Gearbox/axle oil filling systems specified

When Scania centralises its entire gearbox and axle production at one plant it chose Alentec and Orion for equipment to fill gearboxes and axles with oil on the production lines.

Beginning in autumn, 2008, Scania will be centralising their entire gearbox and axle production at one plant in Sodertalje (south of Stockholm), Sweden, to meet demands for current production volumes and expected expansion.

The company has further developed an automatic geabox and axle oil filling system, to keep pace with the production rate continuously being optimised by Scania.

Work on the new production plant started two years ago.

Scania appointed project groups to design the plant production line and a number of manufacturing stations.

All equipment was purchased under international purchasing agreements.

Alentec and Orion were asked to supply the system for filling up oil in gearboxes and axles.

The company's products are used in engineering workshops and production environments world-wide, and the company has extensive experience with vehicle manufacturers.

Project manager supervising axle production, Catarina Bolin and Oskar Allebert, a member of the project group that planned the gearbox production line at Scania said that the company was using the Alentec and Orion system at one of its plants, and knew the system was reliable.

They said: "Because they were able to meet our new, more stringent purchasing standards, it was only logical for them to fit out the new production unit".

Bolin and Allebert said that they had tested the plant very thoroughly during a tuning in period that has been in progress since the end of last year.

Bolin added: "Alentec and Orion have been present all the time and supported us fully with adjustments and changes whenever needed.

Their co-operation has been crucial to staying on schedule and starting up full production after the summer".

* Experience - Scania's purchase is of major importance to Alentec and Orion and one of the largest orders delivered during the past year.

Work on installing the new oil handling system began in September last year.

Sales manager at Alentec and Orion, Krister Tynhage, said that the company began in an empty facility to install equipment in early September 2007.

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He continued: "Getting in at the beginning has simplified the work and the optimisation of the system layout to obtain the most efficient solution.

Pipework installation, for example, was very much easier than it would have been otherwise, with the pipework positioned at high level, out of the way of the rest of the equipment".

Tynhage added: "A project like this provides us with important knowledge about the engineering and manufacturing industries in general, and we can see considerable opportunities for using our newly acquired experience for other advanced industrial applications".

* High demands - compared with the previous system the new OriLink system is required to fill up oil three times faster.

Precision requirements are also greater, to prevent incorrect oil dosage which can cost a great deal of money, owing to the large volumes Scania handle.

Total consumption will be almost 4000m3 (4,000,000 litres) of oil/year once production is running at 100%.

The OriLink systems ability to maintain the right production pace is crucial.

At the moment Scania is operating at a production pace of approximately 2 min/station.

During this time oil plugs are removed, filling hoses connected, the right amount of oil dispensed and the oil plugs replaced.

To achieve this, the system needs to be of high capacity, and OriLink plant capacity amounts to 65 litres of oil filled/minute.

"To meet the requirement we have developed pumps that can handle higher flow rates, used accurate measuring devices and fast acting solenoid valves.

We have also fitted a specially developed nozzle that does not need to be screwed on," explained Tynhage.

"Instead, the hose hangs in place and is locked using a fastening device we have designed especially for Scania".

* High precision - OriLink controls the system so that exactly the right quantity of oil is dispensed into each axle or gearbox.

The average gearbox is filled with 18 litres of transmission oil and almost 8 litres of retarding oil.

One axle requires approximately 16 litres of oil, and Scania specify a maximum deviation of two decilitres.

The OriLink system accuracy provides a maximum deviation of one centilitre for the same volume, resulting in Scania's oil consumption being reduced still further.

* Ready for full production - one problem that existed at the beginning of the testing and running in period, was that the system failed to fill up axles quickly enough.

The reason was that the air did not have enough time to vent out at the same speed as the oil was pumped in.

The problem was solved by adjusting the venting and simultaneously reducing the filling pace.

"We have been tuning in axle production since December and now, in May 2008, we are running at about 25% of full manufacturing capacity," said Bolin.

"Before the year end, we will be running at full capacity with all manufacturing re-located here at the plant in Scania4 Sodertalje".

Allebert added: "Gearbox manufacturing will be running at full speed by the 2008 holiday period.

We are already running at full speed at every station, but inserting intermittent breaks to tune up and ensure system capacity.

This helps us to ensure the plant can maintain the pace we require".

OriLink is used within industries handling liquids such as oil, coolant, windscreen washer fluid and diesel, where flow capacity, precision and traceability are important.

Consumption can be measured in real time and results transferred to administrative systems used by companies for management and maintenance control.

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