Hytec Services Africa (HSA) has officially appointed Zimbabwe-based Hilmax Private Limited as a distributor in that country, effective 4 February 2015. The appointment came into effect after three months of discussion, incorporating reciprocal visits between senior members of each organisation. 

With effect from the date of appointment, the family-owned Hilmax, which has hydraulic hoses and fittings as its core business, distributes the entire range of the Hytec Group products. Petrus Viljoen, Sales Supervisor, HSA, who facilitated visits between the two companies’ senior directors, will attend to the Hilmax business on a monthly basis.  

“Hilmax’s core business, the fact that they have strategically placed operations to service the mining industry, as well as its primary focus on servicing this industry’s hose and fitting requirements, are only a few of the reasons Hytec believes them well-suited to represent the Hytec Group in Zimbabwe,” says Viljoen. “Hilmax’s client base comprises customers that HSA would naturally target, and this will aid in facilitating the rollout of the Hytec Group products to the Zimbabwean-related industries.”  

Customer requirement surveys will provide the necessary information to determine the appropriate stockholding for the newly appointed distributor. In the interim, all stock will be delivered from South Africa as necessary. This provides opportune time for identified Hilmax personnel to acquire the essential product knowledge, with training facilitated by HSA.  

“Hilmax’s client base comprises practically the entire hydraulic industry in Zimbabwe,” Viljoen points out. “Hilmax will be able to increase its growth opportunities by supplying the Hytec Group’s full range of hydraulic, pneumatic and automation products.”

Hilmax’s appointment coincides with its 20th year of operation. 

GEA Process Engineering South Africa has introduced GEA-Assist, the Group’s browser-based information sharing programme, to its clients locally. This online information exchange facilitates streamlined access to project information for all approved individuals, regardless of location. Improved plant performance and increased productivity is acquired through tracking maintenance costs, preventing asset failure and extending asset life. 

The programme caters for storage and retrieval of all necessary communication. Project documentation and piping & instrumentation diagrams (P&ID) can be uploaded, as can 3D models, plant layouts and time schedules. Provision for plant operations and maintenance has also been made, in fact, all information pertaining to an entire project, including comprehensive product information, is available to authorised personnel. The service includes email alerts when files are uploaded and queries answered, drastically reducing the number of necessary phone calls and email correspondence. 

Specific categories make the site user-friendly. ‘Document Hosting’ incorporates the most up-to-date plant data, including assets and any current projects, all of which are stored in current status. Online Training grants access to GEAs online training library, including tailor-made video tutorials so training can be done at clients’ convenience. “In addition to this distance training approach,” says Rob Allen, head of Components and After Sales, GEA Process Engineering, “the same training material may be shared through a common client-customised web portal for clients with multinational production facilities.” 

‘Asset Management’ becomes ‘your plant’s DNA’, ultimately reducing overall cost of ownership and increasing productivity through less downtime. It allows clients to keep abreast of all asset changes, from initial installation to recent services, while still operational. “Clients can access their assets’ complete historical profile, which is essential for optimum and efficient scheduling and resource management,” says Allen. 

Budgeting for projected maintenance costs, maintenance and plant performance tracking, and resource planning is made exceptionally easy using the site’s ‘Reports / Analysis’ option. ‘Preventative Maintenance’ allows the creation of well-timed maintenance schedules, which reduce downtime and improve plant reliability. All service documentation aids can be accessed remotely. The ‘Scheduling’ section, using details from the ‘Asset Register’ portion, allows visibility of all upcoming maintenance activities and resources needed to complete these activities.  

The ‘Workflow’ facility is the artery of all system modules enabling instant and easy interaction between all relevant modules. “This service caters for all exchange control of plant asset critical information. These include client requests to the facility management company and call-out requests, for example,” Allen explains. “Tracking of third party enquiries and activities is possible, right through to their completion.” 

A complementary offering to its clients, GEA Assist has been available in Ireland, where the concept was born, since 2012, although currently only available to GEA Process Engineering Division clients. Plans to roll it out group-wide are in the pipeline. “Client take-up has been phenomenal,” says Allen. “There was a definite need for an assistance program of this nature. At the click of a button clients get every single project and service contact listed, along with all respective contact details, and access to concluded project information at all times, are only two benefits – in addition to those already listed.

Since its introduction to local clients in early 2014. GEA Process Engineering has a number of clients across several industries using GEA Assist. These industries include dairy, brewery, home, personal care, juice and beverage and chemical.

Tectra Automation, a Hytec Group company, designed and constructed a pneumatic impactor as required by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria. Capable of firing a cylindrical bar up to 50 m per second, the impactor will form an integral part of the institute’s Landward Science Competency Area material research and development studies.

Designed to assess the stress response of materials as part of a Split Hopkinson Bar Test system, the impactor is designed to fire a cylindrical bar of a specified weight and size against instrumented target bars which encapsulate the test item as well as serve to record the loading stress wave that transmits through the test specimen (comprised of the tested material). The current Landward Science’s material science testing is geared towards the testing of materials at higher strain rates in the region of 102 to 104s-1.

Given the speciality of the project, Tectra Automation was the most suitable supplier that had the necessary expertise required for the impactor’s design and construction. This project was contracted as a complete turnkey solution, from research and design to manufacture and commissioning.

The impactor – which has a length of 2.6 m, height of 1.5 m and width of 0.7 m – is equipped with an array of specialised pneumatic componentry, including quick release valves, pressure intensifier and accumulator, for achieving the high-specification discharge. The 25 mm internal diameter barrel is comprised of a specialised hydraulic tube capable of bearing pressure up to 300 bar with a 5 mm wall thickness and has been designed to be easily changed as required by the research.

Test parameters, including the size, weight and discharge speed of the cylindrical bar, are programmed by the operator through a Bosch Rexroth HMI. Based on these inputs, the internal programmable logic controller automatically calculates the pressure at which to launch the cylindrical bar as required by the material test.  

The arming and firing of a cylindrical bar – which occurs through remote activation – is conducted through a controlled initiating sequence, including keyed activations, to ensure a safe operating environment for the use of the machine. The barrel draws a front-loaded cylindrical bar via a specialised vacuum valve, which limits the operator requirements in front of the barrel.

Realised performance accuracy As Jaco de Beer, project engineer, Tectra Automation, explains, “Our theoretical calculations in the design and conceptualisation of the unit were remarkably close to the physical performance measurements we determined once the impactor was assembled.” As illustrated in diagram 1, programmer input speeds of 15, 30, 50 and 60 m/s produced actual corresponding speeds of 11.8, 30.9, 46.4 and 57.1 m/s.

“As a unique engineering assignment for Tectra Automation – which started from ground-level process research – the fact that we could design and develop the hi-tech device to client specifications was a proud accomplishment for the project team.”

Tectra Automation will provide maintenance and additional component supply for any future developments the CSIR may wish to implement to the impactor.

Aventics (formerly Rexroth Pneumatics) has become the first manufacturer to supply mini slides with maintenance-friendly pneumatic cushioning, the MSC mini slides, now available in South Africa.  Because of its functional design and versatile range of configuration options, the MSC is ideal as a universal handling component for all handling tasks, including pick-and-place applications. 

Pneumatic cushioning in mini slides is unprecedented on the market. The pneumatic cushioning works with the elastic cushioning elements and hydraulic shock absorbers, and its design ensures gentle operation and optimal machine lifecycles. The pneumatic cushioning has the same service life as the piston drive and therefore the same maintenance intervals. Hydraulic shock absorbers can be replaced without readjusting the stroke, reducing machine downtimes. The elastic cushioning elements are maintenance-free.

The new generation of mini slides allows users to individualise the product and determine the desired features online to achieve the required performance. In addition to two guide units and the position of the air connection, users can also decide whether ‘their MSC’ is equipped with one or two pistons. Customers receive only the components they require, thereby optimising costs. The configuration generates complete documentation, including CAD files, parts lists, own material number, and price information.

In addition, the MSC mini slide’s functional design allows for flexible implementation. The symmetrical layout ensures planning flexibility – sensors can be installed or stroke adjustments made on both sides, depending on the installation situation, for example. This enables the parallel assembly of two mini slides, as well as combination with additional handling system components. As a result, rotary modules, rodless cylinders, additional slide units, or grippers can be integrated without the need for extra mounting plates.

The product has high bearing capacity, drive force, and functionality within a small cross-section. The pre-tensioned guide system without play and one-piece slide table offers maximum stability and reliable precision with minimal tolerance values – even for high torque absorption and load capacities. The symmetrically operating double piston system of the slide unit provides an exceptional load bearing capacity.

Tectra Automation, a Hytec Group company, is the authorised distributor for Aventics in South Africa.

Tectra Automation recently supplied and integrated the drive componentry for the first bevel head servomotor-driven CNC plasma cutting tables manufactured by CNC Clear Cut in Rosslyn, Pretoria. The Bosch Rexroth servo drive train, which interfaces with the CNC control through the Ethernet-based SERCOS 3 communications protocol for real-time machine response, provides an enhanced cutting accuracy and throughput for superior three-dimensional metal profiles.

“The high-end plasma cutting tables have used traditional servo motors in the control of the cutting axes,” comments Paul van Niekerk, CNC Clear Cut. “While these motors were fit for purpose, they did not have the accuracy, speed and controllability of the Bosch Rexroth servomotor with integrated SERCOS 3 communications.”

Apart from being the supplier of the servomotors, servo drives and planetary gearboxes, as well the aluminium profiles for the torch bridge, Tectra Automation integrated the drive train, including engineering, programming, coding and fine tuning. Tectra Automation sized the servomotor requirements according to the torque, speed and inertia specification of each machine cutting axis.

“The servo system with integrated SERCOS 3 protocol improves machine output, enhancing production, productivity and quality of the finished product by providing an instantaneous instruction relay between the CNC control and the servo system across SERCOS 3,” explains Georg Venter, Divisional Manager, Electric Drives and Controls, Tectra Automation. “SERCOS 3 also offers a high immunity to electrical noise, which, given the electrical nature of plasma generation, was an invaluable aspect of attaining a more precise, higher-quality plasma operation.”

CNC Clear Cut has, to date, built two plasma tables utilising this servo system configuration. The first machine incorporated a sophisticated bevel cutting head, which allows machinists to swivel the plasma arc, for the cutting of, for example, precise three-dimensional cone profiles. This requires two motors synchronised for the longitudinal axis; a single motor for the cross axis; a motor for the cutting torch height; and two motors for the control of the bevel action. Five planetary gearboxes were used with the servo motors. The second machine did not incorporate the bevel mechanism, and thus was comprised of four servomotors requiring three planetary gearboxes.

Tectra Automation is a member of the Hytec Group of Companies, the sole importer and official OEM partner of Bosch Rexroth in Africa.

{pp}The Innovation Fund is inviting investment proposals from all South Africans with novel and inventive technological ideas that are commercially viable.