Cutting a global printing ink manufacturer’s plant downtime from four weeks to four days while eliminating the risk of £600,000 losses on four newly-commissioned Pfaudler glass-lined reactors
Client challenge
Four Pfaudler Flexeal UF8 seal cartridge failures on new Pfaudler Balfour glass-lined reactors posed serious production losses for a client for which no spare seal cartridges were available.
NASH was called in to identify and eliminate the problem urgently on four liquid lubricated double seal cartridges (sizes 100mm, 125mm and 140mm).
Our response
Working closely with Pfaudler, NASH swiftly explained to the client the root causes of their problems. We also provided information to prevent any future recurrence.
Stripping and evaluating the seal cartridges sent to us overnight, we found:
- Outboard rotary carbon seal face blistering and chipping caused by poor fluid film formation
Our service history inspection also discovered:
- Low seal barrier liquid viscosity
- Unusually high barrier liquid pressure
- Drive systems not rotated for six months prior to commissioning
As a result of our work:
- Each seal was repaired and tested to original specifications within 48-hours
- Seals were returned to site overnight and re-fitted the following day
- A higher viscosity barrier fluid was introduced; seal system pressure was reduced
Benefits
- Plant downtime was reduced from four weeks to four days
- Production cost savings totalled £600,000
- The client was able to meet their own customer commitments
- Future problems were avoided