Plasticraft and Crane Care provide metals finishing plant for Hawker Pacific

Citation

(2001), "Plasticraft and Crane Care provide metals finishing plant for Hawker Pacific", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 73 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2001.12773bab.014

Plasticraft and Crane Care provide metals finishing plant for Hawker Pacific

Plasticraft and Crane Care provide metals finishing plant for Hawker Pacific

Keywords Plasticraft, Crane Care, Hawker Pacific, Metal finishing

Pacific Aerospace is one of the leading specialists in the repair and overhaul of aircraft and helicopter landing gear, hydromechanical components, wheels, brakes and braking systems.

The company employs over 500 people and operates in the USA, Holland and the UK. Hawker Pacific has a large and diverse international customer base, which includes commercial airlines, air cargo operators, domestic government, agencies, aircraft leasing companies, aircraft parts distributors and OEMS.

In early 1998 the company significantly expanded its UK operation by acquiring the landing gear division of British Airways and relocating in June 1999 to a new purpose-built 142,000sq. ft facility near Heathrow Airport in London.

Roy Lavender, facility manager at Hawker Pacific says: "When we initially acquired the British Airways landing gear business we worked at the division's existing premises which was a multi-purpose British Airways hanger situated at Heathrow".

"The move into the new premises", explains Roy Lavender, "was based on the fact that we needed facilities which would not only be able to accommodate future growth, but would also facilitate the integration of all production processes under one roof, which in turn would provide the benefits of improved operational economy, production control and efficiency".

A fundamental requirement for the new premises was the installation of a state-of-the-art electroplating and treatments facility. The £1.6m turnkey project was put out to tender and the contract subsequently awarded to process plant and environmental control specialists for the surface finishing industries, Plasticraft.

Roy Lavender explains:

The metal finishing section, also known as the plating shop, plays an integral role in the repair process of components. Typical processes include cadmium, nickel and hard chromium plating, phosphating, nital etch, sulphuric etching, waxing and associated stripping processes.

The original brief to Cannock-based Plasticraft was to design, manufacture and install a new "flow line" processing facility together with an effluent treatment plant which would meet the strict operational standards required by the Environmental Agency.

Brian Harvey, technical sales manager at Plasticraft comments:

Naturally we were delighted to win the contract. However, although we were ultimately responsible for overseeing and managing the entire project from start to finish, we still needed to source a company or companies to provide the steel structural work, together with overhead traveling crane systems for the transfer of components during the treatment process.

"Fortunately for us", continues Brian Harvey, "we were introduced to materials handling specialists, Birmginham-based Crane Care Ltd. Crane Care were not only able to fabricate and install all the necessary steel work", continues Brian, "but also manufactured and installed the overhead traveling cranes in the plant together with the remote control equipment required to operate them".

Roy Lavender at Hawker Pacific says:

A key requirement in the design stage was to come up with a layout which would provide a variety of efficient and flexible process routes, whilst segregating incompatible processes. Our technicians therefore worked closely with Plasticraft, who in turned worked with Crane Care to do just that.

The size of components which are repaired by Hawker Pacific varies immensely and therefore required conventional sized hand operated manual process tanks which are 1m deep together with process tanks of up to 5m deep for the larger components.

Brian Harvey says: "To accommodate tanks of this size, a large sump was constructed in the building floor of sufficient size to also house storage tanks. The use of supporting steel structures left the process tanks protruding one metre above normal flat floor level for operator safety."

The plant room is operational on two levels. At flat floor level open mesh walkways are installed for operator access, which enables a clean line operation from the concrete structured factory floor to the electroplating area.

The lower level enables services to be installed below the operator level, giving an open view across the process area. All wall and floor areas have been protected with a chemically resistant screed in the unlikely event of spillage.

Hoists and underslung cranes (Plate 4) are used to move components between process lines with the minimum of effort, complication and cost as Derek Barnbrook, managing director at Crane Care Ltd explains:

The initial design of the material handling equipment was based on what was existing in the old workshops. Using electrically operated turntables to divert the loads over the required tanks. These turntables and tracks were secured to the existing steel roof structure.

The initial design concept would have worked but proved expensive to supply and install, especially considering the large amount of support steel work that would have been required in the new building as the roof structure was not designed to accept the extra load imposed by the lifting equipment.

Plate 4 Crane Care radio controlled overhead travelling crane system in operation at Hawker Pacific Aerospace

The new design was based on installing a matrix of support steel work in the roof structure of the new building, supported on free standing compound girders which would also be strong enough to secure the floor at the top of the 5 metre pit. A series of runway beams were positioned over the centre lines of the process tanks. These would be linked at the end and in the middle by three small underslung power operated cranes, at each runway/crane joint there was a manually operated switch point with electrical interlocks.

As all the equipment was 10 metres above floor level and operation of the hoists would have been cantilevered away from the centre of the tank with a pendant arm to prevent the operator from leaning over the process tanks to retrieve the pendants, we decided the equipment would work more efficiently and safely by installing radio control to the existing hoist units, which were only three years old.

This was an easy solution for Crane Care as the company is the sole UK distributor for HBC Radio Controls, which are manufactured with a high degree of flexibility and can be retrofitted to most existing crane and hoist systems.

The installation of the equipment also posed a challenge for Crane Care. In addition to the work program being very tight, access was also very restricted due to the large (35 metres deep and 30 metres square) pit situated in the building. A detailed method statement was therefore developed using hydraulic access equipment and cranes which were lowered into the pit for the duration of the contract.

Another design prerequisite for Plasticraft was to install the plant with an economical method of process heating.

Brian Harvey says:

The system installed at Hawker Pacific uses thermal fluid and has two heat generators fired by gas. Both of these are in use during the initial heat up of solutions and once up to required temperature, remain in standby mode operation, so that solution temperatures are kept to specification.

In addition to providing a cost effective and reliable heating solution, Plasticraft also needed to incorporate an effective and environmentally friendly effluent treatment system in the plant.

Brian Harvey says:

As Hawker Pacific did not wish to discharge any trade waste to sewer, the installation of an effluent treatment system certainly proved to be a challenge. However, this was resolved with the installation of water recycling and purification system.

All processes and methods are compliant to ensure Hawker Pacific Aerospace meets the exacting standards of the Environmental Agency as the processes' Regulatory Authority.

Ion exchange columns were supplied for the treatment of re-circulated water. Duty and standby systems are fitted so that a supply is always available whilst one unit is under regeneration.

Effluent from the ion exchange regeneration is neutralised and the resultant sludge is stored and taken away by an approved contractor. The liquor remaining from settlement is then passed through an evaporator and condenser to reduce the mass. Condensate is then returned to the re-circulation loop and the reduced more concentrated mass is again stored, then removed from site by approved and authorised waste disposal contractors.

Roy Lavender from Hawker Pacific concludes:

We are delighted with performance of the plating shop so far. The installation process was extremely smooth and to deadline. Both Plasticraft and Crane Care both provided an outstanding service, providing us with the best possible facilities, which in turn will help us provide our customers with a more cost effective and efficient service.

Further details are available from Crane Care Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1572 724932; Fax: +44 (0)1572 724933.