COMPRESSED AIR H
itachi Rail has invested £8.5 million to create bespoke welding and painting facilities within its Newton Aycliffe factory, thereby extending its UK role from assembly-only to the complete fabrication and fit-out of units - the first time in decades that a new train welding facility of this type has been created in Britain. Atlas Copco’s successful bid for the design and installation of the 450metre compressed air and argon supply network has played an important role in the company’s on-shoring of crucial high-value aspects of its manufacturing process. In 2015, Hitachi Rail’s £110 million investment
established its highly advanced Northeast manufacturing base with a 700 strong workforce to build 122 pioneering trains as part of the UK government’s Intercity Express Programme, along with 70 zero-emission Class 385 regional trains for Scotland. The new welding and painting facility now allows Hitachi Rail to complete the build of the high-tech aluminium carriage shells of the next generation of intercity trains for East Midlands Railway and Avanti West.
Commenting on the expansion project’s contribution to output, Hitachi Rail facilities manager, Colin Trevor said “We can now design, fabricate, paint, assemble and test trains at this facility, allowing us to be more globally competitive, with the capacity to build a wide range of products, from metros to commuter and high-speed trains”.
ATLAS COPCO’S ROLE The new welding and painting production plant is installed within a 194 x 40 metre warehouse conversion adjacent to the main assembly area. This development came with a requirement for a compressed air supply for painting operations and an argon gas feed for the TIG welding workstations. Wearside Pneumatics, Atlas Copco
Compressors’ Gateshead-based premier distributor, was called upon to produce the design, specify the pipework system, and to carry out the installation of dual ring mains to link the air and gas supplies from the existing assembly plant to the new production workstations. The recommendation to Hitachi Rail’s production
management was twofold: Firstly, a 100mm diameter aluminium 180 x 40 metre ring main to deliver 7bar compressed air at the rate of 474 l/s (1705m3h) to 40 drops within the weld operation area. In parallel with the air requirement, the argon supply structure to feed the welding workstations would comprise a 35mm stainless-steel ring main designed to deliver gas at 7bar pressure, at a flow rate of 20l/s (71 m3h), direct to 40 drops within the TIG welding process area.
Furthermore, Wearside Pneumatics would also install a Unistrut channel containment at a height of nine metres, sited between the plant’s overhead crane system and the factory roof space.
34 OCTOBER 2022 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS The
whole project
ATLAS COPCO COMPRESSED AIR/ARGON PIPEWORK SYSTEM PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN HITACHI RAIL’S NEW £8.5 MILLION UK WELDING AND PAINTING FACILITY
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