Notes and observations towards APM, Asia Pacific Maritime exhibition, Singapore 14 to 16 th March 2018

Transcription

1 Notes and observations towards APM, Asia Pacific Maritime exhibition, Singapore 14 to 16 th March 2018 By Leif Andersen, Shipbuilding & Marine, Workboat & Offshore Exhibition and Conference Of course, plenty of engine and propulsion exhibitors.. and a huge number of companies offering ropes from a large number of manufacturers. News on maintenance products and specifically welding maintenance products was unfortunately close to zero. A number of companies like Weicon and Loctite presented adhesives and polymer solutions for joining different metals and organic materials. Joining aluminium and wood together creating a joint with good bonding and flexibility. An interesting application for cabin work onboard for example cruise liners. 1

2 Loctite had also on display products for refurbishing of worn down shaft by base and activator cold curing polymer products. Also, the traditional water activated polyurethane bandage for stopping leaking pipes were on display by Aste Global. This company also had the most comprehensive product range towards repair and maintenance. Plenty of technical items always draw a crowd. Anti-Corrosive and Anti-Splashing tape together with insulation tape was some of the many products on display at their stand. The Grip pipe coupling was on display by Aste Global and at several other suppliers. It can be used for pipe system manufacturing and certainly also in emergency situations where piping spring a leak. 2

3 The Grip pipe couplings comes in a number of sizes and qualities and the pipe materials chemical composition is of no concern. Bulk head penetration for pipes and cables was on display by German company AIK Flammadur Brandschutz. This is again a two-component cold curing polymer product that have been developed specifically for this application. 3

4 Wear and tear inside pump housing because of cavitation is a known problem. Specialising in this field are company Chesterton that had several examples of repaired pump housings and impellers that had been saved from scrapping. The cold curing two component polymers for pump repairs are ceramic based. Piping onboard are definitively moving toward composite materials. Traditional welding will not be an alternative repair method for these materials. A number of manufacturers exhibited composite pipes and joining systems based on adessives or heating methods Electric heating using a special tong is applied during joining by company Aquatherm The system might work in a manufacturing plant but will not be an option during repair work onboard. There looks like nobody are bringing forward neither the traditional two component cold curing polymer method nor the visible-light activated resins system. 4

5 Regarding the last-mentioned method: Light-activated resins are one-part translucent polymers that cure and quickly harden when exposed to specific light spectrums. The required wavelength for cure is specific to the resin chemistry. Dentists have used visible-light activated resins as adhesives for decades. Light curing unit (LCU) is based on blue light-emitting diodes (LED). For repairs onboard, this repair methods of plastic and composite materials should be brought forward. Laser Cladding Singapore Pte.Ltd. was the only company presenting a fairly new interesting welding method. Laser-Powder-Cladding works by fusing new material onto old worn out surfaces through welding by laser. The new materials strengthen and enhance the original component to lengthen its lifespan, thereby improving overall engine efficiency at a fraction of the cost of buying a new component. The process offers the following technical advantages: Metallic bonding of layers Very limited distortion Small heat affected zone Low effort in pre and post processing. Engine parts to be reconditioned by this process are items like Piston ring grove restoration, Restoration of shaft bearing surface, Turbo charger systems and Exhaust valve seats. The process requires however that the item to be repaired is brought ashore to a dedicated workshop in order to be reconditioned. From a maintenance welding point of view the APM was a bit of a disappointment. Emergency repairs using mechanical means like clamp solutions or polymer materials where well represented. Never the less the exhibition was also a good opportunity to meet up with old friends and colleges plus the opportunity to make new contacts for future business opportunities. 5