Euro Pumps invites customer input into R&D plans

Euro Pumps is undertaking a major redesign of the high-temperature, high-pressure swivels which are a key component of its CIP systems, and is inviting user input.

The focus of the redesign is to increase the life of the units to accommodate changing customer requirements. Due to increasing fat in products, many Euro Pumps customers are now running systems at 75–80°C, >100 bar and 10–20 h/day, five days a week, using continually high water temperatures in hot harsh environments.

Experiment 1

Euro Pumps commenced the research by conducting a series of bearing experiments, soaking the supplied outer bearing and a range of replacement bearings sourced from other suppliers in water to see which bearing lasted the longest. Eliminating rust was a critical factor, as it is rust within the swivel that is the main cause of bearing failure, unreliability and seizing causing cleaning defects.

Experiment 2

Secondary trials were conducted into the type of grease used. This R&D has taken over one-and-a-half years, as it takes a complete service cycle to trial different materials and observe the outcome, benefits and disadvantages of each grease trialled. A high-quality marine grease was selected due to its resistance to water.

Experiment 3

The DYC swivel kit sourced from Europe is further upgraded with Euro Pumps O-rings, which are mostly a Viton material that lives longer in hot conditions. Two more Viton O-rings are being upgraded following client input.

The company is now moving to the final step of machining the whole body in Australia, with plans to upgrade the top thread to 1/2″ as opposed to 3/8″ for extra strength and to incorporate a grease nipple to penetrate the bearing area, with ongoing research into improving the chemical resistance. User input is welcomed.