Building and Construction

As urban consolidation concentrates transport infrastructure into closer proximity with social infrastructure and housing, so architects, engineers and builders are seeking to protect builders and occupants long-term against the impact of vibration, cracking and structural weakening. “Not only are the sort-term impacts of drilling, earthmoving, tunnelling and building presenting ongoing challenges, but also issues such as urban microclimate hot spots and climate change are coming into play,” says Mr David Booty, Manager of bearing manufacturer Hercules Engineering (a division of Cut To Size Plastics). “This building protection issue goes well beyond reports of new buildings showing faults and cracking, which are alarming enough in themselves. But the potential problem is extending out 10, 20 and 30 years into the future, as buildings have to flexibly withstand more physical impacts from nearby heavy vehicle and machinery activity – and things like hot spots where high-rise and extensive concrete structures are clumped together in particular suburbs and locations. The challenges to build for the future are ongoing and intensifying,” said Mr Booty, whose company is in response fabricating no-maintenance slip joints that combine tough low-friction composite materials with durable metal facings to provide extended lifespan protection against cracking and structural disruption of civil, industrial and resources infrastructure and construction projects. The latest specially fabricated Herculon™ Composite Slip joints (HSCs) are engineered to last multiple decades, a durability already achieved in service by earlier such bearings in residential, commercial, industrial and resources applications. The HSCs complement existing proven stock and custom types, including Herculon™ structural slip joints, which protect against potentially damaging expansion, contraction, ambient vibration and changing loadings caused by factors such as passing road and rail traffic, production machinery and changing uses of buildings. the latest Some of the latest Herculon™ structural bearings are manufactured by integrating H-Glide fibre-reinforced composite pads sliding on 2B finish stainless steel (pictured right) to achieve an exceptionally low sliding coefficient of friction compared with other engineering bearing materials, even underwater. Unlike metal bearings that may rust or require continual lubrication and maintenance, the environmentally safe yet hard-wearing H-Glide bearing pads are dry sliding and will not release contaminants into surrounding environments or adjacent processes, says Mr Booty. HSC slip joints, meanwhile, are located between walls, corbels, beams and concrete floors to provide industrial and commercial engineers, architects and building specifiers with alternatives to more costly types of bearings, or those with shorter lifespans. The HSC’s Stainless-Steel Plate (2b Finish) and elastomeric pad slip joint structure typically outlasts standard grease-type slip joints multiple times, providing extended lifespan protection for major infrastructure, industrial and mining projects where no-maintenance durability is vital. The slip joints have been proven in service over lifespans of decades, says Mr Booty. The latest applications of custom engineered HSCs involve diverse projects, including a high-rise residential/commercial project in Sydney, a town centre mixed-use project in Melbourne, and an underground infrastructure project in which core filled block walls incorporated locating dowels to lock the slab in position and allow for expansion, rotation and shock absorption after the slab is cured, said Mr Booty. “The challenge involved in ensuring the ongoing slip joint protection required for the project was that cutting or drilling stock slip joints to fit around or between the dowels would have compromised their extremely long-life performance, which was one of their major advantages for the job.” “So, in this case, the solution was custom-engineering HSC slip joints to fit in continuous strips either side of the locating dowels so it could be used in extended lengths to provide optimum load-bearing capacity and reliability in a restricted space,” says Mr Booty. This configuration also obtained the greatest benefit from the ability of the extended slip joint to accommodate small variations in the surfaces of the slab and wall structure, with the 7mm thick slip joint acting to accommodate these variations and spread the load evenly to further contribute to greater reliability and lifespan. The custom design obviated the need to drill the Grease Slip joints or to painstakingly and precisely measure the distances between the dowels to use increments of HSC Slip joints. Using the full length of HSC slip joints on both sides of dowels saves significant amounts of installation time. Challenge and Solution “Apart from immediate efficiencies and savings, the longer-term benefit is of maximum relevance to architectural, engineering and construction audiences. In the face of an increasingly tighter regulatory environment, professional groups are looking further down the road to see how they can provide assurances of long-term performance to their customers, who are very much aware of the issues,” said Mr Booty. “Sometimes it is not so much that old methods of countering building movement or inflexibility were wrong in the context of the time they were used, but rather that the bar of durability and efficiency has been raised in the face of new challenges. Increasingly, we are being called upon to design for very long-term horizons,” says Mr Booty. Hercules Engineering provides a technical brochure (see here) to assist in specifying technologies such as Hercuslip joints and complementary Herculon ranges of structural bearings. This is complemented by customized quotations on broader bearing types and special-purpose products including Laminated Elastomeric, Spherical, Pot Type Bearings and customer engineered solutions. The technical brochure includes recommended slip joint solutions for optimum cost-efficiency and durability for buildings ranging from hospitals and shopping centres, carparks, transport terminals, office towers and warehouses through to factories, storage tanks, silos, boilers and industrial and resources plant such as pipelines, conveyors, pressure vessels and processing facilities across a diverse range of industry. Included is advice for technologies required for different types of structures located across areas of widely differing climatic and geographic diversity. Hercules Engineering products have been used in landmark projects globally where durability is required, ranging from high-load walkways on the Sydney Opera House, to applications including the Australian Parliament, corporate headquarters in Hong Kong and mines in the Asia-Pacific, Australia and Africa. Hercules Engineering and Cut To Size Plastics provide a wealth of experience

Solving the wind tunnel effect in retail, hospitality and health facilities – as well as those affecting all the taller buildings in increasingly crowded cityscapes – is benefitting from a fresh look at an entrance inspiration more than 100 years old – the revolving door.  Architects internationally have known for a long time about the welcoming tranquility, energy efficiency, safety and sustainability benefits of revolving doors, but some Australasian engineering and architectural specifiers say more of their clients are now starting to appreciate more how this “always open, always closed” concept can benefit their building’s operating efficiency, risk management and protective comfort.  Particular targets for the latest generations of smart architectural revolving doors are high foot traffic hot spots around buildings and entrances, including those designing inclusively for the one-in-six Australians with disability, including age frailty, and vulnerability to discomforting, destabilising and sometimes injurious gusts. Australia and New Zealand each have particularly windy cities, with Perth being one of the windiest capitals in the world and Wellington being the world’s windiest city by average wind speed.  “The wind tunnel issue has been exacerbated in all major cities Down Under as urban densities have increased and tall buildings have become the norm here,” says Boon Edam Australia Managing Director Michael Fisher. “Increased awareness of the safety, sustainability and Duty of Care risk management of wind-prone buildings may be happening in part because of increasing awareness of climate change. This is bringing more windstorm and weather events – against which revolving doors give an extra layer of protection, including against cyclones and firestorms and smoke.”  “Revolving doors are beneficial where there is a wind tunnel effect where surrounding buildings are close together and where taller buildings create wind canyons. Really tall buildings have multiplied across the face of Australia and New Zealand, where there are already more than 20 buildings over 200m and more planned nearly double that height.”  “Good siting and design can ameliorate the downdraught effect of winds hitting buildings, but more needs to be done at ground level, which is where a lot of the problems occur.”  “One of our engineering partners in Sydney told us recently about a worker being chased down a CBD street by debris flying in a wind tunnel. She refused to come out of the building where she took refuge until the wind dropped – it became a work safety issue.”  Global and local issue  Globally, Mr Fisher notes that stricter rules for tall buildings have been produced by the City of London Corporation as it seeks to protect pedestrians and cyclists from high winds near tall buildings, including those near the 39-storey Walkie Talkie building in the CBD. Under the new guidelines, developers will now be obliged to provide more thorough safety assessments of how proposed buildings and the wind microclimates they create will affect pedestrians and cyclists.   Also in the UK, Bridgewater Place tower in Leeds had to have the roads closed around it when there were high winds following the death of a pedestrian when a lorry was blown over. Toronto in Canada has suggested bringing in by-laws to ensure planning for skyscrapers takes into account the risk of street winds.  “Many local building specifiers, engineers and architects are very aware of the issue and say more of their clients are becoming knowledgeable too – but some don’t recognise the increasingly widespread nature of the issue as building heights and building densities increase in Australasia and around the world.”  Boon Edam’s larger revolving door designs – including Duotour and Tournex types, are used in many of the world’s Fortune 500 company buildings, including particularly health, hospitality, retail and corporate HQ landmarks. They are used globally by retailers such as Ikea with benefits including health, exclusion of pollution and natural allergens, comfort and energy efficiency, for example. The world’s tallest building, the 829.8m Burg Khalifa in Dubai uses Boon Edam revolving doors to protect visitors against winds at its high lookouts.  “Revolving doors create a peaceful and protected environment as soon as you step inside, which is important in retail, hospitality and health environments. All people are immediately safe, sheltered and comfortable, while lobby areas are opened up to valuable wider use – including meeting places, reception spaces, retail spaces and other income-generating activities. So, immediately, an installation can create a capital gain by expanding useable floorspace, a gain that far outweighs the cost of revolving doors, which will have already paid for themselves in this instance.   “Then there are the ongoing power savings – we have observed companies pumping air warmed to 40 deg Celsius into their buildings to keep them warm and healthy – only to see the overall temperature stubbornly stay below half that temperature as all that expensive air is pumped out the front door. The same thing happens in reverse on hot days – you only have to walk down the street in Australia, New Zealand or Papua New Guinea to feel expensive cold air being pumped out and wasted.”     HVAC benefits of Revolving Doors  Prevention of HVAC losses through inefficient doors is integral to sustainability and the efficiency of green buildings, because HVAC costs are often the single biggest major costs of operating a large building,” says Mr Fisher. The Australian Department of Environment and Energy has estimated that HVAC represents 39 per cent of the typical energy consumption breakdown of an office building, well ahead of the 25 per cent for lighting and 22 per cent for equipment and 4 per cent for lifts.  “Further, revolving doors are important in buildings that have an elevator. Let’s suppose we have an open door at street level. There is an air path from outside, through the open door, through the elevator doors, up the elevator shaft, and out the vents into the machine room, and out of the building. Revolving doors act as a draft block, preventing this chimney effect of sucking air in at high speeds and ejecting it through vents in the roof.”  And while the main reasons for using revolving doors are energy efficiencies in heating and cooling and preventing strong drafts entering buildings, there are other advantages:  Revolving doors effectively help to exclude natural health hazards and man-made pollutants as well as smoke and debris driven by the wind. Car and bus fumes are locked out and street noise is excluded. Revolving doors allow large numbers of people to pass in and out easily and quickly. These doors permit people to be going in and out of the door at the same time in an orderly, safe and controlled manner – which is important in Covid times and for ongoing access control  Revolving doors can be configured to easily accommodate strollers and wheeled luggage bags, including Boon Edam designs used in airports, traffic terminals, tourist hot spots and major retail

As Australia looks forward to the prospect of a wetter-than-usual summer in many parts of the country, many public utilities and private industries are preparing to harvest and safeguard water to safeguard against drier times in the future. “Open storage tanks are obviously one area of concern, inviting evaporation and airborne pollution of both a chemical nature and from flourishing birdlife. With climate change, water is becoming too valuable to waste,” says Laurie Green, Managing Director of  Cut to Size Plastics. Mr Green, who has seen tank design evolve over decades as a leader in tough engineered non-polluting and also food grade plastics, both manufactures long-life tanks and, through his subsidiary Hercules Engineering, helps develop tank top bearings to help protect their contents. He says storage tanks today can hold upwards of 10, 20 or even 30,000 tons of liquid that must be protected from the elements and from pollution to safeguard it for use in water, waste water, emergency fire protection and high purity industrial processing applications. “Not only are tanks being built to hold their contents more safely and securely than ever before, as awareness rises about water wastage and product purity, but also they are expected to do it for longer and in more challenging and generally warmer environments.  Steel, concrete and fibreglass tanks need secure roofs that can withstand expansion and contraction caused by factors such as increasing climatic and load variations” says Mr Green, whose subsidiary company, ercules engineering, also manufactures complements Cut To Size’s tank construction with sliding roof bearing to account for thermal expansion and contraction and structural load variations. Cut To Size manufactures light and strong long-life high density polyethylene tanks, available in capacities of more than 25,000 litres for potable water and a wide variety of chemical solutions used in food, beverage and industrial process applications. HDPE plastic is one of the most environmentally stable plastics, giving off no harmful fumes into the environment, nor will it will not absorb disease, odour or moisture. The tough, lightweight product is easy to transport and position, swift and safe to erect and has extremely good lifespans, being identical in formulation to PE100 piping material that has proven its durability over many decades in inside, outside and underground uses. “Over the years many larger chemical process tanks have been constructed from fibreglass supported by steel frames.  PE100 tanks don’t require framework of any kind, and need liners only for the most aggressive chemicals, such as sodium hypochlorite,” says Mr Green. Hercules sliding bearings for tanks  Hercules Engineering, meanwhile, produces sliding bearings that address challenges facing developers and operators of buildings and processing plants for industrial and municipal uses. These purpose-designed tank bearings ensure their top structures can flexibly cope with internal movement from climatically induced expansion, contraction and wind and rain forces, while also coping with production stresses caused by heavy and changing loads, vibration and other factors encountered within diverse industries. Relevant industries can include mining and energy, oil and gas, ports and infrastructure, food and beverage, primary processing, manufacturing, materials handling, water and wastewater utility and emergency services. The cost-efficient solution to many such issues offered by Hercules Engineering through its range of Herculon Type D Tank Top Bearings (HLD/TT) Bearings, which are engineered for easy installation under roof beams of tank tops and other lighter structures including some building roofs. These low-friction easy-slip bearings are particularly useful where loads are relatively small but both lateral and uplift forces need to be accommodated, says Mr David Booty, Manager, Hercules Engineering. “Light but strong and flexible tank tops are now widely employed to protect tanks and their contents from external pollution ranging from flora, fauna, dust and droppings and water-borne impurity. The bearings used under these tops must not only support the structure, but also prevent it from cracking and breaking and becoming part of the pollution problem.” HLD/TT bearings are part of a proven range of Hercules composite slip joints and structural bearings for a wide variety of structures and weights incorporating engineered high performance combinations of engineered composite polymer materials and metal facing surfaces. Complementary Type D Herculon Bearings HLD/SG are designed to accept a lateral load of 30 per cent of the vertical rated load, which can be up to 600 kN per bearing in stock sizes, with higher capacity available custom-engineered for particular applications. HLD/TT bearings consist of a thin stainless steel slide plate with two stainless steel studs flash welded to the upper face. The lower face is highly polished, and the plate is provided with two slotted holes for uplift through-bolts. This plate slides against a PTFE- coated Hercupad, which has two clearance holes drilled into it. Features include: Five stock sizes in working loads from 50-70 kN. Larger capacities and different dimensions can be custom-engineered. Co-efficient of friction 0.05- 0.08, depending on stress Expansion capacity up to ± 20mm (can be custom designed for larger movements) Maximum rotation up to 0.01 radians Maximum temperature 80 deg C Laurie Green says his company’s move into water storage and protection has been promoted by expanding long-term demand about ways to most efficiently conserve water and liquids. “Australasia is still relatively early in its water conservation journey, but this will be an issue of rising importance over the years ahead. Water harvest and water conservation will quickly become not only a national priority, but also a big issue for individual private and public entities.”

Massed civil engineering equipment at the site of the new Western Sydney airport, where Hydraulink is working with Caterpillar to optimise service standards and uptime. Picture: Skyviewaerial The Australasian and international Hydraulink organisation is relishing an important role at the site of the new Western Sydney Airport in helping to maintain a fleet of civil engineering machinery described by industry veteran Jeff McCoskery as one of the largest he has ever seen. Hydraulink Campbelltown franchise owner Jeff McCoskery – who provides airport site services to the leading mining, construction and earthmoving rental business Salmon Engineering Services – says that even after more than 30 years in the mining and civil engineering industries in Australasia and internationally, he is hugely impressed by the might of the assembled fleet. “I think there are something like 200 pieces of civil engineering equipment in our immediate area. It is a great opportunity for us and a great opportunity for us to grow our Western Sydney team with skilled locals looking for good jobs,” says Mr McCoskery, who shares facilities with Salmon in providing the vital hydraulic hoses and fitting on which the equipment depends for continuous operation. Mr McCoskery has come well equipped for the airport site challenge by installing on-site one of the biggest additions to Hydraulink’s South-Western Sydney service fleet – a vivid yellow 12.5 metre Hydraulink service bus fitted out with a full workshop so the mechanics and service staff on-site at the airport site don’t have to waste time searching for skills and parts. The bus is believed to be one of the biggest mobile service centres in the hydraulics industry in Australia or New Zealand. Hydraulink team members on the big yellow bus to business and jobs generation in Western Sydney. From left as they prepare to take their unmistakable message to local markets, are Hydraulink Campbelltown Franchise Owner Jeff McCoskery, Service Technician Hayden Wilton, Managing Director Denis Matulin, NSW State Manager Mark Andrews, National Franchise Manager Wayne Abbott, and General Manager Michael Popovic “You can’t miss us – we really stick out. The machinery service guys on-site love the idea that we are right on hand to help them in their jobs on the huge diversity of machinery brands on site, just about every brand in the market, and we can service them all. “The bus has really been a big hit on a big site – a lot of the service guys have never seen anything like it,” he said of the ex-State Transport Mercedes, which was converted by Mr McCoskery and his brother Steve for his Hydraulink franchise. Introduction of the bus was one of their first actions after joining the Hydraulink network to get the backing of an energetic franchise network to provide the ongoing education and support to tackle the biggest jobs out there. The big yellow bus is a centrepiece of the Hydraulink expansion programme to demonstrate the company’s can-do ethos and engineering skills across its network. The company – which has more than 400 service points throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands – is targeting the establishment of multiple new franchises and the simultaneous creation of new skilled job opportunities in the Southwest Sydney area around Badgerys Creek, where youth unemployment, in particular, exceeds 12.4%. Service by the busload – the interior of the mobile service centre Jeff and Steve worked nearly every Saturday for months transforming the bus into a fully equipped mobile service centre, mobile billboard and mobile customer reception centre combined, complete with tool benches, stock and even mobile barbecue for hospitality, doing the job totally themselves with skills and training fostered by Hydraulink. Hydraulink Australia National Franchise Manager Wayne Abbott says the new airport is expected to generate as many as 45,000 new jobs over coming years, with major investment initially in the engineering, civil and construction sectors, followed by ongoing growth worth billions of dollars in aviation, transport, logistics and infrastructure. “These are all major areas of focus of the Hydraulink hydraulic hose and fitting business, where we can create quality businesses and skilled long-term jobs,” he says. “The bus works for Jeff and our national teams as a showpiece for the skills, training and initiative we foster in franchise operators and the people they employ, which is what the region needs. We want to develop skills and businesses to benefit the many people in South-Western Sydney, where the new Badgerys Creek airport is becoming a magnet for opportunity,” said Mr Abbott. The earthmoving fleet in perspective on the new airport site as it takes shape. Picture: Skyviewaerial The new airport, scheduled to be operating by 2026, will have an estimated impact on the Western Sydney economy over the period 2020-2050 of between $9.2 billion and $15.6 billion, and on the whole of Sydney economy of between $15.7 billion and $25.6 billion (in net present value terms), according to a report by Deloitte Access Economics.

Boon Edam Tourniket ranges, one of the major ranges to which the green technologies apply The global architectural revolving door and security entrance specialist Boon Edam is introducing to Australasia new Green Feature packages to further optimise the high energy-saving performance of its major products. The company – which provides entrance technologies for dozens of Fortune 500 companies in 27 countries globally – is making available features such as radar-based traffic sensors and enhanced door sealing to optimise the inherent heating, ventilation and air conditioning HVAC advantages of revolving doors. The company is also offering OEM-standard maintenance packages that optimise the HVAC performance and operating durability of revolving doors used throughout Australia and New Zealand in applications including retail and hospitality chains, health and educational facilities, corporate HQs and major Government, tourist and transport facilities. “There is no doubt the energy savings available through revolving doors are very real and very significant for a host of major industries and building types in this environmentally attuned 21st century,” says Mr Michael Fisher, Managing Director of Boon Edam Australia. “With its always open, always closed functionality, revolving doors are particularly suited to Australasia, where this in-built advantage helps to control not only losses of heat, but also losses of cool air produced by hard-working HVAC systems.” Smoke tests demonstrate the difference in airflow control between standard open doors, left, and revolving doors, right Green packages The company’s latest Green OEM and Retrofit Package components available throughout Australasia can include an innovative radar-based motion detector for automated revolving doors. These detect the walking direction of people near the door, ensuring the door will only turn when someone wants to enter it. This reduces both the power consumption of the door and the dynamic energy losses, saving energy for heating or cooling a building. Another optional component of the green packages is improved weather strips, consisting of a combination of horse hair and a Neoprene interlayer that reduces the air leakage by at least 30 per cent, saving hundreds of dollars’ worth of energy on each individual application. The packages can also include a new lighting system with LED lights which have a longer lifespan and 60% lower energy consumption than the halogen lights that are currently used in most revolving doors. The smart lighting control allows the ceiling lighting to be turned off when the door is not in use. The OEM and retrofit packages apply to major Boon Edam ranges – including its Tourniket ranges, a 5m tall custom-built variant of which is used in the current $A100 million revitalisation of the Rialto project in Melbourne – as well as compatible other-brand installations. “Calculating the exact amount of savings available per building is a science that depends on a host of factors, including the individual site, how heavily it is trafficked, the state of maintenance of the revolving door, and whether it is used in an hotel, retail outlet, educational institution, health facility, commercial headquarters and so on,” says Mr Fisher. “But the benefits of revolving doors are accepted worldwide, for both retaining warm air and cool air, which can be particularly important to the energy efficiency of HVAC plants in Australian and New Zealand buildings. “People can probably remember the days of walking past offices and shopfronts and hospitality venues on hot days to be greeted with a beautiful icy wave of cold air emanating from their open entrances. It was welcome relief, but designers and facility managers can’t afford to make a gift of their expensive cooled air like that these days,” says Mr Fisher, whose global parent company Royal Boon Edam, with over 140 years of entrance solution experience, has among its clients some of the world’s largest firms and household names in technology, resources, retail and health and hospitality. The Rialto revitalisation project in Melbourne (above and below) showcases striking and practical 5m high Boon Edam revolving doors, the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere Proper maintenance of revolving doors to optimise their energy conservation was one of the factors behind the decision this year to expand Boon Edam’s service division in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to its own specialist staff, Boon Edam has joined forces with door maintenance leaders and automatic door manufacturer Auto Ingress Pty Ltd in Australia, and with leading New Zealand door installation and service company Commercial and Industrial Doors. “Although revolving doors generally enjoy a built-in energy conservation advantage, this can be extended further by sensible maintenance and upgrading where required,” says Mr Fisher. “Our maintenance services – which are conducted to the global standards of Boon Edam – can deliver benefits not only with OEM equipment, but also wider brands that can be both improved in energy performance while also having their durability extended.” Boon Edam’s service and maintenance helps to keep the equipment compliant with Australian Standard AS:5007, which requires doors to be inspected every three months.

The Australasian Bonfiglioli industrial motors and drives team recently combined with New Zealand’s largest sawmiller, Red Stag Timber, to show true ANZAC spirit, keeping its old mill thriving while a new $NZ120 million super mill is built to serve major housing and manufacturing markets. Bonfiglioli designed and assembled a compact and powerful custom-engineered HDP 150 drive specified by Red Stag in consultation with Bonfiglioli New Zealand Sales Manager, Mr Paul Savage. The engineering team at the Red Stag mill near Rotorua slotted their rugged new generation HDP design into log carriage drive space occupied by the old carriage drive, which was losing efficiency and reliability and the vital plant was being run at much less than its original capacity. Trans-Tasman co-operation keeps the heart of industry buzzing as this Australian Engineered drive from Bonfiglioli New Zealand was installed in New Zealand’s largest sawmilling operation “It is a critical drive,” said Mr Savage. “Without it the mill comes to a complete stop and the cost of downtime is substantial. This particular mill is New Zealand’s largest sawmill, with a lot of customers depending on it for high-quality timber products for the residential construction markets in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands,” he said. Red Stag produces framing timber for construction, non-structural timber for interior and exterior finishing, outdoor landscaping timber for fences, decks, and retaining walls, and furniture and packaging grades for manufacturers of timber products. “Delivery was critical as the window given to complete the installation was tight. With downtime out of the question, airfreight was requested. Bonfiglioli’s Design Service Centre (DSC) in Sydney worked rapidly to complete drawings for the custom build. The unit was assembled and shipped, meeting the tight delivery schedule, which is a huge credit to Bonfiglioli team,” said Mr Savage. Consisting of two sawmill lines, with associated timber processing operations for kiln drying, planning, treating and remanufacturing, Red Stag Timber currently produces over 450,000m3 of Radiata Pine and Douglas-fir lumber per annum and employs over 300 people. The drive installed at Red Stag was manufactured with a special extended output shaft of 926mm to accommodate the large winch drum. The unit, which produces 400 installed horse power, has a 10:1 gear ratio and a mechanical rating of 1587 kW (at 1500 rpm). It comes with a cooling fan on its high speed input shaft, for optimum performance and reliability. Bonfiglioli HDP 150 drives are engineered for challenging applications, such as a saw mill which experiences high levels of stop start operation, directional changes and shock loading. “To cope with extreme applications like this, our drives need to be robust, durable and reliable. Not only does the new drive meet all these criteria, but it is more powerful than the drive it was replacing while remaining dimensionally favourable and with a superior mechanical rating compared with modern alternatives,” he said. “Everything has gone to plan and Red Stag is impressed with the unit that has been running perfectly since installation,’ said Mr Savage. “ Bonfiglioli HD Series drives Bonfiglioli’s HD Series drives are particularly suited for compact, heavy duty applications such as conveyors and feeders on major materials handling, resources plant and quarries. Bonfiglioli HD drives – assembled in Australia from sizes HDO and HDP 100-160 – offer outstanding torque per dollar, high casing strength, long-life bearing technology and quieter, trouble-free operation. The HDO130 produces torque of up to 69,500 Nm. Also available is the range-topping HDO 180 – with outputs of 194,000 Nm torque – which is used for major installations requiring high performance combined with flexible mounting options to meet specific application requirements. Durability and versatility is further enhanced by options such as fan cooling coil cooling, independent cooling systems and optional features such as non-contacting seals, forced lubrication, temperature and oil level sensors and drywell for vertical shaft installations. The HD series is a totally new modular design from the ground up, which produces outstanding reliability and torque densities to record values. Bonfiglioli Transmission (Australia) Pty Ltd is part of the international Bonfiglioli group, with 2500 employees worldwide. The full Australian branch is part of a global network of 14 full branches and eight production plants supported by nearly 80 national distributors and an Australasian network of distributors complemented by offices in Australian States and New Zealand.