives great flexibility, energy savings and lower maintenance costs.

Client: IDEAL STANDARD -

Problem: High operating cost of compressed air system

The compressed air kiln system was costing Ideal Standard £250 per day to run.

Solution:

Aerotherm designed and installed an air blower system to their kiln, replacing the compressed air system. The new air blower system costs Ideal Standard approximately £25 per day.

Benefits:

Electricity savings of £225 per day (~£50,000 p.a.) and reduced maintenance costs.

Client: HENKEL -

Problem: Inadequate heating & ventilation in large merged work area

Henkel Consumer Adhesives, manufacturers of several well known brands of DIY adhesives recently consolidated four of their existing workshops & a warehouse into an open plan area. This created a problem in achieving adequate heating and ventilation of the area. Aerotherm were tasked with providing an effective, low cost solution.

Solution:

The existing supply and extraction ducts serving the various areas were dismantled and reconfigured at high level around the perimeters of the workshop. Also, ten variable speed de-stratification fans were installed below the roof to re-distribute the heat from high level around the work area. The de-stratification fans can also be run at high speed in summer to provide comfort cooling air movement.

Benefits:

The major benefit to the client is that they now have a more efficient open plan work area without having to install any additional heating or relocate any existing heating - and the lowest practical installation and running cost. The distribution ducts have also been configured to accommodate heating and/or cooling coils at a later date, should these be required, thereby reducing any future installation costs.

Client: ECOMOLD -

Problem: Oven failure impacting production efficiency and unit costs

Ecomold, manufacturers of a variety of component parts for the automotive industry were experiencing problems producing satisfactory expanded polyurethane foam gaskets for their products. Producing the gaskets at ambient conditions used excessive amounts of raw material and resulted in a high reject rate at QC inspection stage.

Solution:

Aerotherm staff were contracted to design and manufacture a continuous conveyor oven with a 12 minute curing cycle at 55˚C and 85% relative humidity, capable of curing a minimum of 150 components per hour with zero rejects.  A complete humidity controlled curing system incorporating steam generation, materials handling and heating was designed, produced and installed which exceeded client specifications.

Following production trials and commissioning of the oven, gaskets of the desired quality were produced with the oven set at 50˚C and 85% relative humidity.

Benefits:

The benefits to Ecomold were a saving of over £200 per day (£50,000 p.a.) in raw materials thanks to the efficient foaming of the polyurethane and an energy saving of some 35 kW/hour by using the lower temperature setting.

Client: ATTWATER GROUP -

Problem: Potential high levels of dust and excessive workspace heating costs

The Attwater Group are specialists in the manufacture of industrial laminates, insulating materials and carbon composites for a wide variety of applications. The customer's sucess has led to an increase in the production rate of components. The machining involved in producing these components generates large extra volumes of dust and waste and threatened to outgrow the existing extraction systems. Also the extracted air was vented to atmosphere, which resulted in high energy consumption to heat up the replacement air to maintain comfortable working conditions.

Solution:

In January 2009 Aerotherm installed two custom-designed extraction systems, incorporating high efficiency HEPA quality filter media, which enables the filtered air to be returned to the work areas.  On the larger of the two systems (39,000 m³/hr of air) an innovative return air system was designed and installed, returning approximately 75% of the filtered air to the factory environment.

An additional facility - the new extraction systems have sufficient power to be utilised as vacuum cleaning systems; the system was therefore supplied with general purpose detachable vacuum hoses.

Benefits:

This system has resulted in much more comfortable working temperatures and cleaner air within the factory, with a large decrease in heating costs. The energy savings are dependent on external temperatures but, as an example, if the external temperature is 0˚C then the energy saving will be greater than191 kW/hr to maintain 20˚C in the workshops.