Project Background

When compressed air dryers break down, large volumes of liquid water can infiltrate the compressed air system, which causes extensive damage to pneumatic equipment. The site recently installed a new 15kW laser cutting machine. Moisture and dirt can easily damage the laser head, making it critical that the site install the best possible protection against compressed air contamination. A damaged laser head leads to expensive repair costs. For example, the site reported that a replacement head for a 4kW laser cutter costs approximately £21,000. Therefore, the maintenance engineering manager knew that damage from contaminants to the 15kW laser cutter would have even more significant financial consequences.

Syspal 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 sensitive to moisture and dirt, and failures are highly 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 machine’s job needs to be done by the workforce. Therefore, compressed air contamination greatly hindered the efficiency of the site.