Emergency motor repair at Rio Tinto Alcan
16 Feb 2011
London – When a large, bespoke-framed fan motor failed at Rio Tinto Alcan the consequences could have been significant: without the 920kW 3.3kV motor used for unloading powdered alumina at the ship unloading facility left it temporarily unable to re-stock its UK smelting sites.
Rio Tinto Alcan had no spare motor due to its size and a very long normal operating life expectancy. The unit in question was a special frame size and a replacement was only available from the US, with an unacceptable lead time attached.
The fcompany called in ERIKS to collect the motor from the site and undertake a strip down. Following a subsequent inspection, ERIKS implemented a plan to remanufacture a full set of coils, rewind and overhaul the motor on emergency-service basis.
ERIKS’ Killingworth workshop has a copper mill, coil manufacturing facility and repair facility all on the same site meaning that engineers were able to start manufacturing a new set of coils within 24 hours of receiving the motor, using materials from stock.
ERIKS engineers then worked around the clock - with the coil and repair facilities working in tandem to reduce downtime to a minimum.Rio Tinto Alcan was given regular updates via e-mail, with pictures of the current progress to allow it to plan for the re-installation, prior to the motor being returned to its site ahead of schedule.
