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By Jason Palmer, PMP, CHPHS, Regional Sales & Applications, W&O Supply

Large military vessels require large diameter pipes and big fittings to move oil, steam, seawater, or anything else a ship might need.  While conventional fittings have pressure ratings of 50 to 100 pounds per square inch (psi), these maritime fittings need to withstand pressures up to 6000 psi at diameters from 0.25 to 32 inches.

W&O Supply’s Seamless Marine Fittings Division is one of a few suppliers capable of meeting the stringent specifications for military applications. W&O Supply has over 45 years in the maritime industry, covering everything from repairing valves to supplying pipe, as well as retrofitting military and commercial vessels. The company has 18 branches dedicated to supporting marine construction, repair, and servicing on a global level.

In metalworking, a cold press is a machine tool that uses a non-heated die to shape or form metal blanks into desired shapes.  It is a versatile and efficient technique used to produce a wide range of components, particularly those requiring precise dimensions and intricate geometries.  Cold presses shape fittings by bending them over a mandrel or through a closed die, which attaches to the central press’s ram.  This results in stronger, more accurate fittings with greater consistency than is possible with hot presses, which can make the metal more brittle.  In addition to producing better parts, cold presses also use less energy and produce less waste heat.

According to William Abbott, Director of Quality for W&O Supply, the U.S. Navy identified a supply chain weakness for such parts in 2017.  There weren’t enough suppliers in the world making fittings in those size and tolerance ranges.  The company sought to address the market need for such fittings; to do so, it needed a very large, highly accurate press. Such presses are not off-the-shelf purchases; each one must be custom-designed and manufactured.

W&O started small, with a 500-ton press able to handle fittings up to 10 inches as its first foray into this market.  The design targeted high-strength materials and difficult-to-manufacture items. Due to its fast success, W&O significantly scaled up its next iteration.  The “full-size” four-post press handles 3,000 tons or six times the pressure of its predecessor.  The total force contributed by all cylinders, each of which provides up to 1.2 kilotons of energy force, is 6,000 tons.  Abbott notes its capacity to support the construction of military vessels including submarines, carriers, and destroyers. He also acknowledged that fittings in the commercial world would benefit from this product as well.

Overcoming The Motion Control Challenge

Precision motion control is critical for these presses. Erratic control ruins part quality and causes excessive press wear.  William Abbott and W&O Supply have tried a range of motion controllers in their presses over the decades. Too often, Abbott notes that motion control solutions providers claim to have the capacity to fulfill all needs. However, limitations present themselves. Abbott suspects the solutions were never intended to provide the necessary control, and the features won’t support it. Controllers exist that provide nearly hardware-level access to fundamental components, inputs, outputs, and ADCs. However, he states that many motion controllers are “black boxes you can’t see inside of.”

Abbott had seen controllers from Delta Motion used in other successful industrial applications and reached out to Delta to assess whether its system could handle the demands of W&O’s high-pressure cold press.  Given the project required processes rarely seen in hydraulic presses, Abbott was initially skeptical but quickly recognized the potential of Delta’s RMCTools software. Noting the simple interface that provided W&O the access needed to fulfill a number of functions, it became very clear to Abbott that the product fulfilled all of the company’s needs.

W&O selected a Delta RMC200 motion controller equipped with an SSI interface and high-resolution analog modules, along with two digital channels.  The modules were highly configurable and prevented W&O from purchasing special modules for specific widgets.  Abbott happily noted W&O’s ability to now utilize SSI and analog feedback for position and velocity.  He also acknowledged Delta’s distinctive, rare level of expertise pertinent to different kinds of motion.

Abbott collaborated with his hydraulic designers and Delta’s engineering team on critical details, such as valve selection.  Anything controlling velocity or pressure per the demands of this project had to respond accurately and consistently under high-pressure conditions.  The wrong valve would ultimately ruin the entire project, as Abbott had discovered in other implementations.

Successful Commissioning In Record Time

All in all, the Delta integration was seamless thanks in part to the quality of Delta’s PROFINET connectivity.  Abbott notes that typically 1-2 weeks is allocated to get a motion control rack up and running.  With Delta and the cold press, the team started on Monday morning, had the racks communicating by midday, and cylinders moving that night. Integration was completed in a single day. Similarly, the normal time required for tuning the motion axes on an installation would have been a week.  With Delta, it was only one more day.  Abbott contrasted this experience with the 500-ton press W&O had developed earlier using a motion control system from another supplier. It didn’t work as well over four years versus what the company accomplished in two days with Delta.

Building for the Future

Delta’s RMC200 can control up to 50 axes, surpassing the application’s current needs of 5 axes. Abbott had scalability in mind from the outset.  W&O Supply appreciated Delta’s focus on industrial hydraulic motion control, with solutions from 1 axis to 50 axes, and motion loop times up to 8,000 times per second or 125 µs.  Delta’s history of long-term support proved critical for presses that may be used and upgraded for half a century.

W&O Supply loved Delta RMCTools for its user-friendly interface and powerful features.  Delta’s programming software provides the same powerful feature set needed to optimize performance, regardless of which controller was purchased.  He was amazed to find that, whether a company opts for the least or most expensive controller in Delta’s lineup, RMCTools is included at no additional cost.  He also admired Delta’s “old-school” approach to service—referring to Delta Motion’s emphasis on knowledgeable and responsive technical support. Abbott notes that all Delta personnel were well-versed in their areas of expertise, which he attributes to a high caliber of training, paired with customer needs acumen.

Previously, W&O worked with a vendor that recently entered into the motion control arena and expressed confidence in its ability to meet W&O’s needs. After 4 years, Abbott states that the vendor’s solution does not work as well as what the company achieved in 2 days with Delta. Since commissioning this application, W&O has experienced zero failures and needs to make zero adjustments.  The motion system has constantly operated since its inception and continues to perform flawlessly.