Precise Temperature Control
Established 60 years ago, TRB Lightweight Structures is a leading OEM for the rail, aerospace, defence and marine industries, designing and manufacturing tailor-made lightweight solutions and bespoke fabricated assemblies.
The company uses advanced processes and manufacturing techniques to produce Cellite panels that are subsequently fabricated and assembled into finished, ready to install products, from train doors and interiors, aircraft galleys, satellite components to race car chassis.
TRB Lightweight Structures’ Huntingdon site covers over 9000m² and includes multi-daylight heated platen presses, metal pre-treatment, CNC machining, large ovens for vacuum moulding, full painting facilities and a clean assembly area.
Adapting to Change
Facilities Manager Barry Kimber has been integral in ensuring the manufacturing facilities and processes are maintained at peak efficiency together with meeting the developing needs of the business. At the heart of this recent development has been a move away from steam heated platen presses to a thermal fluid heating and cooling system, whilst at the same time installing new platens that completes the investment programme.
Barry explains his decision to replace the steam heating system: “When I joined TRB, we were using two steam generators to heat the presses, with water cooling and condense return systems. The water in a steam system can become corrosive as acid builds up in the condensate, which can lead to damage in the pipework, and although we had converted to stainless steel pipes, we were always aware of the potential environmental impact. The boilers were old and were becoming expensive to run and, conscious of the possible safety issues of using an 8 bar steam process, we made the decision to investigate other systems.”
Let the Software Help
This is made all the easier with the software taking automatic readings every six seconds. The data is readily retrievable by simply downloading onto a flash drive. Statistical information is then available in a variety of formats, including clear graphs.
The software operates the new Babcock Wanson Temperature Control Units on each press. They are connected to both the heating and cooling distribution loops to automatically feed the hot and cold fluid to each press as and when required meaning that each part of the line can be at a different part of the thermal cycle at any given time.
For Barry and TRB, the new heating and cooling system has provided a genuine competitive edge. “Control of temperature is very important to the product and therefore to the business as a whole” states Barry. “With the new system and software, we can be highly accurate with the temperature control which not only increases the range of products the company can process but also considerably increases panel capacity.
It’s also a lot more compact. “We have now removed the old boiler house, the treatment system and the oil tank. We no longer need these as the thermal fluid system is fuelled by gas. It makes for a much cleaner, safer and easier system to manage on top of all the other benefits.”
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