Australian pneumatic pipe system helps safeguard National Ceramics’ world class automation innovation
One of the world’s most advanced ceramic tile manufacturing plants has employed an Australian-manufactured pneumatic reticulation system to help double its capacity and safeguard its extensive automation systems against downtime.
National Ceramic Industries’ state-of-the-art tile manufacturing plant at Rutherford in the NSW Hunter Valley employs world’s best technology to produce up to 8 million square metres of ceramic tiles a year, equivalent to 720 tonnes a day.
Creating dozens of new jobs and replacing imports by cost-efficiently supplying more than a quarter of Australia’s demand for floor and wall tiling, the huge plant installed an 800 metre Calair Pro-Pipe II ring main to feed production, processing and packaging areas.
The extensive new ring main – one of the largest in which Calair product has been involved in more than 8,000 applications – features Calair piping, jointing and system components throughout.
“One of the Calair system’s big pluses is the speed with which it can be brought back into service if anything does go wrong in the pneumatic system or something needs changing quickly,” says Production Supervisor Sarel Badenhorst.
“ It’s not like steel – You don’t have to call in specialist trades and make an expensive emergency out of it. You can just cut into the Calair product and have things back to normal in 10-15 minutes.”
National Ceramics’ depends on its pneumatic system to power a highly automated production process designed to produce tiles at the most competitive prices possible. These processes extend from automated processing of raw clay through to shaping, baking, finishing and packing and delivery of product from the automated packaging plant by laser-guided forklifts to the automated warehousing area.
Powered by three Atlas Copco GA75 Variable Speed Drive compressors for energy efficiency, the pneumatic system is maintained at 6.8 bar throughout the extensive network of Calair piping, which includes has smooth, non-corrosive internal bores to minimize friction and ensure ongoing energy efficiency. Two compressors operate during normal production, with one kept in reserve and connected to a standby generator to maintain the system in the event of a power failure or other contingency. The system also incorporates strategically located non-return valves, so that individual areas of the system can be isolated from other production areas if a problem arises in one spot.
“Production failsafe measures are further backed up by a accumulator tank to safeguard against any blips in air pressure affecting our automation systems,” said Mr. Badenhorst.
“Security and efficiency of air supply is very important to us and we have been very impressed with the performance of the Calair product since the first use of it back when we started five years ago. The system has remained highly leakage free and the polymer product is so easy to work with.
“Steel pipe is just a drag if you need to do work. With this piping, we can take the system down and have it back up and running in 10-15 minutes. Downtime is minimal.”
In addition to the 2.5 inch (63.5mm) ring main, the Calair product is used in smaller diameters for drops to feed individual machines. The fully welded system offers advantages such as its permanent colour-coding of contents for safety (Calair product is also used for process water) and an ability to cope with elevated temperatures and pressures.
Calair Managing Director John McNab says that - unlike traditional galvanized piping alternatives typically weighing eight times as much - the Calair system can be readily cut and reconfigured by non-specialist labour as production needs change. “Installations typically take minutes and hours, not days and weeks, so you are up and running within a very tight time frame.”
The reticulation system - available in sizes from 12.5mm-100mm (Half-inch to four-inch nominal bore) – is simple, versatile and very flexible to use by non-specialist labour without specialized tools. It is also a very complete system, with a comprehensive range of joints, cross-pieces, elbows, fasteners and fittings,” says Mr McNab.
Calair’s blue coloured Air-Pro is fed by the plant’s 75 kW machines, the largest of which has a maximum capacity of 13 bar at 212 litres per second but is pre-set at at the lower pressures needed for production. The backup machine, also of 75kw, runs at a maximum of 7.5 bar, and 236 litres a second, pre-set at 6.2 bar. CalAir’s green coloured Water-Pro and violet coloured Water-Pro pipelines carry fresh water and recycled water respectively. Other Calair products are also permanently colour-coded in accordance with AS 1345-1995.
“The permanent colour-coding of pipelines is of increasing importance to sophisticated manufacturing plants, which want operational and maintenance staff to be able to immediately identify what is being carried by the pipelines they are working around. This is highly important both for time-saving efficiency and for safety, both of which were important to meeting National Ceramics’ brief of using world leading technology and achieving best international practice for operational, environmental and safety aspects,” said Mr McNab.
Calair’s recyclable Pro-Pipe II is manufactured to exhibit outstanding pressure capability characteristics at elevated temperatures.
Being more than a third stiffer than standard polymer piping, Pro-Pipe II can carry air, other gases and water at temperatures from -20 deg C up to 100 degrees C – levels typically 40 degrees higher than earlier types of piping. This also means it will carry compressed air and liquids efficiently across a wide range of temperatures, making it more suitable for use in areas with big ambient temperature fluctuations.
Ongoing costs are also reduced by Pro-Pipe’s permanently smooth internal bore, which imposes lower friction drag on airflows, so the compressor uses less power to push its load over the distances involved in National Ceramic’s 488-metre-long plant.
In service, the polymer won’t rust and drop flakes into the pipes, or clog them so air or other fluids have to fight to get through. Also, because polymer insulates better than metal piping, it isn’t as prone to condensation in the first place as hot air meets cold pipes, says Mr McNab.
“Given the considerable investment National Ceramics have made in the very latest equipment at Rutherford – ranging from the huge high-efficiency clay preparation area right down to laser-guided forklifts – they have a very big stake in achieving maximum reliability. When the plant is fully operational, employing up to 70 people, it can operate 24 hours a day.”
Pneumatic Pipe System
Australian pneumatic pipe system helps safeguard National Ceramics’ world class automation innovation
One of the world’s most advanced ceramic tile manufacturing plants has employed an Australian-manufactured pneumatic reticulation system to help double its capacity and safeguard its extensive automation systems against downtime.
National Ceramic Industries’ state-of-the-art tile manufacturing plant at Rutherford in the NSW Hunter Valley employs world’s best technology to produce up to 8 million square metres of ceramic tiles a year, equivalent to 720 tonnes a day.
Creating dozens of new jobs and replacing imports by cost-efficiently supplying more than a quarter of Australia’s demand for floor and wall tiling, the huge plant installed an 800 metre Calair Pro-Pipe II ring main to feed production, processing and packaging areas.
The extensive new ring main – one of the largest in which Calair product has been involved in more than 8,000 applications – features Calair piping, jointing and system components throughout.
“One of the Calair system’s big pluses is the speed with which it can be brought back into service if anything does go wrong in the pneumatic system or something needs changing quickly,” says Production Supervisor Sarel Badenhorst.
“ It’s not like steel – You don’t have to call in specialist trades and make an expensive emergency out of it. You can just cut into the Calair product and have things back to normal in 10-15 minutes.”
National Ceramics’ depends on its pneumatic system to power a highly automated production process designed to produce tiles at the most competitive prices possible. These processes extend from automated processing of raw clay through to shaping, baking, finishing and packing and delivery of product from the automated packaging plant by laser-guided forklifts to the automated warehousing area.
Powered by three Atlas Copco GA75 Variable Speed Drive compressors for energy efficiency, the pneumatic system is maintained at 6.8 bar throughout the extensive network of Calair piping, which includes has smooth, non-corrosive internal bores to minimize friction and ensure ongoing energy efficiency. Two compressors operate during normal production, with one kept in reserve and connected to a standby generator to maintain the system in the event of a power failure or other contingency. The system also incorporates strategically located non-return valves, so that individual areas of the system can be isolated from other production areas if a problem arises in one spot.
“Production failsafe measures are further backed up by a accumulator tank to safeguard against any blips in air pressure affecting our automation systems,” said Mr. Badenhorst.
“Security and efficiency of air supply is very important to us and we have been very impressed with the performance of the Calair product since the first use of it back when we started five years ago. The system has remained highly leakage free and the polymer product is so easy to work with.
“Steel pipe is just a drag if you need to do work. With this piping, we can take the system down and have it back up and running in 10-15 minutes. Downtime is minimal.”
In addition to the 2.5 inch (63.5mm) ring main, the Calair product is used in smaller diameters for drops to feed individual machines. The fully welded system offers advantages such as its permanent colour-coding of contents for safety (Calair product is also used for process water) and an ability to cope with elevated temperatures and pressures.
Calair Managing Director John McNab says that - unlike traditional galvanized piping alternatives typically weighing eight times as much - the Calair system can be readily cut and reconfigured by non-specialist labour as production needs change. “Installations typically take minutes and hours, not days and weeks, so you are up and running within a very tight time frame.”
The reticulation system - available in sizes from 12.5mm-100mm (Half-inch to four-inch nominal bore) – is simple, versatile and very flexible to use by non-specialist labour without specialized tools. It is also a very complete system, with a comprehensive range of joints, cross-pieces, elbows, fasteners and fittings,” says Mr McNab.
Calair’s blue coloured Air-Pro is fed by the plant’s 75 kW machines, the largest of which has a maximum capacity of 13 bar at 212 litres per second but is pre-set at at the lower pressures needed for production. The backup machine, also of 75kw, runs at a maximum of 7.5 bar, and 236 litres a second, pre-set at 6.2 bar. CalAir’s green coloured Water-Pro and violet coloured Water-Pro pipelines carry fresh water and recycled water respectively. Other Calair products are also permanently colour-coded in accordance with AS 1345-1995.
“The permanent colour-coding of pipelines is of increasing importance to sophisticated manufacturing plants, which want operational and maintenance staff to be able to immediately identify what is being carried by the pipelines they are working around. This is highly important both for time-saving efficiency and for safety, both of which were important to meeting National Ceramics’ brief of using world leading technology and achieving best international practice for operational, environmental and safety aspects,” said Mr McNab.
Calair’s recyclable Pro-Pipe II is manufactured to exhibit outstanding pressure capability characteristics at elevated temperatures.
Being more than a third stiffer than standard polymer piping, Pro-Pipe II can carry air, other gases and water at temperatures from -20 deg C up to 100 degrees C – levels typically 40 degrees higher than earlier types of piping. This also means it will carry compressed air and liquids efficiently across a wide range of temperatures, making it more suitable for use in areas with big ambient temperature fluctuations.
Ongoing costs are also reduced by Pro-Pipe’s permanently smooth internal bore, which imposes lower friction drag on airflows, so the compressor uses less power to push its load over the distances involved in National Ceramic’s 488-metre-long plant.
In service, the polymer won’t rust and drop flakes into the pipes, or clog them so air or other fluids have to fight to get through. Also, because polymer insulates better than metal piping, it isn’t as prone to condensation in the first place as hot air meets cold pipes, says Mr McNab.
“Given the considerable investment National Ceramics have made in the very latest equipment at Rutherford – ranging from the huge high-efficiency clay preparation area right down to laser-guided forklifts – they have a very big stake in achieving maximum reliability. When the plant is fully operational, employing up to 70 people, it can operate 24 hours a day.”
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