Australasian Mining Review
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/26056
112 NATA approved hydraulic hose testing facility Delivering performance, safety and reliability Australian hydraulic and industrial hose company Pirtek Fluid Systems has been busy developing a joint venture with Bridgestone Engineered Products of Japan and Italian hydraulic hose fitting manufacturing company Intertraco to establish independent testing facilities in Sydney, Italy and Germany known as BPI Technologies. products entering the Australian market. T Stephen Dutton, Group General Manager of Pirtek, acknowledges the challenges and demands faced by hydraulic and industrial hose and fittings providers to the mining industry. “Lives are at risk when it comes to the high pressures of hydraulic systems within today’s machinery. Ensuring Pirtek products are of the highest standards available in the marketplace is paramount to our company,” he said. “Because the vast majority of the products used in the hydraulic and industrial hose industry in Australia are manufactured overseas we established a company called BPI Technologies. We’ve established testing facilities in Sydney, one in Germany and one in Italy.” According to Dutton, Pirtek has invested more than a million dollars in state of the art testing equipment along with qualified and experienced engineers to conduct various testing procedures on products specifically for the Australian market. “We undertake static pressure testing, destructive burst pressure testing (up to 65,000psi) and impulse flex testing. We are also developing procedures for material hardness testing, abrasion testing for hydraulic hoses, and FRAS (Fire Resistant Anti Static) rated testing and salt spray testing– so those are the primary testing facilities we offer. Our intention is to further capitalise on our investment by expanding the testing parameters to include testing and calibration of hydraulic pressure gauges,” he said. Dutton claims the benefit to implementing NATA certified testing facilities is a hastened process in developing products specifically for the Australian market as well as offering the wider market the services of an experienced testing facility to conduct an extensive range of tests. “This has positioned us at the forefront of the hydraulic and industrial hose market because traditionally most suppliers simply choose a product from their parent companies catalogue and supply those to the Australian market. These products are Hydraulics in mining he Sydney testing facilities have National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) independent third party certification to evaluate hydraulic hoses, pipes and other hydraulic manufactured overseas and rarely specifically designed for Australian operating conditions or importantly localised standards such as MDG41.” “Now, what we have is a facility here in Australia, Italy and Germany we can undertake product development testing in unison in those three locations which significantly reduces the development time for new and improved products.” Dutton said the testing service was also offered to industry. Despite being the exclusive distributor of Bridgestone and Intertraco hydraulic hose and fittings products in the Australian market, Dutton said BPI also tested different brands for other manufacturers and customers who are looking for a quality local approved testing facility. “We can simulate life cycle testing in the impulse flex test rig so it is in essence simulating real life application of the product including temperature, pressure, impulse and flexing.” “There are particular standards in the manufacture of hydraulic hoses, including pressure ratings and ensuring a matched system of hose and end couplings. Pirtek products meet or exceed the international standards but also have third party independent type approvals such as Lloyds, MSHA (USA Mining Standards) and ABS (American Bureau of Shipping).” “There are certainly Australian standards, but moreover in the hydraulics industry there are more international standards: ISO, or DIN [Deutsch Industry Norms] and SAE [Society of Automotive Engineers]. Also MDG 41 is a draft standard specifically developed for the mining industry within Australia.” “Obviously, hydraulics are extremely dangerous. The importance of testing and meeting specific standards is the integrity. The testing procedures offered by Pirtek’ s NATA approved facility, quantifies that our assembled hoses exceeds industry standards.”