Space Engineering Services
Cool Connections
The Client
Space Engineering Services provide refrigeration/heating and cooling engineering solutions for high-profile clients, including Big Storage Company, M&S, Skinners Brewery and Tesco.
Established in 1988, the Bristol-based company offer a single-source solution covering design, product supply, project management and maintenance.
“Going forward, we are looking at how we can have all of these benefits with a portable Flowdrill option. The handheld drill isn’t powerful for large pipe sizes, but this is something we are working on together to come up with a new solution.”
The Situation
Engineers in the firm’s manufacturing department were exploring ways to improve the efficiency of its processes when building refrigeration packaged units.
This included the type of technology it used to connect fittings and pipes together, with the existing T-Drill method deemed expensive, time consuming and not suitable for delivering consistent quality.
The Solution
Specialists from Flowdrill approached Space Engineering Services two years ago to see it if was possible to use its solid carbide drill technology in its manufacturing processes.
After a number of live demonstrations and examination of similar parts, it was agreed that the product could offer a host of benefits, but a new CNC machine was needed to deliver the power required to complete the connections and fittings.
Once this was installed, the decision was made to order four different sized drill bits to replace T-Drills that had been in place for years.
The Flowdrill difference
Since the change, Space Engineering Services has reported numerous operational advantages gained from using Flowdrill, including:
- No waste material, so the formed tees are a lot stronger
- Flexibility to be used with smaller pipe diameter
- Set-up times reduced by 15%
- Joining process is quicker
- Less distortion in the pipe
- Removes swarf from inside the pipe, meaning no need to clean up after drilling
“Flowdrill is increasingly being adopted by companies involved in HVAC and it’s not difficult to see why when you consider we’ve taken the connection costs of Space Engineering Services from pounds to just pennies.”
Flowdrill is trusted by
Changing the way the world achieves stronger and quicker fastening connections.
Flowdrill is a tungsten carbide friction drill that provides a cost effective and reliable connection alternative to traditional fastening methods such as rivet, insert and weld nuts.
