Textilveredlung an der Wiese GmbH, the German textile finishers in contract processing from Lörrach, know quite well what effects a few drops of oil can have. Since a fire was caused by oil in 2007, they pay even more attention to the safety of plant components. Company Christian Maier GmbH & Co. KG contributes to the safe manufacture of textiles in the company’s facilities in Lörrach by providing an excellent service schedule plus preventive measures and high-quality rotary joints of series DQ and H for conveying the thermal oil.

About Textilveredlung an der Wiese GmbH

Founded in 1951, the company is one of the leading textile finishing enterprises offering a great variety of textiles, including adhesive interlinings, African damask, table and bed linen, shirt and blouse fabrics as well as technical textiles. The contract processing company sells the textiles it produces by the meter. In the course of the years, the Lörrach based company has continuously expanded its portfolio which they accomplished by investing, among other things, into the renovation and extension of the production plants on site.

Oil Fire caused by Leakage

Textilveredlung an der Wiese (TvadW) is renowned for the high quality of their products and their great expertise. To supply their customers with top quality textiles, they follow the principle “It will only last a long time if it’s better than good”. Needless to say, that, in order to make the principle viable, plants and components are required which comply with this standard. As a first consequence of an oil fire in 2007 which was caused by a competitor’s leaking rotary joint, the decision was made that, for safety reasons, only expert staff was allowed to carry out the maintenance of all rotary joints at defined intervals. When searching for an individual, safe and long-term solution, the company found a competent and reliable partner in Christian Maier GmbH & Co. KG from Heidenheim.

Service Concept for the Proper Maintenance of Rotary Joints

In order to prevent an incident as in 2007 from happening again to the best of their abilities, TvadW directed their main focus on the safety and service aspect when choosing a service provider. So to begin with, Maier Heidenheim created a customized service concept for TvadW to facilitate proper service and maintenance of the existing rotary joints in the best possible way on a long-term basis.

Less Downtime thanks to Optimum Maintenance Intervals for Rotary Joints

The aim was to prevent unnecessary expense caused by expendable downtime and maintenance services by monitoring the rotary joints connected to the machines. For this purpose, an experienced service technician from Christian Maier collected data and empirical values over a long period. It became obvious that currently the rotary joints in operation require maintenance in a three-year cycle in order to guarantee the highest grade of safety possible.

The workload of the machines has a significant influence on the cycle. The more a system is in operation, the more strain is put on the rotary joints. An operating plan was developed which makes it possible to react flexibly to the different service lives of the plants and the involved wear on the parts. The plan facilitates both a timely maintenance of all plants and an offset maintenance schedule to keep the simultaneous downtime of the machines as low as possible. Mr. Schultz, head of operating technology at the textile finisher, is satisfied with the uncomplicated and competent support provided by company Christian Maier GmbH & Co. KG. “Together we have always been able to find solutions and reduce deficiencies, thus minimizing the production outage over the long term”.

Extension of the Service Concept to Rotary Joints

With their efficient and professional support, Maier Heidenheim could convince TvadW not only of their reliable service but also of their high-quality products. The textile finisher replaced their old rotary unions completely with Maier products – the last conversion to Maier rotary joints of series DQB was done in 2010.

The Solution: Rotary Joints of Series DQ and HW

The two-way rotary joints (rotary joints for supply and return flow) of series DQ and HW are installed in four plants at TvadW: one coating plant and three calenders with heating and cooling rollers. Due to the varying workload of the machines and the irregular strain involved, the rotary joints must be able to withstand different service lives and temporary continuous operation. Heat transfer oil (thermal oil) with more than 200°C is used for bringing the rollers up to the right temperature.

Both the basic series HW and the rotary joints of series DQB are designed for conducting thermal oil in two directions under rotation and are suitable to stand the corresponding strain from pressure, temperature and speed.

Photo: Rotary joint of series DQ in use

Also, the safety aspect in TvadW’s focus was not to be neglected. That’s why rotary joints of series DQ were chosen in addition to meet the requirements and to reduce the risk of a fire. They are equipped with an internationally patented system which uses a barrier fluid to separate the flow medium, in this case the hot oil, from the air oxygen. This prevents the hot thermal oil from coming into contact with the oxygen from the air which would create a chemical reaction in the form of coking and cracking. In their further course, such chemical reactions would damage the seals of the rotary joints enabling oil or oil vapors to emerge.

Resource-efficient Maintenance of Rotary Joints

Even after more than 10 years, Mr. Schulz is still happy about the decision to have Maier brought in as a flexible, sincere and competent partner. Introducing and carrying out maintenance service at regular intervals has increased both the safety and the reliability of the machines and, as a consequence, the company’s productivity as well. A fact that the head of operating technology confirms by referring to the very low number of unplanned standstills which could be ascribed to a failure of rotary joints.