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Dillon Devices Used for British Antarctic Survey

Dillon has supplied the British Antarctic Survey with tension measuring devices for the last six years, helping to ensure that important exploration work in these extreme conditions is conducted safely and accurately.

Most recently, we provided AP Dynamometers for a high profile project based at the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica.

Operational since 2012, Halley VI is a series of eight interlinked pods, capable of withstanding extreme weather. The modules contain laboratories, offices, observation platforms, generators and communal areas for the scientists who work and live there.

Built on skis, the pods can be towed across the ice by specialist heavy vehicles. Being able to move the research station is vital because of its location: the Brunt Ice Shelf, which is constantly moving towards the Weddell Sea.

The Dynamometer was used to securely move the station, which is being gradually moved to a new, safer location over the course of 2016-17, due to a widening crack in the ice shelf.

The red module pictured weighs 220 tonnes. The modules are fitted with hydraulic legs that can be raised to ensure that the station is not buried under annual snowfall.

With just 12 tonnes of force displayed on the AP Dynamometer split between the two pulling rigs, the team was able to move the module with minimal effort.

Click here for a PDF of this case study for printing or download.

Dillon Devices Used for British Antarctic Survey

SWISS airline demonstrates the role of Dillon Dynamometers in aircraft maintenance

A video produced by Swiss International Airline’s (SWISS) Technical Division shows how the Dillon AP Dynamometer and bootstrap kit is used to lift the company’s 2.5 tonne engines and measure stress on the hoists and mounts.

SWISS serves over 100 destinations in 43 countries, carrying more than 16.5 million passengers a year.  In addition to their fleet of 91 aircraft, the SWISS Technical Services division is one of the leading maintenance, repair and overhaul providers in the regional aircraft sector. Qualified specialists service all of the aircraft in the SWISS fleet at regular intervals, all of which involves the use specialist equipment such as the dynamometer featured in the video.  

The video, which shows an engine being completely overhauled, shows how the engine is removed using bootstrap equipment. The engine cradle is positioned under the engine then lifted until the mount point can be attached to the engine. Once the fuel and electrics etc have been disconnected, the engine mount bolts are loosened and the engine is removed ready for maintenance. The process is reversed when hoists these huge engines back into position.   

The critical factor when removing and replacing engines, whether for maintenance or replacement, is pre-tensioning the hoists used to lift the engine. Too little tension can mean that the weight of the engine causes it to drop at the point when it is disconnected, while too much can damage the pylon and mounts. With engine mounts alone supporting the entire 2.5 tonne weight of the engine, plus in-flight forces adding further stress, ensuring that they are not subject to undue stress is a critical safety measure.

Originally designed to measure the tension on telephone wires, the Dynamometer has proven to have limitless versatility as a tension and weight measuring instrument. It is used for such diverse jobs as suspended weighing; mounting cables for bridges; adjusting tension on guy wires; field testing chain, rope, wire—anything requiring precision force or tension measurement.

Watch the video to see how the AP Dynamometer is used by SWISS to pre-tension the hoists for aircraft maintenance. 

SWISS airline demonstrates the role of Dillon Dynamometers in aircraft maintenance

ALBAT Apprentices use EDXtreme for Training in Outside Electrical Construction

Due to the nature of electrical construction industry work, The American Line Builders Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee (ALBAT) apprentices learn their career skill through practical, “hands-on” training, reinforced by classroom instruction. With courses covering topics such as Rigging Essentials and OSHA 10 Electrical Transmission and Distribution, it is important that the apprentices have hands-on experience of the tools and equipment used in the trade.

Daniel Doss, Director at ALBAT, explains, “The Dynamometer is used for apprentices to test fundamental knowledge on processes of working on transmission lines. One example is learning how to measure the tension/sagging on lines, which is absolutely vital to health and safety, so a crucial skill to learn.” 

While erecting an overhead line, it is very important that the conductors are under a safe tension. If the conductor wires are too stretched, the stress in the conductor can reach unsafe value and in certain cases may break due to excessive tension. Over tensioning of the conductors also puts great strain on the supporting poles, which can result in their collapse in extreme weather conditions. In an overhead line, the sag should be adjusted so that tension in the conductors is within the recommended safe limits. Dillon dynamometers are often used in these circumstances, offering a portable, factory pre-calibrated solution which is ready to work out of the box.

ALBAT is a cooperative labor-management training program funded and administered by the American Line Builders Chapter of NECA and the 4^th and 6^th Districts of the IBEW. The program provides world-class training for individuals in the skills of performing outside electrical construction and utility work. ALBAT works with the electrical training ALLIANCE (ETA) who develops and standardizes training to educate the members of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the largest electrical union in the world. With such a huge and far-reaching role in the training of new and upcoming outside electrical workers, ALBAT must ensure that the training they offer is second-to-none.”

“As part of the practical training, we use real-life simulations to test the apprentices’ knowledge. We use Dillon dynamometers because Dillon is such as well-known brand within our industry. Using the same equipment for training as is being used out in the field really helps our apprentices to become familiar with the tools of the trade.”

ALBAT Apprentices use EDxtreme for Training in Outside Electrical Construction

Mennens select Dillon equipment to ensure safety at gas tank installation in Gabon, Africa

When installing a 21 ton dome roof on a gas tank installation in Gabon, Africa, Mennens, one of the the biggest European specialists in steel cables, lifting and hoisting equipment, selected Dillon equipment to ensure the safety of the installation.

The team began by using Dillon EDjunior load cells to test all of the tirfors  – manual hoists with wire rope which are used to lift, pull and position heavy loads. Next, the davits located around the rim of the gas tank were tested, using EDXtreme load links to test the safety of the lifting equipment which would be used to hoist the roof into place.

With EDXtreme units attached to each of the 21 davits strategically located at intervals around the tank, the team wanted to be able to simplify their processes by viewing the results on one wireless controller. The ability to link and view the data from multiple dynamometers via the remote communicator allowed the team to remotely monitor the data from all lift points and calculate the total load from just one device.

A spokesperson for Mennens commented, “We used the Dillon EDXtreme to test all the davits in preparation for lifting of the gas tank dome. The goal was to lift the 31T dome using 21 davits and 21 dynamometers reporting to a single communicator. We used Dillon equipment because we need to have complete confidence in the strength and accuracy of our measurement tools. We also needed to be sure that we could collect the data we required without slowing the installation down. The job was completed in 12 hours and the dome was secured with 21 lashing straps and four fixed mounting plates.”

With user-defined functions and sophisticated communication options, the EDXtreme readily adapts to multi-tasking operations or multi-link systems capable of monitoring a series of critical stress points from a single location. Once both EDXtreme and Communicator are switched on, RF (Wireless) function (up to 300 meters) offers instant connection, no matter how many EDXtremes are used.  

Mennens continued, “Dillon is one of very few suppliers that offer the option to link 25 dynamometers to one communicator. What we really appreciated was the initiative taken by the Dillon team, who registered and assigned names to all 21 EDXtremes, so that everything worked straight out of the box.”

About Mennens

More than 100 years of knowledge and experience has made Mennen the market leader in the Benelux. Their activities cover the whole spectrum: supply, installation, and assembly, inspection and certification, repair and maintenance, information and training.

Mennens select Dillon equipment to ensure safety at gas tank installation in Gabon, Africa

Major European Citrus Plant Supplier Use Dillon Quick-Check to Tension Vital Growing Equipment

As a major supplier of Citrus plants to wholesalers and retailers in 32 European countries, Citrina must ensure that they meet the demands of their market as well as strict quality standards. To do so, the company use a tensioned trellis system to support the growing seedlings and plants.

With more than 1.5 million plants produced annually across a 30 acre site, Citrina continually research new production techniques in order to produce the highest quality citrus plants. As part of their production process, it is vital that they constantly monitor, adjust and record the tensions on all of their trellises to ensure that they maintain the best environment for the plants to develop. This is a very time consuming process and the use of the Quick-Check – a highly accurate and quick tension meter  – has helped to improve their productivity. 

As the tension in trellis wires plays a vital role in the design of the trellis structures and the support they are able to offer the growing tress, achieving the correct tension is critical to the health of the plants. Mr. Welch, owner of Citrina, says: ‘We needed a way to accurately measure the tension on the wires and the Dillon Quick-Check makes this simple”.  

A wide variety of factors can affect the tension of the trellis, from the weight of the plant and its fruit to the load added by factors such as rain, overhead irrigation and wind, as well as the contraction/expansion of the wires themselves as temperatures change. It is therefore very important to the company that they are able to measure the tension quickly and accurately, without having a detrimental impact on the way that the tress are monitored and cared for.

The Dillon Quick-Check can be placed on the trellis cable, measure its tension, and be removed in under five seconds, with no complex lookup tables or conversion charts. The operator can quickly select from 20 pre-calibrated wire sizes and types stored in Quick-Check’s memory. The tensioning mode graphically displays the current and target tension control limits for extremely quick setting of line tension, ensuring that the tensions are precisely measured.

Mr Welch continues “I couldn’t be happier with the Dillon Quick-Check. It is really simple and quick to use, combined with the fantastic accuracy. The additional functionality to store and export all the readings makes the quick check irreplaceable. It is so easy to keep track of everything.’

Major European Citrus Plant Supplier Use Dillon Quick-Check to Tension Vital Growing Equipment