Manufacturing Insight

We are proud to say that the majority of our pump parts are manufactured in-house at our factory in West Sussex. This allows us to provide exclusive insight into the manufacturing process of our pump parts, taking you through each step. In this article, we will provide a detailed overview of how our gears, pumpheads, and connecting rods are produced, starting with our gears.

Gears

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We manufacture helical cut gears, which increase the amount of power the gears can transmit and reduces heat from friction and noise. Most gears are cut using a conventional hob. For our largest gears, where the CNC machine tool is not physically large enough to allow a hob, we have developed a specialist technique where gear teeth are individually milled. You can see both techniques in the video below. After the gears are cut, the teeth are heat treated and hardened to increase wear resistance. Finally, the teeth are ground to remove any imperfections from the heat treatment process and improve the surface finish.

Pumpheads

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For our pumpheads, we start with a round or machined square bar billet as the raw material, which is sourced from European suppliers and comes with a certificate of conformity. This certificate includes a full chemical analysis and physical test report, providing full traceability.

Our standard pumphead material is 431 stainless steel, which offers a good combination of strength, corrosion resistance, and cost. For pumping seawater at lower pressures, we also offer 316 and duplex stainless steel options. Each pumphead undergoes machining on a horizontal CNC machining center in two operations. The images abovr show the process of transforming a pumphead for our HP500 pump from a billet into the final product.

Connecting Rods

The castings for our connecting rods, also known as con-rods are exclusively obtained from UK foundries to maintain control over quality and lead times. Upon arrival at the factory, the castings are loaded onto a CNC machine tool in sets of three, and the “big-end” is split in two. Some detail inside of the “big-end” is machined, the cap is bolted to the main con-rod, and then the assembly is finally machined. A bronze small-end bush is pressed into position and honed, and an automotive-type shell bearing is fitted to the “big-end.”

We hope you found the above information interesting about our manufacturing processes for some of our pump components. If you’re interested in seeing our factory in person, we do welcome visitors, so get in touch if this is something you want to learn more about.

Want to learn more about our manufacturing process or to see the factory in person? Visitors are welcome to schedule a full tour of the factory, including the test area, by using the contact form below.