News

Need spare parts now?….…….cannot wait weeks?………

WE CAN HELP

Customers cannot afford machine downtime and need replacement spare parts urgently. No need to worry, RBK can supply spare parts the same day or next day at the very latest.

In this challenging climate where sourcing and supplying both material and spare parts quickly has rapidly become very difficult due to the pandemic and the current conflict in Ukraine, RBK is here to help you.

In this challenging climate where sourcing and supplying both material and spare parts quickly has rapidly become very difficult due to the pandemic and the current conflict in Ukraine, RBK is here to help you.

To support all our customers, we constantly maintain and hold significant stock levels of spare parts in the UK, which include all sizes of Floating Labyrinth Seals, Gaps Seals, oil sight glass, etc…..the small parts which make the largest difference

Therefore, if you need spare parts quickly and cannot afford to wait, simply call us on +44 01905 794885, or email our Aftermarket Spare Parts Manager at dawn.colley@rbkdriveelements.com

Another RENK success using our SC 100-1000 pedestal bearings

A great video from the Statkraft team about the Greener Grid project in the UK using our bearings on the rotating stabiliser

The £20 million project uses two rotating stabilisers, built by GE Power Conversion, to replicate the spinning turbines of a traditional power station, and improve grid stability. This innovative technology reduces dependency on the fossil fuels used by these traditional power stations and increases the amount of renewable energy delivered via the national grid. Keith Greener Grid Park is part of a £44m deal with National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) to install this synchronous technology at further sites in Liverpool and elsewhere in the UK. They will be instrumental in supporting the National Grid’s Stability Pathfinder Project to meet its zero carbon grid target by 2025. The facility is located near the Scottish and Southern Electricity Network transmission substation at Keith, located south of Western Road in Keith. Our Greener Grid Parks that will not only reduce the costs of generating more renewable electricity but will also assist to deliver National Grid ESO's target of being able to operate a zero-carbon electricity system by 2025.

Renk SC bearings were successfully installed into GE’s 350 ton Rotating Stabiliser machine for Statkraft, for their Greener Grid park project in Moray, Scotland. We are proud to be working with our customers in supporting a lower carbon path to meet the world’s energy needs. Statkraft’s Greener Grid project in Scotland is now being commissioned, ready to go live in 2023. Listen to the Statkraft team discuss how this innovative project is helping to deliver a zero-carbon grid

For those times when you can’t wait for an email or have time for a telephone conversation, but want to quickly discuss your enquiry directly with an expert, use our new LiveChat service. Just select the button on the bottom right hand corner of any page and chat directly to a member of the RBK team

Great to be at DSEI last week and meeting many valuable customers and also visiting the Renk stand at DSEI 2021 with another strong showing from the global leader in fluid film bearings.

Another successful project and application for RENK bearings. As the lead ship in Canada’s program to acquire eight Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy, HMCS Harry DeWolf, was commissioned into the RCN on June 26th, 2021.

Work underway on Type 26 HMS Glasgow on the hardstanding at Govan. Revised schedule says she will floated off in the second half of 2022 to begin fitting out at Scotstoun.

Application success using Renk SC 100-1000 pedestal bearings

Good to see a long standing customer over many years using Renk pedestal bearings on their high speed balance.

Statkraft has signed a deal to install GE’s Rotating Stabilizer technology as part of a new approach to provide stability on Great Britain’s grid.

Earlier this year, National Grid ESO awarded Statkraft four stability contracts, including two at Keith in the northeast of Scotland. It is here that two of GE's Rotating Stabilizer synchronous machines will be installed in an effort to manage grid stability as the amount of non-synchronous generation from solar, wind and interconnectors grows.

Commenting on the project, managing director of Statkraft UK, David Flood said: “We are delighted to have reached this critical milestone in providing stability services to the grid. Our project at Keith builds on our electricity market and renewables expertise and helps Statkraft deliver our vision of being a renewable energy system integrator.”

The stabilisers will be used in place of inertia services from thermal plant generation, ensuring fossil fuel generation isn’t needed and can be replaced with greater amounts of renewables.

“We’re delighted to be using our innovation skills and vast experience of rotating machines to be supporting a lower carbon path to meet the UK’s energy needs” said Andy Cooper, managing director of GE’s Power Conversion UK business.

July 2020

Heerema’s Sleipnir, the LNG-powered world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessel, has set a record for the largest single lift jacket removal.

Heerema said on Monday that Sleipnir successfully removed the 8,100-tonne Jotun-B jacket in the Norwegian North Sea for client Vår Energi. The platform was installed in 1998 by Heerema’s Thialf, who returned to the Jotun Field last year to remove the topsides and conductors – demonstrating the circularity of Heerema’s involvement in the lifecycle of these now retiring platforms.

For the jacket removal, Sleipnir arrived at the Jotun Field, located 200 kilometres west of Stavanger, on 11 July. It completed the project by offloading the jacket onto the quayside at the AF Miljøbase decommissioning site in Vats, Norway, on 16 July. The jacket will end its lifecycle by being recycled up to 99 per cent. It is worth noting that the entire removal scope in the Jotun field was completed in only four days.

During this project, skirt piles – with diameters 2.7 metres and 80 millimetres of wall thickness – were cut subsea, the largest ever done in this way. Also, Heerema fabricated a 40-metres-long spreader bar.

Sleipnir performed the full removal operations while running on emission-reducing LNG fuel. By using LNG, the vessel reduces CO2 emissions by 25 per cent, reduces NOx emissions by 92 per cent, SOx by 99 per cent, and particulate materials by <99 per cent compared to traditional marine gas oil crane vessels.

To continue improving our levels of support for our customer base, we have added a new member to our team here at RBK. Benjamin started working at RBK Drive Elements nearly three months ago now to supplement his current studies in Business Management, and he will be focussing on business and administration support, and developing our online activities. In his spare time, Benjamin is also a keen rugby player.

One in every 100 deaths worldwide is the result of suicide. It can affect every one of us. Each and every suicide is devastating and has a profound impact on those around them. However, by raising awareness, reducing the stigma around suicide and encouraging well-informed action, we can reduce instances of suicide around the world. World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th September 2021 is an opportunity to raise awareness of suicide and to promote action through proven means that will reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts globally.

GE Renewable Energy announced contracts for the construction and long-term operation of the 209 MW Murra Warra II wind farm in Victoria, Australia. Featuring 38 GE Cypress 5.5-158 wind turbines, the Murra Warra II wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 150,000 homes in Victoria and offset around 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year, playing a significant role supporting the Victorian renewable energy target of 40 per cent by 2025. The wind farm, located 30km north of Horsham, in north-west Victoria, will provide immense benefits for the regional economy, creating more than 400 full-time jobs during the two-year construction period and ongoing employment opportunities in operations, maintenance and project support services throughout its lifetime. Construction of the project will commence later this year and will be fully commissioned and operational by mid-2022. The first Cypress wind turbine is set to be delivered to the Murra Warra site in mid-2021. Drawing on the rotating stabilizer technology of GE’s Power Conversion business, GE Renewable Energy is supporting the grid network in delivering efficient, reliable and zero-emission synchronous inertia whilst stabilizing frequency deviations. This solution meets the Australian Energy Market Operator’s requirements to improve grid stability, demonstrating the depth of complementary technology solutions that GE can bring to a project to ensure successful delivery and operation. Murra Warra II is the second project in Australia utilising the Cypress onshore wind platform.

International Women in Engineering Day is celebrating its 8th year in 2021. Brought to you by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), INWED is an international awareness campaign which raises the profile of women in engineering and focuses attention on the amazing career opportunities available to women and girls in this exciting industry. 

Even though many of us won’t be able to be in the same room as our peers, friends and colleagues this year, we’re aiming to reach as many people as possible. We ask you to encourage friends, relatives and colleagues in as many countries as possible to be involved in our celebrations appreciating the contribution women engineers make. There are going to be so many virtual activities to celebrate the day. If you’re organising one yourself, you can add it directly to the website. Thank you for helping to celebrate the outstanding achievements of women engineers throughout the world!

Today marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) - a week aimed at providing a valuable opportunity to talk openly about all aspects of mental health, with a specific focus on providing help and advice for those in need. Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday 10 May to Sunday 16 May 2021. This year, join the fight for mental health.

During this pandemic, millions of us have experienced a mental health problem, or seen a loved one struggle. And we’ve seen that the support we all need just isn’t out there. For them, for us and for you – we must take this chance to step up the fight for mental health. That means fighting for change, for fairness, for respect and for life-changing support.

On 16th April, the forward section of the first Type 26 Frigate HMS Glasgow was brought out of the Ship Block Outfit Hall in Govan shipyard

The section that has been rolled out is largely just steelwork although some of the lock-out machinery is in place. Lock-out machinery is the large items such as engines and gearboxes that must be fitted as the ship is built up, being too bulky and heavy to be inserted later. There are still vast amounts of internal equipment, pipework and miles of wiring to be put in place, and set to work during the fitting out phase.

Following the roll-out of the aft section, two sections will be joined on the hardstanding before she is floated off and towed down the Clyde to the Scotstoun yard, probably in early 2022. The fitting out phase will be followed by the test and commissioning phase, she is due to be handed over to RN in 2025 and fully operational in 2027.

Today, the RENK Group announced that, subject to her formal appointment by the Supervisory Board, Ms. Susanne Wiegand will assume the position of CEO of the RENK Group as of May 1, 2021. Ms. Susanne Wiegand will succeed Mr. Florian Hofbauer, who acted as the spokesperson of the Executive Board and successfully lead RENK for almost fourteen years. Ms. Susanne Wiegand is an experienced manager who has already led large and successful companies of Rheinmetall AG as well as the German Naval Yards shipyard group and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG. With over 20 years of management experience in corporate leadership, M&A and operations, she brings highly relevant industry experience.

Renew!!...don’t refurbish. A non-RENK bearing shell (image below) which was recently refurbished instead of being replaced with a new bearing shell…….and then failed! This situation then lead to 3 weeks machine downtime whilst a new bearing shell was supplied and fitted.

When it comes to the refurbishing of a white metal bearing shell, it is very difficult to achieve the required original manufacturers tolerances. This is due to the form, position, straightness and parallel measurements that must all be extremely accurate to avoid an imbalance in the machine. The manufacturing tolerances for Renk bearings are extremely accurate and are nearly impossible to duplicate after the bearing has been manufactured. Problems therefore with the rotor dynamics can lead to vibration, high temperature issues and ultimately machine failure. 

When the white metal is damaged on an original bearing shell and replacement material is added to attempt a repair, there are potential issues with the binding of the new and old material. This will compromise the quality and lifetime of the bearing shell. 

Additional complications include standards, approvals, warranties, and guarantees which should also be considered if components are refurbished and later result in a failure at site and any consequential damage to your machine.

Refurbishment of white metal bearing shells can also be a timely process and in some cases create long-term shutdowns. Many of our bearing shells are available straight from stock and can be shipped next day, so we can greatly reduce downtime in the event of an emergency.

Please also remember that if you have an issue with a bearing shell, it should not simply be changed or refurbished. The reason why damage has occurred should be explored and understood to prevent a repeat of the problem, which is also something RBK can assist you with. 

We can supply new replacement bearing shells in a short lead time. Don’t compromise 👍

In addition to 8 Type 26 Frigates and 5 Type 31 Frigates, Scottish shipyards will also be building an unspecified number of Type 32 Frigates. Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, recently stated that Rosyth would be building Tytpe 32 Frigates in addition to Type 31 Frigates. “We are committed to building the Type 26 in the United Kingdom; it is under construction on the Clyde. In Rosyth, work is ongoing to build the facility needed to build the Type 31s and the subsequent Type 32s. He also knows that I recently recategorised the future Fleet Solid Support ship as a warship. I intend to make sure that, if not entirely, there is a considerable degree of UK build in that process, subject to tender. According to the recently released ‘Defencer Command Paper’, the Type 32 frigates will be designed to protect territorial waters, to provide persistent presence overseas and to support Littoral Response Groups. The first mention of a new Type 32 frigate came in the Prime Minister’s 19 November statement. He said: “We are going to develop the next generation of warships, including multi-role research vessels and Type 32 frigates.” The Defence Command Paper, titled ‘Defence in a Competitive Age’, describes the planned programme: “Type 32 frigates, designed to protect territorial waters, provide persistent presence overseas and support our Littoral Response Groups.”