Are lead times for portable machine tools causing you problems?

September 21, 2016, 3:29 am

≫ Next: What equipment is needed for machining compact flanges?

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So you’ve done your research, you’ve found the right in-situ machine and the price is well within your budget.  Now you just want to get your hands on your shiny new kit and get your machining project underway as soon as possible.

So what’s the problem? – don’t all portable machine tool suppliers keep products in stock ready for despatch?    

Unfortunately, not. The feedback we’ve gained from new Mirage customers and our global distributors is that some companies are choosing to make their standard machines to order - resulting in lengthy lead times of around 14 weeks. In the worst cases this even applies to spares and accessories!

Let's find out how you can get what you need without waiting an unreasonable amount of time...

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What equipment is needed for machining compact flanges?

September 27, 2016, 5:31 am

≫ Next: Understanding API 6A Gate Valves - Infographic Guide

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 Above: A Mirage compact flange facing machine making a test cut on an angled surface.

Earlier this year we posted an article covering the benefits and applications of compact flanges. This time we take a closer look at the equipment and kits you need to carry out machining on the flange sealing faces of a compact flange.

But first, a reminder about what makes compact flanges different to standard raised face flanges...

Understanding API 6A Gate Valves - Infographic Guide

October 6, 2016, 2:12 am

≫ Next: 9 essential portable machine tools every wellhead maintenance engineer should know about

≪ Previous: What equipment is needed for machining compact flanges?

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This infographic is designed to provide an overview of API 6A gate valves and includes gate valve basics, what the API 6A standard covers and why valves fail.

9 essential portable machine tools every wellhead maintenance engineer should know about

October 12, 2016, 1:24 am

≫ Next: Wellhead valve repair using a hot tapping machine

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There are many reasons why in-situ machining of wellhead components is required. They normally fall into one of three categories: it could be part of a preventative maintenance programme, when corrective action is needed, or if recovering the wellhead as part of a decommissioning project.

Valves and actuators used in a wellhead Christmas tree can fail through seizure and breakage, often caused by a lack of suitable lubrication and long periods of non-operation. Additionally, corrosion and erosion problems arise over a period of time, with hydrocarbons causing issues inside the valves and external components being either sand blasted by the wind, or exposed to corrosive salt-water.

So what portable machining equipment is available to help the on-site team commissioned to solve these problems? 

Below, we’ve listed 9 essential machines we think every wellhead engineer should know about.

 

Wellhead valve repair using a hot tapping machine

October 20, 2016, 3:45 am

≫ Next: Why do oil prices fluctuate?- An insight for oil and gas engineers

≪ Previous: 9 essential portable machine tools every wellhead maintenance engineer should know about

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Following our recent infographic blog post coveringAPI gate valves, this time we take a look at the VHT range of valve hot tapping machines, which are designed for oil and gas high pressure maintenance operations, such as drilling through seized slab gate valves.

Why do oil prices fluctuate?- An insight for oil and gas engineers

October 27, 2016, 1:14 am

≫ Next: Using an external threading machine on a wellhead extension project

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Many of Mirage's customers are on-site engineering service companies, who use our portable on-site machining products for a wide range of oil and gas machining projects.  

The recent collapse in oil prices has made life very tough for these companies. Over production by OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) has played a significant part, but as the infographic below published by Jones Oil shows us, there are many other factors which can also cuase oil prices to fluctuate.

Using an external threading machine on a wellhead extension project

November 4, 2016, 2:01 am

≫ Next: Orbital milling machine applications: ship thruster flanges

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Above: The internal casing cutter in action in use before the threading machine.

The expression ‘shifting sands’ is used to describe something that is constantly changing, especially unpredictably and that’s something that we’ve all witnessed in the oil and gas industry during recent times.  An example where this occurred literally was when Mirage was asked to help out when a natural shift in the level of sand was interfering with the operation of a wellhead Christmas tree in Kuwait.

Orbital milling machine applications: ship thruster flanges

November 8, 2016, 1:11 am

≫ Next: On-site machining: power plant project list

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Above: An Azimuth Thruster. Image source: Wikipedia  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=397859

Mirage orbital milling machines are used across a variety of industry sectors, especially those involving the manufacture of large circular components. The shipbuilding industry is a good example of this and one particular application which has cropped up several times is the machining of ship thruster flanges.

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On-site machining: power plant project list

November 15, 2016, 1:03 am

≫ Next: Portable milling machine used for a turbine casing project

≪ Previous: Orbital milling machine applications: ship thruster flanges

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When you consider the demands that turbine components in power plants are exposed to, it comes as no surprise that eventually many components will wear out and operate less efficiently. With steam turbine temperatures being of over 500°C, pressures of 4000psi and components rotating at speeds of over 3000rpm, the importance of a well-managed and robust maintenance programme cannot be overstated.  (Find out more about power plant maintenance strategies on our previous blog post).

Portable milling machine used for a turbine casing project

November 22, 2016, 5:54 am

≫ Next: How to measure RTJ flange grooves

≪ Previous: On-site machining: power plant project list

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In our previous blog post we listed a number of in-situ machining projects relating to power plant maintenance. This time we take a look at one of these in more detail, to and cover the equipment used and the results achieved.

As part of a turbine refurbishment project, Mirage equipment was specified to machine the casing split lines back to the original specification.  A Mirage MR2200 2 axis milling rail was used and mounted onto a Mirage gantry system. Let’s take a look at these in more detail.

How to measure RTJ flange grooves

December 7, 2016, 3:35 am

≫ Next: The biggest wind turbine contracts awarded in 2016

≪ Previous: Portable milling machine used for a turbine casing project

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Ring Type Joint (RTJ) flanges are typically used in high pressure and/or high temperature services above 800°F (427°C). Together with a ring gasket, the RTJ groove helps create a tight seal between the two parts, so it is important that a groove meets the required specifications specified in API 6A.

 

The biggest wind turbine contracts awarded in 2016

December 15, 2016, 3:02 am

≫ Next: Portable gantry milling machines. An overview

≪ Previous: How to measure RTJ flange grooves

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If you're a regular reader of the Mirage Machines Portable Performance Blog, no doubt you'll be aware of our orbital milling machines used by wind turbine manufacturers for machining turbine blades and towers. Demand for these products has been very strong during 2016, so we decided to take a look at the biggest turbine supply contracts awarded this year.

Using data from EIC Datastream  (The Energy Industries Council), we've listed the top 20 contracts based on the project value in US$.

Portable gantry milling machines. An overview

December 19, 2016, 7:05 am

≫ Next: 10 of the world's weirdest machines and gadgets

≪ Previous: The biggest wind turbine contracts awarded in 2016

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Portable milling machines are available in a wide range of sizes to suit in-situ machining projects with the stroke capacity of up to 3m length. But what can you do if you need to open up the working envelope to a much larger size?

This is where the gantry milling provides the solution. Mounting a 2 axis milling rail onto a gantry system increases the working area and at the same time converts it to a 3 axis configuration.

But what are the options and different types of portable gantry mills available? In this article we provide an insight by taking a look at the Mirage gantry mill range.

10 of the world's weirdest machines and gadgets

December 27, 2016, 1:18 am

≫ Next: How wind turbines work

≪ Previous: Portable gantry milling machines. An overview

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A new year is often a time people take stock and consider how the world has changed over the past few decades.

With this in mind, we've taken a break from our usual blog topics that cover subjects such as flange facing,hot tapping machines, line boring (and many others), to bring you something a little more light hearted. This time we take a historic look at some of the worlds weirdest machines and gadgets invented.

The first one (pictured above) is the 'one wheel motorcycle'. Today, monowheel vehicles are mostly built for entertainment purposes. But from the 1860s to the 1930s, unbelieveably they were proposed as a 'serious' means of transportation and a quick Google image search for 'monowheel vehicles' shows that this idea isn't going away just yet.

How wind turbines work

January 4, 2017, 1:36 am

≫ Next: ID Mount Flange Facer. A visual guide to the key components

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The windmill has been with us for centuries, used initially for milling grain and for pumping water. The first wind turbines used to generate electricity date back to the late 19^th century, thanks to the innovation of engineers in Denmark the United States and Scotland.

Advances in technology have resulted in the creation of many offshore and onshore wind farms throughout the world which now generate more than 432,000 kw of electricity.

The infographic below (courtesy of Visual Capitalist) provides a great visual guide as to how they work.

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ID Mount Flange Facer. A visual guide to the key components

January 10, 2017, 1:09 pm

≫ Next: How to machine an ASME B16.5 flange finish

≪ Previous: How wind turbines work

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If you're interested in finding out how flange facers are constructed and learning what each component does, we've designed an infographic to help you understand the basics. This example explains the workings one of the most commonly used Mirage Flange Facing machines, the MM1000i, which is an ID mount flange facer.

For a quick snapshot you can view the image below, but for a clearer and closer look we recommend you click here to download the illustration in Pdf format.

For full technical specifications of our full range of flanger facer machines we recommend you download the Buyers Guide.

 

How to machine an ASME B16.5 flange finish

January 18, 2017, 3:00 am

≫ Next: 16 petrochemical on-site projects and the field machining equipment needed

≪ Previous: ID Mount Flange Facer. A visual guide to the key components

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Finding information on the correct ASME specifications for flange surface finishes is easy enough, but how do you actually machine the correct flange surface finish you need?

The principle of surface finishes for flanges facing is easy enough to understand and is simply determined by the depth of cut, the feed rate and the nose profile of the cutting tool.

Let’s assume you want to create a stock finish on a raised face flange that’s positioned in a vertical orientation.

To do this you will need a flange facing machine, which are available as internal and external mount versions and in a number of different sizes. In most situations a pneumatically powered machine will be the most appropriate option, but hydraulically powered versions are available too.

16 petrochemical on-site projects and the field machining equipment needed

January 24, 2017, 2:21 am

≫ Next: Video round-up: clamshell cutter and diamond wire saw

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During their career, the more experienced field machinist will come across many different projects across a variety of industries, but for those new to in-situ machining, having a clear idea of what type of projects are likely to crop up from the petrochemicals sector will give you the confidence to demonstrate your knowledge when the opportunity arises.

With this in mind we’ve put together a list of field machining equipment for some of the more common petrochemical onsite machining projects.

Video round-up: clamshell cutter and diamond wire saw

February 1, 2017, 3:50 am

≫ Next: How to align a portable gantry milling machine

≪ Previous: 16 petrochemical on-site projects and the field machining equipment needed

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See which machines are used for cutting through large pipes and heavy wall casings in the oil and gas industry. For your convenience, this page brings together videos of machines suitable for pipe cutting, weld preparation, casing cutting and more in one handy place. Why not take a look and bookmark this page for later reference?

How to align a portable gantry milling machine

February 8, 2017, 5:34 am

≫ Next: OD Mount Flange Facer. A visual guide to the key components

≪ Previous: Video round-up: clamshell cutter and diamond wire saw

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A few weeks back, we published an overview of portable gantry milling machines that explained the main machine components and the different types of milling rail available.

This time we go a stage further and explain the fundamentals of setting your machine up with laser alignment.