Emergency Repair of Large Industrial Equipment Puts Metal Recycling Shredder Back In Operation
There are some hydraulics or equipment repair jobs that can be done anywhere. However, there are also jobs that, due to the size of the machine or other factors, must be performed in place to ensure the safety and effectiveness of your equipment. For these tasks, you want a company that brings the perfect balance of experience, knowledge, and equipment to the job. You want to know that the job is done right to protect the safety of your workers and the success of your operation.
Devine Hydraulics has the qualifications that customers need to take care of their machinery and maintain operations at maximum efficiency. Recently, Devine Hydraulics helped a customer who had an equipment breakdown. The inability to operate their machinery was costing the owner almost $100k per day, so they needed to get the repair job done quickly.
Half-Ton Bearing Breakdown Causes High-Cost Downtime
A metal recycling company encountered trouble when a half-ton bearing in an industrial metal shredder overheated and fused to the tapered shaft. The company called on Devine Hydraulics because they had already established a relationship with them for hydraulic systems repair and maintenance in the past. They knew that Devine Hydraulics would have the expertise needed to get their machine back on track fast, and would be equipped and available to perform the entire repair that had to take place on-site in addition to having the machinery in-shop to re-manufacture the bearing housing back to original tolerances.
The size of the job along with the severity of the damage to the equipment made it a challenging repair, but the mobile repair team was able to work both onsite and in the Devine Hydraulics facility to get the piece of equipment back up and running as quickly as possible.
On-site Repairs Restore Fused Industrial Bearing
The bearing within the industrial metal shredder had overheated to such an extent that it had welded itself together, rendering the machine inoperable. The part itself, however, was over 1000lbs, which means that it had to be lifted by a crane. The inability to use this machine was costing them nearly $100k a day in unplanned downtime, so they needed professionals who understood how important it was to resolve the issue quickly.
Devine’s mobile repair unit was dispatched and determined that effectively repairing the equipment would require cutting the fused bearing apart for disassembly. Once apart and dismantled, it was determined that the bearing had also spun in the housing causing severe wear (about .130 oversize), extensive cast iron welding,. The bearing housing would also have to be turned in one ofour large lathes — this piece weighed about 1000 lbs. and swung at 54” diameter— to remove the excess metal and be machined back to the original size of 480mm bore.
The team set about repairing the damage to the bearing, spending over 16 hours welding the inside of the bearing housing. With the help of a crane to lift up the heavy equipment, they were able to transport the bearing to their Uncasville, CT, facility to weld and machine the bearing housing. The work was challenging, but they were able to successfully get the bore back to within 2/1,000 of an inch of true, allowing the new bearing to be reinstalled and making it operational once again.
Devine Hydraulics’ Mobile Repair Team Is On-Call for Your Equipment Emergencies
When it comes to making sure that your machinery is properly maintained and repaired, you can only trust someone with the experience, knowledge, and equipment needed to get the job done correctly. At Devine Hydraulics, the responsive mobile hydraulic repair unit can bring these talents to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
A breakdown in machinery can easily result in losing tens of thousands of dollars a day. Do not waste time with long delays or inexperienced, poorly equipped contractors. If you find yourself with hydraulic systems and heavy machinery in need of repair, trust no one but Devine to get it done fast and get it done right.
Experiencing unexpected downtime due to malfunctioning or broken large-scale equipment? Contact Devine today for fast, reliable mobile repair and we’ll get you back to work.
