KONE approves NAPL new facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park, Vallam

KONE, the 100-year-old lift manufacturing company approved the new facility of NAPL at SIPCOT Industrial Estate, Vallam Vadagal, Kanchipuram.  An extensive assessment of the new facility was conducted by KONE and was satisfied with the new facility’s plant, machinery, lab, and other infrastructure.  All KONE requirements were met by NAPL satisfactorily.  The physical assessment was carried out on video call due to CoVID19 Pandemic.

FUJITEC approves NAPL’s new facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park, Vallam

After an extensive assessment of the new facility of NAPL at SIPCOT Industrial Estate, Vallam Vadagal Village, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, the Japanese major FUJITEC approved the new NAPL facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park for manufacturing the anti-vibration components for its requirements.  NAPL manufactures components for FUJITEC Elevators.

NAPL Moves to Brand New Facility at SIPCOT Vallam, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

NAPL has moved its manufacturing operations to a brand new facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park, Vallam Vadagal Village in Sriperumbudur Taluk, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu.  This facility will exclusively manufacture NAPL’s range of anti-vibration products.

This facility is spread over 5000 Square Meters.  Currently, 1000 Square Meters are covered for the existing production requirements and the balance is available for future expansion needs.  The facility is located in the well-known SIPCOT Industrial Park and is approachable easily from Chennai.

Although we had planned for a grand inauguration of the facility, the CoVID19 Pandemic came in the way.  However, we will have a ceremony and celebration once the Pandemic fades away with our existing and potential customers, suppliers, and other key stakeholders.

In a dynamically changing world of technological advancement, we are inherently aware that we need to be at the cutting edge of technology and R&D. NAPL was founded and is operating on the principles of application-oriented product range, high-quality products as well as dedication to innovation and individual solutions. We have a strong bias towards technology which has helped us to become a 100 products company within a short span of time.

Rubber has been used in vibration isolation for a considerable time

All engines and many other mechanical and electrical devices require mounting and restraining. These mounting systems often have the added function of isolating the machine vibrations from the mountings.

If we now consider a typical system where we have a vibrating body attached to a bed via a rubber mounting system we have 3 units to consider:

1. The vibrating body, the freer this is to move the more the vibration energy will be dissipated away from the source of the vibration. This will reduce one cause of damage and prolong the life of the equipment. To allow for this vibration we need the mounts to be as soft as possible.

2. The bed and fixings are isolated from the vibrations by an elastic mounting system which prevents transmission of the vibrations to the bed. This reduces the fatigue of the fixings and stops any distress caused by the transmitted vibration. Again the softer the mount the lower the amount of vibration energy transmitted.

3. The rubber mounting system should be capable of carrying the weight of the equipment mounted on it, along with any other loads applied as a result of the equipment’s operation. It must also isolate the vibrations from the bed. The mounting system should also have a long life. For a long life we need strains to be as low as possible, and therefore the stiffness as high as practical.

When considering the above requirements there is a requirement for the mount to be soft and hard at the same time. This requirement to compromise poses a significant challenge to the mount designer to reduce the strain on the rubber at the applied loads, and on the manufacturer to make the mount to the highest standards to extend the life. These considerations require a significant understanding of both vibration engineering and rubber.

Vibration isolation theory is well documented, however, real solutions are complicated by the difficulty in defining and measuring the relevant properties of the rubber. Also as can be seen from the schematic wind generator drive chain the complex interactions require skilled analysis.

NATURAL FREQUENCY fn: Natural Frequency is the frequency of vibration that will occur if a system is disturbed from its normal position and allowed to vibrate freely

DISTURBING FREQUENCY fd: The external force or displacement due to unbalance mass & non-uniform torque Calculation for Finding Isolators Natural Frequency:-

IMPORT SUBSTITUTION ENGINEERING FOR VESTAS WIND TURBINES

• The MAKE IN INDIA Experience

Vestas is the energy industry’s global partner in sustainable energy solutions. They design, manufacture, install, and service wind turbines across the globe, and with +136 GW of wind turbines in 84 countries, they have installed more wind power than anyone else.

Through their industry-leading smart data capabilities and +117 GW of wind turbines under service, they use data to interpret, forecast, and exploit wind resources and deliver best-in-class wind power solutions.  

One of the core objections to wind power has been the amount of vibration and noise they create.  So when Vestas approached NAPL for indigenizing some of the anti-vibration components as a substitute for imported components as per the Government of India’s vision of MAKE IN INDIA, it came as no surprise.

But the job was very difficult.  One on hand, NAPL had to meet the global Vestas standards.  On the other hand, the components had to be completely MADE IN INDIA.

Working with the Global Technology Team of Vestas, NAPL embarked on the journey.  Today, Vestas India is an OEM customer for NAPL for several parts including anti Vibration components.  After the parent organization of NAPL, NUTECH INDUSTRIAL PARTS has a stated position – ANYTHING EVERYTHING FOR WIND PARTS.

NAPL RIDES WITH INDIAN RAILWAYS

The year 2018-19 was a memorable year for NAPL.  It was this year that NAPL was approved by Indian Railways / RDSO for manufacturing and supplying anti-vibration components for them.

India has the 4^th largest rail network in the world after the USA, Russia, and China, covering approximately 65000 KM and expanding at a very fast rate. When it comes to Passenger-Kilometres per year on Railway, India ranks Number 2 in the world (after China), with a load of 1305 Billion Passenger Kilometres.   India is also the largest producer, exporter as well as consumer of the LHB (Linke Hofmann Busche) Rail Coaches in the world.  NAPL products were designed to meet the LHB coach requirements.

It was not an easy journey.  We had to meet the stringent requirements of the Indian Railways from many perspectives – safety, comfort, and durability among them. Working with senior technical officials of Indian Railways, NAPL successfully designed and developed these anti-vibration components as per Indian Railways and LHB specifications.

Today, Indian Railways is one of NAPL’s largest customers.  NAPL manufactures several Anti Vibration components for Indian Railways.  The product range is manufactured includes Ball Joint Traction Lever, Ball Joint Roll Link, Axle Box Pivot Bush, Traction Centre Elastic Joint, Anchor Link, Longitudinal and Lateral Bump Stops, Rubber Pads for Primary Suspension, Primary Bump Stop and Rubber Springs. 

With the success that has been achieved with RCF, ICF, and Zonal Railways, the engine manufacturing unit of Indian Railways Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in West Bengal has now placed orders on NAPL for Sandwich Mounts.

We proudly ride with Railways!

Anti Vibration Products Market in Construction Equipment Industry – A Review

1       Market Turns Around After COVID19

The recent ICRA Survey with Construction Equipment Dealers reveals a healthy improvement in demand for new machines.  An industry-friendly fund flow from the Government and the ongoing projects that started before the CoVID19 Pandemic are expected to support demand in the second half of fiscal 2021 after a considerable shortfall during the first half.

This is expected to create higher demand for the anti-vibration products market in the construction machinery industry, along with several other factors which are briefly discussed in this blog. 

2       The ‘X’ Factor

The demand spike however does not come without any disclaimer.  The X factor is the expected legislation in relation to the terms of the Paris Accord (Global Climate Change Agreement) that all nations will have to abide by.  If emission, noise, and transport regulations either toughen or harmonize quickly, the replacement cycle away from traditional fossil fuel power to modern electromobility will move to the top gear.  Consider this – in the global scenario, and in India is no exception, by 2050 close to 70% of the global population will be living in urban or semi-urban areas.  This fast urbanization will call for a change of mindset in the CE industry – the dependence on large vehicles meant for high altitude terrain operations will be replaced by a hybrid market model of such vehicles along with compact machines meant for operations in heavily populated urban and semi-urban areas where the space to operate is limited. 

According to various studies, in the coming years close to 80% investment in infrastructure will focus around seven sectors – Telecom, Electricity, Defence, Roads & Bridges, Seaports, Airports, and Renewable Energy.

3       Effect of Indian Union Budget 2021

From an infrastructure perspective, Union Budget 2021 gets 9/10 in our mark sheet.  If properly implemented, India will have a market size of approximately 26 Billion USD by 2030 and this will considerably improve the market size for anti-vibration products in the CE industry as well.  The vehicle stoppage policy, currently under consideration by the GOI is expected to create a market of its own to the tune of USD 6 Billion (INR 43000 Crore), according to an HDFC Report. 

4       Impact of Paris Agreement

From a global perspective and, therefore, from an Indian perspective, the whole thing will depend on two factors – (1) infrastructure needs of increasingly urbanizing society and (2) need to meet the terms of the Paris Accord.

On one hand, the needs of modern society are well documented and we need not go into the details.  Fast developing countries including India and most other nations in the SAARC region such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, etc., are left with no option but to increase the Government spending on infrastructure, whether solely by the Government or Private or through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). 

On the second hand is the Paris Agreement.  Look at this scenario – In India alone, 9 million vehicles will go off the road in 2021 and 28 million by 2025, mostly two-wheelers creating a market of 6 Billion USD of its own.  It will reduce Carbon Dioxide emission by 17% and cut the particulate matter in the air by 24%.  If 50% of Bharat II and III stage vehicles go off the road, it would save around 8 million tonnes of oil a year. 

The electromobility to counter global warming and climate change pausing serious threat to the human race will demand a new outlook to transport and construction machinery.  As the world moves into electric engines and vehicles, the anti-vibration product designers and producers will have to scale up the technology and R&D capability significantly. 

5       The changes that are bound to come

The scenario will also demand a considerable increase in the need for comfortable, high-speed mass transportation such as high-speed trains and metro transportation. 

When it comes to heavy construction machinery such as excavators, loaders, dumpers, dozers, and the like, the CE manufacturers have traditionally depended on the high tonnage vehicles meant for high altitude terrain and border operations. These areas were barely populated and hence were considered outside the scope of any serious environmental threat.  This will not be the case anymore.  Firstly, infrastructure in the urban and semi-urban areas will have an equal say in the CE market as it has in high-altitude operations.  This will mean a spike in demand for compact machines in the CE industry.  Secondly, the border areas and high-altitude terrains will no longer be considered as outside of any serious environmental threat.

6       Role of Anti Vibration Products

One of the main causes of noise pollution is vibration.  The construction machinery and surface transport vehicles whether on-road or rail is a significant contributor to this problem.  In order to meet the safety, comfort, and other needs of modern society in general and industry in particular, and in order to meet the climate change requirements, anti-vibration products will attain higher importance than what they used to. 

There are two challenges here:

1. The capability of the anti vibration product designers to meet the new challenges paused by the scenario explained in this blog
2. The ability of the anti vibration manufacturers to offer a full spectrum of products and services with capacity enhancement at short notice.

7       How NAPL can help?

NAPL is a specialist design, development, and manufacturer of anti-vibration products for more than a decade now.  NAPL has the ability to both meet the technological challenges paused on the construction equipment and transportation industry as well as the ability to scale up manufacturing capacity at very short notice.

For more details please get in touch with [email protected] or [email protected]

TUV  AUSTRIA CERT GMBH has renewed NAPL Certification for EN ISO 9001:2015, EN ISO 14001:2015, and EN ISO 45001:2018