GlobalTelecommunications – Gearbox Overhaul
A major player in global telecommunications requested SBT to overhaul & refurbish one of their SAMPSISTEMI wire draw gearboxes as part of a significant plant upgrade project. SBT sent a team of fitters to remove the gearbox from the customer’s site.
Gearbox in situ at customer’s premises
Following removal from site and transport back to SBT workshops the gearbox was disassembled and inspected for damage. Although the gear set was in remarkably good condition, the housing and ancillary troughs and sumps were in need of significant renovation.
Main gearbox housing
Main gearbox housing
The main gearbox housing needed cleaning inside & out and refinishing, the main trough needed extensive welding and fabrication repairs, along with two newly fabricated top doors complete with new gas struts. The lower sump suffered from several leaks that were all repaired, the oil sump was fitted with a level and temperature indicator and the oil pump was fully stripped and overhauled complete with new coupling and seal.
New Lids
New level glass with temp indicator
The customer also wanted SBT to convert the gearbox drive from a DC motor with belt drive to AC motor direct coupled. SBT designed a suitable mounting plate for the new motor, specified a coupling for the input shaft and then modified the gearbox and sump to accept the new motor.
New motor mounting plate
New coupling
The original gearbox was, and still is, belt driven and SBT fully overhauled the drive wheels and fully refurbished the eccentric adjustment mechanism on each belt.
Refurbished drive pulleys & adjusters
The main sump, gearbox and all guards were cleaned, straightened primed and painted prior to full reassembly.
Refurbished Sump
Refurbished Covers
Refurbished Guard
The gearbox was rebuilt in the workshop, new bearings, new seals, new seal sleeves, shafts, sprockets and pulleys all carefully cleaned, refurbished and reinstalled. The gearbox was put on the test bed and run for 24hrs which was witnessed by the customer.
Various stages of gearbox rebuild
Following a successful test, the fully rebuilt gearbox was loaded onto transport and returned to the customers premises. SBT fitters re-installed the gearbox in its original location and external connections and auxillary services were connected by the customer.
Installed at customers premises
At all stages of the refubishment the customer was kept abreast of all work the done, estimated costs, progress and estimated return to site date.
Northwich Sluice Gate – Repair Work
SBT were asked to attend a sluice gate in Northwich that required some repair works. The original 4mtr wide sluice gate raising mechanism needed to be modified by fitting free issue longer lift arms due to problems with the original threaded lift spindle being damaged at its top.
Original lift straps (from high water side)
Original lift straps (from low water side)
sluice gate wheel
In addition to this original scope of work, the customer requested that SBT remove and lubricate the wheels that guide the sluice gate in the civils. These wheels were thought to be “sticking” and possibly damaged.
Suitably trained SBT site engineers used cutting equipment to cut the existing lift straps near the top yoke fabrications, and then used portable hydraulic equipment to separate the old lift straps from the sluice, and the yokes, from the gudgeon pin. Finally the primary gudeon pin was removed from the main lift shaft. All items where then returned to SBT workshops for overhaul.
Original yoke
original gudgeon pin
Original wheel
SBT machined the bronze bushes on the arms to allow installation on site
Free issue arms requiring machining
existing yokes
The wheel assemblies were disassembled at SBT workshops and the wheel support brackets were obviously far too corroded to be reused. SBT therefore refurbished the stainless steel wheels and fabricated 2 new wheel support brackets.
Corroded wheel brackets
Existing yokes
All the lift strap pins were cleaned up and reclaimed along with all the bronze nuts and lock nuts.
Wheel pin (cleaned up)
lift strap pins (cleaned up)
SBT trial assembled all of the components in the workshop prior to site installation and all proved OK.
Refurbished wheels & new brackets
Pallet of parts prior to installation
SBT site engineers vans
Site engineers
New, free issue lift straps were fitted to the sluice gate. The refurbished gudgeon pin and refurbished yokes were fitted to the threaded lift shaft. The new wheel brackets, along with the refurbished wheels, were all refitted in 1 day on site. The gate was raised / commissioned and signed off by the customer.
New lift straps (low water side)
New lift straps (high water side)
Throughout the works SBT kept the customer informed of costs, progress and estimated return to service dates.