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Story added 08 February 2010.

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When a determined young engineer started his own business by designing, developing and testing his own fire prevention equipment, he had little idea of the success it would become. Twenty years later and Reeling Systems Ltd is now a primary fire prevention equipment supplier to Chubb fire for the MoD’s Naval vessels.

The company’s designs were approved by the MoD and the hose reeling system was integrated with Chubb components to provide a complete MoD fire prevention package. When the Chubb Group restructured in 2002, Reeling Systems continued to work with a Chubb subsidiary, which resulted in the Whitchurch based subcontractor taking full responsibility for the majority of production as well as the assembly and packaging of specialist fire systems.

In 2009, a supplier was hit by the downturn and Reeling Systems employed the company owner/engineer and acquired its own CNC machine tools to produce the parts in-house. The company was visited by an XYZ engineer who proposed Reeling Systems employed its 1010 vertical machining centre and the 250TC turning centre. The XYZ engineer also noted the limited factory space and suggested a media filtration system to maintain a clean and healthy work environment that would keep the facility dust and oil film free. That innovative young engineer that is now Reeling Systems Managing Director, Mr Martin Campbell comments: “We were advised to install media filtration units and were given the details of a well known supplier. We did our research and found the systems were designed to be mounted on top of the machine tool, making them inaccessible for filter changes. A further web search brought up Air Cleaning Systems (acs) and our concerns rapidly dissolved.”

“We spoke to Mark Lemkey at Air Cleaning Systems and were immediately sold on the benefits of the acs OMF1000 media filtration system. What struck us was the friendly service and willingness to meet our exact needs whilst providing a product superior to anything available from the competition. Firstly, the OMF1000 was designed to be mounted alongside the machine, simplifying filter changeovers. So, instead of clambering up a machine to service the system, we have a system at the side of our machines where we can open a door and rapidly change the filters. The OMF1000 also has gauges that inform you when the filters need changing, unlike competitor offerings,” continues Mr Campbell.

The XYZ engineer suggested filtration units based not only on the limited workshop space and employee environment but also the type of work the company was planning to undertake. The forecast was that production at the four employee business would result in heavy cutting, generating considerable heat and clouds of mist when combined with the fast flowing coolant. With plans for batch production heat and coolant mist would immediately dissipate from the machines when the doors were opened. With all this in mind, the decision was made and acs set about working with XYZ prior to the installation.

As Mr Campbell continues: “We wanted to hit the ground running when the machines were installed. Air Cleaning Systems accommodated our plans and worked with XYZ in Tiverton prior to the installation to develop the complete package. acs hard wired the OMF1000 units to the machines and also painted them the same colour as the XYZ machines. When we took delivery in October, the machines and filtration systems were instantly up and running.”

Reeling Systems now produces hose guides, inductors, nozzles and reels that are just a few of the 30 plus product families that incorporate upwards of 300 part variations. With parts made from stainless steel, phosphor bronze, aluminium and non ferrous materials, coolant is a necessity not only for heat dissipation and tooling longevity but also the removal of swarf from the machining area. Production batches vary from 25 to 1000 with heavy cuts and coolant applied to most parts.

As Mr Campbell says: “If we ever produce a part without the OMF1000 unit running, we immediately witness a wave of hot coolant mist and dust emanating from the machine. This is unpleasant for the operator, the general work environment and above all we cannot take parts from the machine and set up the next part until the cloud settles. This can have a considerable knock on effect with production times. These reasons are enough to justify that we made the right decision in acquiring the acs filtration units. I often wonder how companies can operate without filtration systems.”

“The need for filtration is more prominent on our machining centre where we have to open the machine doors after each cycle to load and unload parts. Without the OMF1000 our factory would be covered in an oily film. We are now developing platen tooling fixtures, so we can machine a number of parts in one cycle, this will improve our productivity and enable us to keep the machine doors closed for longer periods.”

“Our turning centre has an LNS barfeed system that allows us to produce batches without opening the machine doors too frequently. However, there are some jobs that require us to use soft jaws and manually load parts and open the doors after each cycle. We can fortunately rely upon the OMF1000 units to rapidly extract all dust and mist, so as soon as the cycle ends we can open the machine doors and be mist free. I personally have a low tolerance for dirt and mess and I cannot comprehend how, many companies can subject their employees and premises to such conditions,” concludes Mr Campbell.

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