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SERVICE Equipment of Character

30th April 1954, Page 128
30th April 1954
Page 128
Page 129
Page 130
Page 135
Page 128, 30th April 1954 — SERVICE Equipment of Character
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,,BRITISH IS BEST" is a tag which is as true today as ever it was, and it could not be applied with greater truth than to

British-made service equipment. In design, quality of workmanship and in reliability over a period of years, our makers have nothing to fear from foreign competitors.

It is true, of course, that British makers are sometimes beaten on price. This is unfortunate, but at the same time I hope that they will never set out to secure new markets by building down to a price at the expense of those fine qualities which have established world prestige.

The specialized equipment with which I deal on this and following pages has been selected as being typical of many others designed to perform similar operations, and those described are not deemed to be in any way superior to equipment made by other concerns in this country.

I cannot do better than to start with the Churchill electronic wheel balancer, the only equipment of its kind available. Although its principle of functioning is highly technical, the results are recorded in a form which can readily be interpreted by anyone of average intelligence.

The instrument not only indicates the weight of the lead clip necessary

to restore the balance to the wheel, but it clearly shows the position in which it should be affixed to the wheel rim. This wheel balancer is made by V. L Churchill and Co., Ltd., Walnut Tree Walk, Lambeth North, London, S.E.I I.

No worthwhile maintenance shop will be without some mechanical means for removing engines from chassis. This may take various forms, but probably the most convenient type is a mobile unit which can be used for any other lifting job within the capacity of the equipment.

One is the 11.F. Maxilift hydraulic floor crane made by Harvey Frost and Co., Ltd., Bishops Stortford, !lefts. It is designed for manual operation, but even when the maximum load of a ton is being dealt with, the effort required is negligible.

Some of the interesting features of this crane are that its overall height with the jib lowered is only 6 ft. 2 in. and that it can lift to a maximum height of 9 ft. 4 in. The jib carriage i5 provided with means for height adjustment while keeping the jib in a horizontal position. The jib extends horn a minimum overhang in the horizontal position of 3 ft. 5 in. to a maximum of 4 ft. 7,1-. in.

For the under-inspection of chassis there are many points in favour of a floor-level lift which raises the vehicle to a convenient working height. Joseph Bradbury and Sons. Ltd., Braintree, market what is termed a hydro-electric four-post lift for which outstanding advantages are claimed.

In the first place, it can be installed directly on a level floor, no excavating work being necessary. This is important, because it can readily be moved in the event of any rearrangement of the shop.

As the vehicle is held suspended on four posts, the general assembly is particularly stable, and as the comparatively narrow tracks are adjustable to the track of the vehicle, a far greater area of the underside of the chassis becomes available to the

mechanic. The equipment is made in 3-ton and 5-ton sizes.

In the absence of suitable equipment it is difficult to obtain useful figures of brake efficiency. A number of useful instruments has been made available within recent years, and of these I have selected the Mintcx equipment as marketed by British Belting and Asbestos, Ltd., Cleckheaton, Yorkshire.

The two instruments comprise a decelerometer and a pressometer. The first instrument shows the rate of deceleration when the brakes are applied, and the second the degree of pxessure in pounds per square inch exerted on the pedal by the driver.

The working of the decelerometer is based on the displacement of a fluid within a graduated tube. The quicker the rate of deceleration the farther does the fluid descend in the tube. By comparing the efficiency reading with the Mintex performance chart it is possible to obtain the deceleration rate in ft. per sec. per sec.

When the pressometer is used in conjunction with the decelerometer, more precise quantitative values of brake performance can be obtained, as the exact pressure exerted by the driver on the pedal is recorded in pounds per square inch on a gauge affixed to the windscreen.

A commendable feature of the equipment is the ease with which the decelerometer can be affixed to the windscreen, and the pedal unit of the pressometer to the brake pedal.

The manipulation lot 'wavy tyres without the use of suitable equipment is practically impossible, and as tyres have grown in size so has the equipment to deal with them improved. Most of these giant-tyre manipulators consist of a set of radial arms which can be put under pressure through gearing providing a high mechanical advantage.

Tyre Handling

Mann Egerton and Co., Ltd., Cromer Road Works, Norwich, are responsible for a tyre-removing tool covering the range from 6.00 x 20 in. to 10.00 x 20 in., and is suitable for two-, threeand four-piece wheels.

The pyramid-shaped base has to be attached to the floor, so its position must be chosen with regard for elbow room. Pressure is applied to the arms manually through a k-in. Acmethreaded high-tensile-steel screw and a capstan nut.

A bead-separator attachment is available as an extra. It is a simple device which can quickly be placed in position on the main tool.

Where only a small number of vehicles is operated or where facilities for reboring are readily available, the installation of a cylinder-boring machine is not usually justified. I do not refer to what are termed boring bars, which can form a most useful addition to the equipment of a small shop, but to boring machines such as the Paddon, which I have selected for description.

Boring Equipment

it is available in two sizes, the one here dealt with—the W.P. Mark III heavy-transport model—having a boring range from 2.7-in. (69-mm.) to 6-in. (153-mm.) diameter by 16 in. in length. The standard machine is designed to admit work of a maximum height of 30 in. (762 mm.) under the boring head.

An A.C. three-phase 1-h.p. motor for 59 cis 400-440v. supplies forms standard equipment, although a single-phase or D.C. motor can be supplied at extra cost.

The Paddon cylinder borer, whilst being a precision tool, incorporates a number of features making for highspeed operation. It has three spindle speeds and two rates of feed, the slow feed equalling 0.0023 in. and the fast feed 0.0045 in.

The three-point method of centring enables worn bores to be cleaned up in one cut. which not only saves time but ensures that the bores are cut to the minimum oversize. Another timesaving feature is that the main cutter bar, on completion of a bore, is withdrawn at high speed. A claim made for this machine in respect of bore alignment is that it will show a degree of accuracy well within half the limit called for in the original engine maker's specification.

Cuthbert Machine Tools, Ltd., Guildford, are well known for such equip ment as crankshaft grinders, in-line borers and connecting-rod boring machines, and of these I have selected one of the last-named.

Some idea of the degree of accuracy which may be maintained with the Cuthbert connecting-rod borer may be gained from the fact that tolerances as low as 0.00025 in. are easily obtainable.

It can deal with all shapes of rod, including those that are strip lined and those with inclined big ends.

To obtain a high degree of accuracy in any boring operation, the machine performing the work must possess extreme rigidity apart entirely from being, in itself, accurately constructed.

These features are outstanding in the Cuthbert borer, and the fact that rods with big-end bores from 12 in. to 4+ in.

can be dealt with according to the boring bar employed, makes it a machine of universal use.

It is power driven, the standard equipment being a three-phase A.C.

motor of 4 h.p. running on 400-440v. For many years Crypton Equipment, Ltd., Bridgwater, Somerset, have specialized in engine-testing and faultdiagnosing equipment, and of the apparatus available from this concern I have chosen the Model 11.100 motor analyser. This piece of apparatus embraces the necessary instruments for an operative to test an engine, diagnose faults and tune the unit both accurately and in a short time.

For example, it is possible to assess the general condition of an engine and locate the majority of specific operating troubles experienced in an average of 10-15 mitt. Whilst the analyser is sold as a unit in cabinet form, the items of individual test equipment can be removed and used independently. An interesting point is that the analyser is self-contained, the necessary current being supplied either by vehicle batteries or dry cells.

No worthwhile maintenance shop will be without welding and flamecutting equipment, and in the field of gas welding the name of the British Oxygen Co., Ltd., stands out. From the extensive range of equipment handled by this company I am assured that the Cutogen No. 4 welding and cutting set forms an ideal outfit for general-purpose work.

Cutting and Welding

The blowpipe is an interchangeable unit of the injector type and can be employed for both cutting and welding by use of the appropriate head. It can be used for welding material of over 1 in. thickness and will cut steel up to 1 ft. thick. Cast iron up to 3 in. thick can also be dealt with. Such a set as this is, therefore, particularly useful in remote areas where the quick fabrication of a chassis component may save a vehicle from being taken out of service because of spares difficulties.

There are numerous uses for compressed air, including tyre inflation, paint spraying and the powering of pneumatic tools. In those cases where the maximum dependence is placed on the continuity of the supply, care is needed in the choice of the compressor plant.

B.E.N. Patents, Ltd., High Wycombe, Bucks, make a large number of different types, and of these the plant known as the FASO would cater for most needs. The two-cylindered compressor, which may be either air or water-cooled, is driven by a 7.5 h.p. electric motor, both components being platform-mounted on the air receiver.

This receiver is of 12-cu.-ft. capacity, the displacement of the compressor at 560 r.p.m. being 25 Cu. ft. per min. The maximum pressure is 150 p.s.i.

Compressor Lubrication

Lubrication is under pressure and the system incorporates the B.E.N. Oilmatic unloader in conjunction with an automatic control. With this system overloading is prevented on starting and, in effect, it functions as a relief valve in the unlikely event of a failure in the lubrication system.

Where the fleet is large enough to justify the installation of an oilrecovery plant operators will find this will prove a definite step towards operating economy. Opinions differ as to the advisability of using recovered oil for full replenishment of a crankcase, but whether it be used in this way or only for topping up is a matter which can best be dictated by operating experience. • The most popular unit in this country is made by Stream-Line Filters, Ltd., Ingate Place, London, S.W.8. Of the various types produced, the one shown in the illustration on the previous page is the 019, a model which is used extensively by large operators, as it is capable of filtering about 60 gal. of straight lubricating oil a day.

The filter pack consists of one or more columns of specially prepared paper discs compressed together. The oil to be filtered is either drawn by vacuum or forced by pressure between the extremely fine passages represented by the inequalities in the surfaces of the discs.

In the course of time, the solid particles which are arrested on the outer edges of •the discs form a cake and so impede the filtration process. Merely by applying slight pressure inside the column the packed matter is easily dislodged and finally ejected from the filter base. The running costs of such a filter are negligible.

Now I come to the final item, which is concerned with pop-riveting. The increasing use of light-alloy bodies has seen the development of pop-riveting in the bodybuilding industry. In this system metal panels can be joined even when access can be gained from only one side. This is probably the outstanding feature, whilst the method is both quick and extremely thorough.

The principle is that a hollow rivet is used and a tapered mandrel forced into it to swell, it into the hole. Geo. Tucker Eyelet Co., Ltd., Walsall Road, Birmingham, 22, are responsible for a type of pop rivet which carries its own tapered mandrel.

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