CHALLENGE
A major offshore wind cable producer is creating a new-build cable production facility in the North East of Scotland. THREE60 Energy have designed and manufactured two spooling gantries to handle finished cable to be stored externally.
The spooling gantry is used towards the end of the cable manufacturing process to store the finished product in static storage baskets. Each gantry is supplied with a tensioner which is situated at the top of the gantry. The tensioner is used to load the finished product into the storage baskets. The tensioner will also be used for unloading the product from the storage baskets. A key design criteria was that the tensioners were to comply with strict planning conditions to limit noise levels.
SOLUTION
THREE60 have supplied offshore tensioners for over 30 years and drew on their experience and expertise in the design, manufacture and testing of tensioners to develop a product which is part of a large scale, complex cable management solution. The tensioners provide a vital role in the transfer of cable around the factory and are designed and manufactured in alignment with the customer’s requirements and expectations. The design incorporates motors with integrated drives, minimising the space requirement optimising the design and through life maintenance costs.
The tensioners include an innovative new chain design which allows the line pull to be maintained but reduces overall installed power requirements by 25%, this allows the weight and the cost to be significantly reduced.
RESULTS & BENEFITS
In addition to the reduced noise levels, the simplified track design results in fewer components which leads to lower manufacture and assembly costs. Maintenance of the tensioner is also simplified. The reduced running time of the HPU results in a smaller, quieter HPU without the need for cooling. With an oil tank capacity of 80 litres instead of 250 litres, maintenance costs and environmental impact is further reduced. 4-off units are being delivered.
