Breakthrough Motor Project for CAW
With Killarney Gardens-based Cape Armature Winders’ multi-million rand new test bay and submersible pump testing facility just recently completed, the company has already made a major breakthrough with the re-conditioning of a 1.35MW thruster motor for a marine vessel repair by Dormac.
George Epenetos, commercial director of Cape Armature Winders, says because of the size of the eight pole motor it would normally have been sent to a Johannesburg engineering facility for repairs. “Thanks to our state of the art facility, the only one of its kind in the Western Cape, we completed the project within time and on budget, he says.
“The work entailed the dismantling, rewinding, assembly and commissioning of the electrical motor and we completed it within two weeks.” He points out that had it been undertaken up North, the completion period would have been much longer “and more expensive too.”
Features of the facility include an increase in current to 1 600 amp AC and DC supply with a crainage feed capacity of 40 tons. Epenetos points out that the testing facility can handle motors up to 6 600 Volts. Importantly, whereas all industry motors run at 50Hz, those used in marine applications – including oil rigs – run at 60 Hz and these too can now be tested by Cape Armature Winders.
The pump test facility can undertake tests at operating conditions, according to Epenetos, which will determine to ISO 9906 the performance of any pump and motor set providing computerized test reports. A test certificate on performance will be available with any repair. “We will provide a reliable, OEM quality service for maintenance and repair with centralised responsibility, accountability and guarantee.
You can entrust us with your expensive asset with the knowledge that specialists will take care of every element of the repair process,” Epenetos says. Because the facility can provide vertical mounting capabilities many more pump and motor sets are expected to be engineered. Already the Dept. of Water Affairs of the Western Cape Province recently tasked Cape Armature Winders with repairing three of its larger pumps used at its dams.