Headbox Feed Casing Refurbishment

Application: Headbox Feed
Pump Details: Single-stage Sulzer ZPP 800
Pump Type: Double-suction Horizontal Split Case

After years of useful service, casings of many horizontal split case pumps are quite worn and no longer meet the original specifications. Hydro offers an alternative to purchasing a new OEM casing that offers a much lower cost and reduced turnaround time.

Due to their long-standing relationship with Hydro, a paper mill decided it was time to restore the casing of their headbox feed pump. Because this pump was in a critical application, the mill required a very short turnaround time.

To avoid a temporary shut down of the mill, Hydro was able to perform a line bore and insert upgrade within a period of three days. Utilizing around-the-clock shifts, Hydro completed the case inspection and developed machining fits and tolerances to restore the casing to its original specifications. Hydro then manufactured and mounted inserts to the casing.

Not only were the casing and wear components restored to their original fits, the upgraded materials will significantly improve mean-time-between-repair.

Learn more about Hydro’s targeted upgrades for the pulp and paper industry here.

Capability Spotlight: Hydro University

Hydro University was developed with a mission of ensuring that pump users around the world have access to the knowledge required to optimize industrial operations and reduce pump lifecycle costs. By imparting technical skills, pump knowledge, and troubleshooting methodologies, we help our customers to achieve this.

Hydro has spent 50 years accumulating knowledge of pump operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and upgrades. Our aftermarket perspective uniquely empowers us to look at our pumps the way an end user would- with an eye for improving reliability and performance of existing assets instead of a focus on initial design. Our training is similarly focused on imparting skills critical to end users’ every day job functions instead of theoretical design that would rarely, if ever, be used by pump system owners.

Hydro University: Meet Our Training Instructors from Hydro, Inc. on Vimeo.

Hydro University understands that not every organization or learner will have the same goals and has developed a varied slate of delivery methods to support skill development.

For those looking to engage in course material on their own schedule, Hydro University offers a breadth of online technical webinars and e-learning classes. The topics are expansive, covering a depth of knowledge such as centrifugal pump fundamentals, system optimization, vibration, failure modes, and many more.

For organizations looking for an in-depth skill development strategy, Hydro University provides tailored programs that combined classroom, hands-on, and virtual course material customized to the end user’s learning goals. These programs can include a mentorship aspect, where Hydro’s subject matter experts join students in an application optimization project that provides practical application of the skills they learned in the classroom.

Interested in learning more about Hydro University? Download our current course catalog, visit the Hydro University LMS to browse online courses, or contact us for more information.

Capability Spotlight: Centaur Condition Monitoring

Hydro’s Centaur is an IoT condition monitoring solution developed by rotating equipment experts with a specific focus on detecting equipment failure modes and providing impending warning of incipient problems. Centaur includes the necessary hardware, software, and dedicated engineering support to successfully trend equipment condition and avoid unplanned downtime.

The Problem

Industrial users have relied on analog gauges and route-based data collection methods for decades. These methods often lead to inaccurate or incomplete readings and can expose workers to elevated safety risks, especially in hazardous environments. More importantly, traditional methods do not provide the benefits that continuous monitoring does, such as early detection and warning alerts, remote support for troubleshooting and diagnostics, and improved MTBR/MTBF.

Our Solution

A complete picture of equipment health can only be revealed by capturing a continuous stream of data and using both analytical power and subject matter expertise to turn this data into actionable information. Centaur achieves this by combining digital vibration, temperature, and pressure sensors, cloud-based software, and the experience gained through 50 years of developing aftermarket solutions for rotating equipment.

A critical piece of Centaur’s ability to reduce users’ cost of asset ownership and avoid unnecessary downtime is its dedicated engineering team, who provide proactive monitoring oversight, monthly health reports, and advanced analytical support. These rotating equipment experts perform root cause analyses of concerning trends and alarm events, which include recommended action steps to remediate suspected issues long before they become costly failures.

The Difference

In contrast to traditional IOT companies, Centaur was developed with the input of rotating equipment experts. As an unbiased presence in the aftermarket, Hydro has amassed experience over a broad spectrum of manufacturers, designs, and applications.

This expertise influenced hardware and software design, ensuring that Centaur is capable of effectively detecting and identifying known equipment failure modes. Some examples include the measurement of phase data and a frequency range capable of detecting bearing fault frequencies.

How it Works

The Benefits

  • Increased accuracy: Provides more precise pressure readings, maintaining safe and efficient operations.
  • Greater data collection frequency: Allows creation of detailed pressure profiles and trends, supporting identification of anomalies that indicate potential issues.
  • Increased worker safety: Eliminates need for workers to access dangerous or hard-to-reach areas and provides earlier warning of potential safety issues.
  • Predictive maintenance: Enables condition-based maintenance by tracking performance degradation over time.
  • Cost savings: Reduces cost of equipment ownership by preventing potential issues and reducing downtime.
  • Trending efficiency: Detecting and trending performance degradation facilitates more informed decisions on equipment operation and maintenance.

Ready to learn more about Centaur? Contact us or apply for a free trial.

Hydro Parts Solutions Announces New Purpose-Built Facility 

For Release 8:00 AM
Wednesday, December 27, 2023 

Hydro Parts Solutions Announces New Purpose-Built Facility 

Hydro’s newest expansion in Texas is a purpose-built facility with reverse engineering capabilities and greater ability to provide both cast and machined parts. 

Nederland, TX. — Wednesday, December 27, 2023 — Hydro Parts Solutions (HPS), a subsidiary of Hydro, Inc., opened the doors of its new Nederland facility in June 2023. HPS announced immediate availability to support customers with emergency part solutions. Using their extensive experience in reverse engineering and casting technology, HPS manufactures high quality parts, including difficult-to-source or obsolete components. The combination of in-house expertise and partnerships with local foundries allows them to provide industry-leading lead times, maintain strict quality control, and produce all parts in the USA. 

Embracing technology at every step, HPS offers casting simulations, CNC aluminum, investment, and 3D printed patterns, bleeding edge reverse engineering techniques, and a post-machining equivalency analysis. This commitment to advanced technology, stringent tolerances, and rigorous process documentation ensures that the parts they provide customers with are accurate and consistent. 

“Being conveniently located so close to the Golden Triangle, we have a great advantage with local partnerships and proximity to materials,” said Travis Puente, Operations Manager at HPS, “and the foundries we’ve partnered with, we’ve thoroughly qualified for quality and efficiency.” 

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For more information, press only: 

PR Contact Name: Laura Oppermann
Email: loppermann@hydroinc.com
Website: https://hydroinc.com/parts-solutions/

Podcast: The Coolest in Pump Testing and Condition Monitoring

 

We agree with Empowering Pumps, pump testing and condition monitoring are the coolest!

Listen to the latest Empowering Industry podcast, where Charli Matthews chats with our Director of Condition Monitoring and Test Lab, Ares Panagoulias, about his history with the Hydro Test Lab, how he got pulled into the world of pumps, and the new innovations he is heading with our Centaur condition monitoring division.

Watch to the interview below, or listen to the podcast here.

Learn more about the Centaur condition monitoring solution and and Hydro’s Performance Test Lab.