Pumping up productivity: Turning Performance

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END USER: Premium Frac Pumps LLC; (682) 647-3300; www.premiumfracpumps.com. CHALLENGE: Increase output of components for hydraulic fracturing pumps. SOLUTION: Automated cell consisting of two CNC lathes and robotic workhandling. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: Gosiger Automation Inc.; (800) 888-4188; www.gosigerautomation.com; and Hartwig Inc.; (972) 790-8200; www.hartwiginc.com

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Global demand for oil and gas drives continuing advances in the technologies employed to extract those resources from the ground. A key productivity-boosting technique is hydraulic fracturing, in which fluid is forced under pressure down a well to fracture rock strata or expand existing fractures. The fluid contains sand-like material called proppants to hold the expanded fractures open, increasing flow from the well.

Premium Frac Pumps LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, manufactures pumps used in hydraulic fracturing. The pumps are large and powerful. According to David Capps, manufacturing vice president, the 2,500- to 3,000-hp pumps weigh as much as 19,000 lbs.

Premium Frac Pumps also makes replacement parts. Regular replacement of some components is necessary because the pumps operate at about 15,000 psi, and the high-speed flow of the abrasive proppant mixture rapidly wears pump parts, such as valves and seats. The valves and seats, typically made from 8620 steel castings and forgings, weigh about 5½ to 9 lbs. each.

The shop works 24/7, but demand for the replacement parts began to strain its ability to produce them, Capps noted. The parts were machined on two CNC lathes, one a 4-axis machine and the other a 2-axis unit. Operators manually loaded, unloaded and transferred the parts between the machines.

Seeking a way to keep up with growing demand, Capps consulted St. Louis-based Hartwig Inc., a distributor of machine tools and automation equipment.

Courtesy of Gosiger Automation