14 January 2010

Doosan machines enable Barker Collins to generate new business in the renewable energy sector!

Off-shore wind is one of Europe's most significant (but as yet largely untapped) sources of clean, indigenous, greenhouse gas-free energy. Unlike on-shore wind farms which are enjoying considerable success and which have become a proven, viable and relatively mature market - off-shore wind generation, by comparison, lags someway behind.

But the importance of the off-shore wind sector is likely to be accelerated as the EU's binding target to produce 20% of its future energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020, becomes ever closer.

And with over €565 million alone being earmarked by the EU last year for the development of off-shore wind projects, coupled with the European Wind Energy Association (EWAE) predicting that, by 2020, some 230GW (approximately 14% - 18% of Europe's total electricity demand) would be produced annually from wind power - it is evident that business (and in particular manufacturing) opportunities in the off-shore wind sector are likely to be significant in the foreseeable future.

Although in reality it's only the companies that have the required engineering expertise and know-how in-house, the manufacturing technologies, processes and systems in place, and the corporate drive and ambition to succeed - that will be able to fully-exploit the true potential of the renewable (off-shore) energy sector.

Sheffield-based precision subcontractor Barker Collins Engineering Ltd is one such company.

Established over 20 years ago, Barker Collins specialises in delivering high-quality, value-driven engineered solutions to its customers - and has unrivalled skill and experience in manufacturing large, complex and high-precision parts for the oil/gas, nuclear, marine, power generation, yellow goods and petrochemical sectors (to name but a few). The Company is therefore ideally placed to take advantage of the growth in off-shore wind projects and its recent relocation to a modern, purpose-built (45,000sq ft) facility in 2008 - 2009 plus strategic and regular investment in state-of-the-art CNC machine tool technologies (including the recent installation of 5 x high-performance Doosan DB 130C/CX Horizontal Boring Machines supplied by Mills CNC) - demonstrate Barker Collins' intent.

Says Chris Carter, managing director at Barker Collins:

'The potential of off-shore wind generation is huge. For example it is estimated that in the next 10 years some 8,000 - 10,000 off-shore wind turbines will need to be manufactured and installed in the North Sea and the Baltic to help meet Europe's future energy requirements. This number could rise to 30,000 by 2030.

'Such demand (combined with growth in other renewable energy sources like wave power generation), are important to our future growth and development - and we're doing everything we can to ensure that we're well positioned and well placed to secure a good percentage of the significant and high-value manufacturing contracts when they come on stream.'

But it's not all about what may or may not happen in the future, because Barker Collins is actively involved in manufacturing off-shore wind turbine components now.

Using its skills and expertise gained in manufacturing large, complex oil/gas, marine and other subsea components, and combining these with its advanced machine tool capabilities - Barker Collins has already won numerous (and varied) off-shore wind turbine manufacturing contracts.

An example of the type of work undertaken in the sector by Barker Collins is the production of clevis joints. Manufactured from cast steel, and supplied in sets (1 x Male and 1 x Female part per set), and weighing 2 - 2.5 Tonnes each, these clevises are machined on Barker Collins' Doosan Horizontal Boring Machines in a single set-up. Manufacturing times vary, but are typically around 11 - 13 hours per part.
Prior to Barker Collins being awarded the contract to manufacture and supply 106 sets (8 sets per week), the clevises were being turned and milled. Cycle times were long and transferring the clevises between different machines created delays and affected part accuracies.

Comments Chris Carter:

'There's a common misconception amongst some that accuracies and surface finish become less important when machining large components. But with our Doosan boring machines (and our knowledge of how to get the best and the most from them), combined with specialised tooling (i.e. contouring heads and boring bars for deep hole drilling and internal profiling) and our custom-built workholding and fixtures we're able to achieve extremely tight tolerances (0.001) and superior surface finishes (Ra 1.6µm). Our ability to achieve these results in significantly less time than was previously the case explains why we were able to secure the contract to manufacture the clevis sets.'

The right tools for the job

Barker Collins has the largest installed base of Doosan Horizontal Borers in Europe and the 5 x machines are spearheading the Company's growth and are helping to build Barker Collins' profile and reputation in the renewable energy sector.

The machines are highly-productive and versatile, and according to Chris Carter 'represent real value'.

Doosan DB 130C/CX's are travelling-column machines with large X-, Y- and Z-axis travels (4000mm x 2000mm x 2000mm) equipped with linear scales to optimise accuracy.

They have a powerful, high-torque spindle (25kw 2,500rpm) with a 3-range gearbox for heavy-duty machining and fast/high removal rates, a 130mm boring spindle and 700mm W-axis (for extra reach across the table), a continuous B-axis rotary table that can be indexed every 0.001 degrees, and a fixed-address 60-position tool changer.

Says Chris Carter:

'Since their installation and despite being in continuous use our Doosan machines have demonstrated their reliability and their excellent machining performance.

'We, as our company strap-line suggests, strive to achieve 'excellence through innovation'. This means that we're always pushing the boundaries, searching for new and better ways to meet customer requirements and, as such, probably expect more from our machine tools than most.

'I'm happy to say that the Doosan machines, plus the service and technical back-up we get from Mills CNC, means that we are able to do all of these things, and are well positioned to exploit the opportunities that exist in the renewable energy and other high-growth, technically demanding sectors.'