Project Background

Compressed air dryers tend to break down from time to time which can result in large volumes of liquid water infiltrating the compressed air system which causes extensive damage to pneumatic equipment. This problem was a prime concern of Maintenance Engineering Manager Rob Pooler as the site had recently installed a brand new 15kW laser cutting machine. It is essential that this machine is equipped with the best possible protection against compressed air contaminants including liquid water, oil emulsion fluids and solid particulates because moisture and dirt can easily damage the laser head. A damaged laser head leads to expensive repair costs. For example, a replacement head for a 4kW laser cutter costs approximately £21,000. Therefore, the maintenance engineering manager knew that damage to the 15kW laser cutter would lead to even bigger financial consequences.

The site had also been experiencing issues with the deburring machine caused by moisture and dirt in the compressed air lines. The air jets on the machine are very sensitive to moisture and dirt and failures are extremely inconvenient. When the machine experiences a failure, a service engineer has to come out to rectify the problem and replace any extensively damaged parts. Meanwhile, the job of the machine needs to be done with manpower. Therefore, the efficiency of the site is greatly hindered.