Diagnostic Equipment News

Germany's Kaufbeurer Mikrosysteme Wiedemann (KMW) has introduced a higher performance version of its Z01 sensor for measuring cylinder pressure in large diesel, gas and dual-fuel engines.“The further developments center on the measuring capability, accuracy and robustness of our Z01 sensors,” KMW project manager Daniel Maaß explains.“To facilitate the measurement of higher combustion pressures and to contribute to overall robustness, we have increased the temperature resistance of the sensing elements we use in the Z01 sensors. At the same time, new connection technology aims to improve overall resistance to both temperature and vibration.

Royston Diesel Power has doubled the size of its UK engineering facilities to support continuing global growth in its marine engine service business and new technology development. As part of a £500,000 ($676,000) investment program the company has opened an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of engineering workshop premises alongside its existing headquarters on the banks of the River Tyne. As well as increasing the company’s engine repair and maintenance capability, the new center will also provide a focus for a range of other technical support functions.

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has been awarded a contract worth up to $54 million from the U.S. Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for U.S. partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Metal Shark’s proposal was selected by Naval Sea Systems Command from a field of six competing shipyards. Under the terms of the award, Metal Shark will build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other U.S. partner nations.

On June 28, 2016 Louisiana-based Swiftships, LLC, was awarded a $15 million firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract involving Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to procure four 28-meter KITs for the Egyptian Navy (EN). The contract will allow Swiftships to procure KITs so the EN can assemble/coproduce these 28m coastal patrol craft (CPC) in Alexandria, Egypt. The 28m CPCs will include: 4.7-meter rigid inflatable boats, forward looking infrared system, diagnostic equipment and contractor engineering technical services.

ABB has designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned a 1,200-kilovolt (kV) circuit breaker the highest AC voltage level in the world. Once the 1200 kV ultrahigh-voltage switchgear is fully operational, it will have a switching capacity of 10,400 megawatts -  a switch capable of turning ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ the electricity generated by 10 large power plants or the combined average annual electrical load of Switzerland and Denmark, within milliseconds. The circuit breaker is deployed at the 1,200 kV national test station constructed by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), India’s central transmission utility, at Bina in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Volvo Penta of the Americas is offering customers an Oil Analysis Program designed to make it easy to obtain expert diagnostics of engine oil. The program is available for all Volvo Penta diesel and gas engines. Engine oil analysis provides a basic driveline “health check” for an engine, yielding a wealth of information on what’s going on inside. With this information, you can plan your maintenance more effectively and reduce the risk of unplanned downtime and repair expenses. The process is fast and easy. Collect your oil sample and send it to a Volvo Penta laboratory.

Ingalls Shipbuilding brings holiday cheer to communities through employee donations and $15,000 to local food banks. Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division and its employees have participated in holiday giving throughout all of the communities on the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of employees worked together to donate money, food, toys and other special items to several different organizations. The company donated $5,000 and 560 pounds of food to Our Daily Bread food pantry in Pascagoula…

Throughout the history of shipbuilding, the key challenge too often has been how to build the right ship around a given propulsion system, rather than creating tailored propulsion system for the ship. That was true when the best propulsion "engines" available were sails, and it is also true for today's diesel, gas turbine and electric hybrid systems as well. The ideal, of course, is to allocate cargo space, cabin space, the shape of propulsion units, and even the shape of the ship's itineraries around the needs of the marketplace rather than around the limitations imposed by the ship's propulsion system. Factors that remain in the path of that ideal include the underlying efficiency across a broad operational range with which chemical energy is turned into mechanical energy…