Ford chooses Transair pipework
October 1st 2007 Ford has selected Legris'Transair rapidfit
pipework system for conveying
compressed air to the 3000 machining
operations on its latest engine
production line at Dagenham in Essex.
The Dagenham plant is Ford's sole
diesel engine manufacturing facility in
Europe and produces engines for
vehicles ranging from Transit vans to
luxury S-type Jaguars.
The company's newest production
facility is the result of a £350m
investment which will provide a
production capacity of 575,000 1.4
and 1.6 engines . Ford's three criteria
for a pipework system were for
greater operating efficiency than on
previous lines, maximum cost saving
and fastest installation times.
Conventional galvanised steel had
been used on the company's other
production lines but was ruled out
because of the length of time
required to install and make
modifications when needed. Based
on previous experience, plastic too
was dismissed because of the
expense of so many supports and
the need for frequent replacement
through cracking. Even rubber hose
was considered, but quickly ruled
out on the basis of the number of
supports required and – despite
being in a production environment
– its lack of aesthetic appeal.
Ford worked in partnership with
Legris'Transair distributor Airchannel
and the main mechanical installation
contractors JSMS of Erith, Kent, to
develop a system for delivering
compressed air to the new line.
The result has been a 200mm
galvanised steel ring main and sub
ring main in ladder format, dropping
entirely to Transair in lightweight
aluminium with its 'instant'
connection technology.
Because of the range of sizes
available, the Transair installation
could be tailored to the needs of
each installation, with 40mm
pipework used as a header across
banks of machines, dropping to
25mm and 16.5mm according to the
flow requirement.The system
operates at 6 bar.
Transair's rapid-fit technology was
to prove itself as much to the 30-
strong pipework installation team as
it was to Ford.Well used to working
with galvanised steel at the plant,
where the time from initial request
to installation was up to eight days,
installation times were now reduced
to 72 hours, and with modifications
now made in a fraction of the time
previously needed.
Legris was able to supply all sizes
of Transair pipework in six metre
lengths instead of the usual three
metres, substantially reducing the
need for couplings. Legris was also
able to supply the Transair
aluminium pipework in white
powder coated finish instead of its
standard blue, for use in the
cleanroom standard final engine
assembly building. More articles from Legris Limited: | 
