The ID and OD of the suction ring was then Next, the impeller was put through a n
machined according to the manufacturer’s extensive phase of hand grinding to bring
specifications. the four vanes to a uniform and dimensionally symmetric profile.
A stainless steel wear ring was then Next, the impeller was secured to a shaft
“shrunk on” and pinned to the impeller. provided by the customer.
Here are the impeller and shaft assembly The operator gets ready to dynamically
being lifted and secured onto the balanc- balance the rotor.
ing machine.
Several possible solutions were immediately explored:
1. Get a new impeller from the manufacturer. This involved a waiting period of 48
to 52 weeks, a good long term solution, but one that meant having the pump
out of service for one year.
2. Call in several vendors so they could offer a more viable solution. Every vendor
practically gave up, saying that since more than half of the impeller was missing,
nothing could be done.
3. Rebuild the impeller as close as possible to the original dimension. The customer provided us with a drawing of the impeller and we went to work.
The job was broken into several tasks and assigned to various employees to
work on, as described in the sequences on these two pages.
The entire job took only 5-1/2 weeks, allowing the customer to put a very
important piece of equipment back on line at a fraction of the original cost
estimate.
P&S
Alfredo A. Ciotola is the founder and president of Frontline Industries, Inc., 918
Clinton Avenue, Irvington, NJ 07111, 973-373-7211, Fax: 973-374-0365,
AlCiotola@frontlineindustries.com, www.frontlineindustries.com.
the fine art
of intricate
duplication.
There is no pump part so complicated that ProCast can’t replicate
it, quickly and inexpensively. Our
laser measuring technology and
digital patterning process make an
exacting mold of the original—and
our foundry and machining services
do the rest. What emerges is a
piece of pure hand-crafted precision,
ready to bolt in and go to work.
Visit procastparts.com or call
1-800-543-6263.
ProCast
