A world of technology

Coleherne, a manufacturer of hydrodynamic bearings, many of which are supplied to the oil and gas sector, wanted to improve the working environment at its Hyde, Cheshire, manufacturing facility, and it turned to Jemtech (UK) (01825 767640) to provide a two-fold solution to eliminating the problem of coolant mist in the air. The products machined by Coleherne require some heavy duty metalcutting and the previous cutting fluid was generating steam from the heat created in that process, which became a 'smog' that hung in the air of the factory. The installation of Cleanmist oil air mist filters and use of Blaser's B-cool cutting fluids has significantly improved the working environment, with a further bonus that this combination of cutting fluid and filtration is allowing Coleherne to increase cutting data, reduce cycle times and improve overall delivery performance for its customers. Image: Jemtech significantly improved the working environment for Coleherne The addition of Cleanmist oil air mist filters has helped to drastically reduce the amount of mist escaping to the atmosphere, while the use of Blaser Swisslube B-Cool 655 water miscible cutting fluid allowed cutting data to be increased, without any detrimental effect on cutting tool performance. "As a business, the cost of manufacture is extremely important, but there are hidden costs that need to be taken into account. Since making this switch to Blaser cutting fluids and the Cleanmist filters, the health and safety and working environment aspects of our business have improved. This has a cost benefit to the business, as we have eliminated the skin issues that we had before the change. People are not taking time off as a result and the morale on the shopfloor has improved," reports Coleherne's machine shop manager, Jeremy Taylor. But the oil and gas industry is global, as is much manufacturing technology, and Haas machine tools (01603 760539) have found a home in one Indian company's factory. Parveen Oilfield, Mumbai (picture, above), was established in 1960, but in 1983 it diversified to meet increasing demand from the Indian oil industry. It has since grown to be a leader in the design, development and manufacture of oilfield equipment, and is also an exporter of the technology – about 70% leaves India, in fact. Works director NH Jeswani explains: "Not long after our first few contracts with companies in the oil and gas sector, we started designing and manufacturing products ourselves. We began by producing basic wire-line service tools and pipe fittings for the oil industry in India, before gradually increasing our product portfolio for the export market." Today, Parveen Oilfield has its headquarters – with 110 employees – near Mumbai, another smaller facility in the older part of Mumbai, plus a further two facilities in Delhi, where a third is shortly to be constructed. Across all facilities, Parveen employs around 500 people and has a range of around 300 products. The Parveen portfolio includes the design and manufacture of a wide range of equipment – for cementing, coil-tubing pressure control, gas lifts, rotary drilling, sub-surface flow control, sucker rods, well heads, Christmas trees, 'fishing' and logging tools, and valves. In fact, the firm does almost anything and everything needed, above and below the surface, for all phases of oil and gas exploration. About three years ago, the company replaced some of its older India-manufactured machine tools with CNC technology. Mr Jeswani had seen Haas machines at an exhibition in Mumbai, where the Pune-based Haas Factory Outlet, a division of Omira Marketing Pvt, had a stand. "Cost and quality were the primary reasons why we opted to purchase a Haas SL-30 big-bore CNC turning centre," he says. "Of course, so many oilfield products and components are tubular that it made sense to start with a turning machine." Image: Parveen Oilfield opted for Haas technology when upgrading its facility Image: Parveen Oilfield's NH Jeswani SUCCESS BREEDS INVESTMENT The success of the Haas SL-30 prompted Parveen to add to its Haas armoury, recently purchasing a further four machines: another SL-30, an EC-1600 horizontal machining centre, a VF-5 50-taper vertical machining centre fitted with a Haas HRT-450 rotary table and an SL-40 turning centre with an SMW indexing chuck, designed specifically to allow machining of all the faces of steel valves in a single setup. "The Haas machines have proved very reliable," explains Mr Jeswani. "The company works around the clock, so reliability is a key factor. We have also experienced improved productivity and higher output rates since the machines were installed." Moving to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and Cougar Tool employs 14 MAG VDF DUS lathes (0121 306 5600) to support its business. The machines play a lead role in the company's machine shops, where they are used to manufacture Cougar's line of specialised downhole tools, as well as refurbish rented tools and produce prototype designs. Boring holes to 813 mm depth, profiling internally and externally, or cutting/re-cutting threads, the conversationally programmed machines are a key element in producing precision, large, heavy parts in short runs. "We compete with the best in every corner of the globe from our 100,000 ft2 Edmonton facility, so cost-efficient manufacture of turned parts is a core competency," manufacturing manager Gary Spencer explains. "Our shop is also key to our R&D capability and the ability to add one-off R&D parts into our work flow, with programming by the operator on the shopfloor, has been a big plus for me." Cougar Tool is a family-owned, global business with facilities in Canada, the US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Most manufacturing takes place at the ISO-certified Edmonton facility. Its product lines include single and double-acting drilling jars, shock tools, Mech-Thrusters, mud motors, drill bit protection devices, stabilisers/reamers and a range of support tools. About 80% of the company's approximate $50 million in annual sales is derived from rental business, so its machine shop is constantly refurbishing worn and damaged tools to ensure availability. "We are also developing new lines all the time, always looking for new points of entry into the market," Mr Spencer adds. Image: Cougar is a global business headquartered in Canada. It uses MAG VDF heavy duty lathe technology Its tools commonly operate in deep, hot wells, and are subjected to high torques and corrosive environments. As a result, the company is a heavy user of high carbon steels, such as 4330 VMod and 4145, heat treated and stress relieved. Image: Heavy forgings are part of Cougar's daily challenge The company's MAG VDF 560 DUS machines take parts up to 1,829 mm long and 254-304 mm diameter, while its VDF 800 DUS handles parts weighing up to 4 tonnes, 2,794 mm in length and held in an 18" chuck, with swing over bed 820 mm. Box item Tackling large parts [] MAG's new VDF 800 DUS Big Bore CNC lathe (0121 306 5600) has a 365 mm (14 inch) spindle diameter, 820 mm swing over bed, 8,000 kg part capacity and 20 kN Z-axis cutting force. Its main drive is rated at 37 kW continuous, 55 kW maximum, offering 7,200 Nm torque max. Turning length is 1, 2, 3 or 4 m as standard; up to 20 m optional. [] MAG's new vertical turning centres, with 5 to 8 m tables, are engineered to make short work of large part manufacturing for a variety of industries, including wind and nuclear. Ram travel is 2,500 mm; minimum height under the rail is 1,500 mm. Image: MAG IAS' large VTL [] XYZ Machine Tools (01823 674200) has recently added the 410 mm spindle bore XYZ Oil Country CNC lathe to its range. Available ex-stock as a 3 m distance between centres machine (options range from 1.5 m to 16 m), the 85 hp/3-250 rpm lathe features Siemens 840D conversational ShopTurn control and a one-piece 544 mm wide bed, with induction-hardened and ground slideways. First published in Machinery, February 2011