News
CPM Awarded IEC Ex Certification 001
(01/05/2008)
CPM have recently been awarded the Certificate of Competence No. 001 for the repair and overhaul of Explosive Atmosphere Equipment to the new IEC 60079-19 2006/7 standard
CPM is one of a handful of repair companies to achieve the standard, and the only one in the
The training programme was written by the Electrical Apparatus Service Association’s (EASA) World Chapter, assessed by SIRA Certification Service and accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service). CPM have operators and ‘responsible’ persons trained to work to this standard which will allow them to repair and overhaul equipment in keeping with the standard or certificate to which it was manufactured and issue a certificate of conformity. For more information on how CPM can help you meet current standards, call or email dgriffin@cpm-uk.com
Pictured here is a CPM engineer receiving his certificate from SIRA at a recent presentation at the Belfry.
CPM Careers: Challenging & Rewarding Roles
(29/04/2008)
Due to continued expansion of the business, we are currently seeking to appoint key personnel in managerial, commercial, technical and skilled roles.
So if you have the experience and drive to cut it with the NW's leading plant maintenance company, then we'd like to hear from you.
See our Recruitment Page for full details on how to apply for any of our currently advertised positions
CPM Achieves Fully Accredited Status with Otis
(10/08/2007)
CPM and our UK - wide industrial electronics division NDC have recently secured Otis accreditation to attend site unsupervised in order to effect repairs.
This means our engineers are now able to lock-off lifts in order to effect repairs to motors, electro-mechanical and electronic equipment on a 24/7 call out basis. This accreditation complements the approved contractor status held by CPM and NDC to undertake workshop-based repairs and assessments with many of the leading lift companies in the UK and Ireland.
For further information on this new addition to our lift service portfolio, contact us.
Vibration Analysis in Rotating Equipment
(10/08/2007)
What do all electro-mechanical machines have in common - vibration! Best practice of course dictates that we monitor and restrict it within given parameters. However, as we shall see, this requires specialist knowledge and sophisticated equipment.
The causes of vibration (in various directions and frequencies) are related to specific abnormalities i.e. shaft misalignment, bearing support weakness and mechanical imbalance of the rotating system. Each tends to produce characteristic vibration patterns which is how CPM are able to utilize VA in the diagnosis and rectification of customers’ problems.
Almost exclusively we see Lateral Vibration, either; axial, vertical or horizontal. Measuring such movement through displacement and velocity is something our engineers do daily. Occasionally we encounter an additional form: Torsional Vibration. This is a twisting and untwisting movement , a much more complex property that presents far greater difficulties in measurement and interpretation. All such vibrations are also subject to Resonance. This is the match between an exciting force (usually the machine RPM or a multiple of it, and a natural response frequency inherent to the structure). This can have some profound effects as we shall see later.
Torsional Vibration is unavoidably present during the acceleration of both induction and synchronous motors typically at nominal frequency or a multiple of it. Such transient vibrations can be destructive occasionally leading to breakage of large-diameter shafts.
In one case that CPM attended our engineers noted that torque transients during motor start up were six times the rated full-load torque and this was further compounded by resonance causing a factor increase of x20 rated full load torque. Reduced Voltage Starting was eventually utilised to resolve the problem. This however can be a costly addition and may also result in an unacceptably low overall accelerating torque.
We have known motor shaft failure occurring after only 90 starts and some 7000 hours. In each case a torsional fatigue crack had originated at the root of the shaft extension keyway.
Our studies found torque oscillations during starting were as high as ten times rated torque and the value exceeded four times rated torque during normal operation. Resonance was once again the issue and we were able to eliminate most of this torque amplification by the installation of a resilient coupling.
Measurement & Interpretation:
Conventional instrumentation is based on the detection of linear motion within the vibrating component. This motion is converted by our engineers to readings of displacement, velocity or acceleration and identifiable frequencies. Torsional Vibration however cannot be readily translated into a linear motion, so that we require a different set of techniques to measure and interpret it.
CPM Engineers deploy a number of methods:
- A high resolution Tachometer coupled to the system. It’s instantaneous output will exhibit a variation reflecting both the magnitude and frequency of any torsional vibration present.
- Encoder / Resolver devices can also be used if they can be attached to some part of the rotation system.
- A Laser-based instrument is also an option.
- An additional method uses torsional load cells responsive to the shaft strain or distortion produced by the stress alternations.
Its Our Birthday!
(10/08/2007)
This autumn marks the 20th anniversary of CPM Engineering opening its doors in Trafford Park.
The foundations of the company were forged in 1987 when Fletcher Bickerton constructed a £1 million state-of-the art manufacturing and service hub at Trafford Park to support the electro-mechanical service and repair market in the north west. A decade of robust expansion later, and Northern Drives and Controls was formed as an industrial electronics division to service the regions’ emerging new technologies in power electronics and plant automation. Twenty-years on, both companies continue to excel in their respective fields, gaining a reputation amongst maintenance, service and engineering professionals for ‘getting the job done’.
During 1999 the company changed its name to CPM Engineering. It was felt that the name change (Complete Plant Maintenance Engineering) better illustrated the company’s range of capabilities and core services:
Electric Motor Repairs
Condition Based Monitoring
Asset Management Programmes
Plant Maintenance and Repair
Overhauls and Refurbishment
On-Site Services and Balancing
Installation and Project Management
Machining and Fabrication
Gearbox Refurbishments
Pump Repairs & Overhauls
1999 proved to be a definitive year in the growth of both companies. That same year NDC relocated to a dedicated 6,000 sq foot electronics laboratory and service centre in Trafford Park, and the company acquired the McCall Electronics Company in Hampshire to consolidate and progress its position in the UK electronics and automation market. Since then NDC has added two additional custom-built service centres to the Manchester facility, one at Slough and the other at a greenfield site in the midlands – ensuring a true 24/7 nationwide service remit.
To ensure that our companies continue to further improve and strengthen over the next twenty years, both NDC and CPM are resolved to continually develop technical processes and customer services through the impulse of our continuous improvement and dynamic auditing programmes
CPM Newsletter
(10/08/2007)
CPM's latest newsletter is now available to our customers and contacts
This edition contains items of interest to the engineering and maintenance professional, in addition to updates about our growing service portfolio and improvements to our technical processes.
The newsletter also includes a short quiz to win an Ipod Nano. All correct entries received before September 30th 2007 will be placed into the prize draw
You can order your copy via info@cpm-uk.com, or by calling 0161 865 6161
Production Increases at Paper Industry Supplier
(22/02/2007)
A major supplier of tapes to the paper industry called in CPM to advise on ways to increase production on 2-tape cutting and edging machines
In conjunction with a major drives supplier, CPM engineers visited the site and advised our customer how they could increase the machine cutting speeds by 33%. CPM engineers then specified and commissioned the installation of inverter drives to achieve motor speeds of up to 4000rpm.
The complete machines were uplifted to CPM's workshops where our engineers carried out full overhauls before fitting and commissioning the inverter drives to increase the motor speeds as projected.
The machines were returned and refitted successfully.
A large Paper mill has reported unprecedented production figures using CPM as their asset maintenance partner.
(15/04/2005)
In recent months production at Kruger Disley Mill has increased its uptime by over 7% compared to last year.
This is a significant increase in production efficiency resulting from a close working relationship and tailored plant maintenance programme.
CPM were contacted by Kruger to assist, identify and target problem areas. CPM’s dedicated Site Services Team identified problem areas, prioritised them and formulated a schedule of action utilising modern maintenance and condition based monitoring techniques.
Rotational equipment catastrophic failures have now been eliminated and have enabled Kruger and CPM staff to schedule machine overhauls.
Chris Wickham - Mill Manager commented “We are delighted with the improvements made over the last 12 months and we look forward to working closely with CPM to drive the programme forward