GeniSYS Proves a Winner in US

Hydratight’s geniSYS220 portable CNC milling unit couldn’t have had a tougher test than on its US debut on a refinery refurbishment in California.

But the amazing machine had no problem handling the removal and rethreading of 3¾" and 3½" studs — even inverted ones — as well as many smaller studs, in a fraction of the time it would have taken conventional methods.

The studs were at the top and bottom of four separate catalyst reactors that had been exposed to the elements.

Typically, the studs in these common reactors are exposed to 700°F and 1,500bar pressure for up to three years between maintenance turnarounds. Over time the studs can become damaged and even break in the reactor, leading to massively expensive downtime for repairs.

The studs can also suffer start-up and shut-down leaks — potentially very dangerous in such high temperature and pressure conditions.

Hydratight technicians at first expected to remove and restore 12 studs: in fact by the end of the job, 48 studs had been restored, with two men working each shift, two shifts a day.

The machine was so fast, Hydratight technicians were asked to undertake a large amount of extra work in the allotted time — which was also completed without fuss by the geniSYS. In all, Hydratight technicians machined out 48 3½" studs in 12 days, then went on to remove another 10 3¾" studs — five of which were inverted — and another 96 17/8” studs over the 21-day turn-around.

Despite the condition of the studs, the geniSYS not only cleanly bored out an average of two or three 3.5" studs per shift to a depth of six inches, it was then programmed to rebuild existing threads in the reactor head slots.

Refinery turn-around staff were very happy with the quality and speed shown in this critical test of the new unit.

GeniSYS’s key features are accuracy and speed. Engineers on site estimated the work was completed in around a quarter of the time of a conventional portable milling machine. More than this, all the work undertaken by the machine was to such an accuracy that the resulting joints were 100 per cent leak free at start up.

Elsewhere on the project Hydratight provided split-frame clamshells to cut out diaphragms on an exchanger, and smaller clamshells to reface gasket surfaces and diaphragm cut-outs on 11 different surfaces. Hydratight also provided a bolting trailer, with a variety of nut splitters, RSL torque wrenches and other equipment used throughout the refinery.

For more info contact project manager Robert Trouts 562-659-3777

See video of the geniSYS220 here.