Classic car firm's air of efficiency

  

 

The restoration and re-engineering of E-Types has become a highly specialised process requiring exceptional craftsmanship, expertise and a great deal of time. 

  

 

Eagle E-Types has dedicated the last 30 years to dismantling and restoring original E-Types, assessing every single part and undertaking all work necessary to attain the standards expected for it to become an Eagle E-Type. In addition to developing upgrades and perfecting the restoration processes, Eagle has always maintained an impressive stock of top level original E-Types, presented in showrooms and then prepared to the highest standard when sold.

 

The upgrade menu is kept strictly available only to buyers of these cars and the full restorations maintaining maximum exclusivity. Furthermore, Eagle has created two additions to the E-Type model range of coupe and roadster; the Eagle Speedster and the Low Drag GT. They are bespoke full restorations that not only incorporate the aforementioned mechanical improvements but are also re-styled. 

 

Challenge

The restoration and re-engineering of original E-Types, demands not only a lot of time, but also specialist equipment and resources. The Eagle site, in the heart of the Sussex countryside, consists of a number of interlinked, converted buildings that house very specialised workshops and impressive showrooms.                                                                                                                          

 

As is the case in many manufacturing processes, the supply of high quality, clean compressed air from compact and reliable compressors is absolutely essential and its importance is perhaps best understood by some users who describe compressed air as the ‘fourth utility’. Furthermore, a detailed understanding of the application and the ability to provide an energy-efficient compressed air system has helped Eagle to achieve the very high standards its customers expect.

 

Solution

The compressed air supply for Eagle’s paint spray shop is provided by a 7.5kW HPC SM Series Rotary Screw Compressor package. This provides clean, compressed air to the finishing process where all the E-Types pass through a multi-coat, premium quality paint finish. To meet the specific compressed air demand of a new specialised piece of equipment and to enhance the supply of compressed air to their service bay and trim shop; Eagle recently invested in a further 9kW HPC SM15T Rotary Screw Compressor package complete with an integral refrigerant air dryer.

 

Replacing an older, now redundant, reciprocating compressor, the new HPC compressor operates independently of the paint shop compressor and its primary function is to operate an AquaBlast cabinet, a wet blasting machine that can simultaneously degrease and clean multiple components. Compressed air is added to a water/media slurry within the unit to accelerate the slurry at the cleaning jet nozzle and create the cleaning effect.                                                                                           

 

As the process cleans by flow and not impact, it offers an alternative to traditional dry blasting and ensures a ‘soft’ finish. As it fulfils a critical part of the Eagle restoration process, sympathetically cleaning valuable original components and parts, it is important that both the AquaBlast cabinet and the compressor operate effectively and to their full potential.                           

 

Andy Wilson, regional sales manager at HPC Compressed Air Systems, combined both his knowledge of Eagle’s operational requirements and his experience of the compressed air demands of AquaBlast cabinets to good effect for this project. In relation to the specific pressure and flow of requirements of both the cabinet and the workshop air, Wilson used HPC analysis and simulating tools to provide Eagle GB with a randomised energy profile report predicting the energy savings to be made from the proposed HPC solution.

 

His comparison between a 9kW HPC SM15T and an alternative 11kW screw compressor (using between 1.2 and 1.5 m³/min over an 8 hour working day assuming 250 working days p.a. and 10p per kW/hour energy cost) showed that the HPC SM15T perfectly matched Eagle’s compressed air requirements and would save energy.                                                                                                                   

 

Benefits

Matt Dewhurst, workshop manager at Eagle comments, "Our HPC compressor packages and the support we receive from HPC, continues to exceed the level of performance that we expect from our suppliers. Andy was able to highlight considerable savings for Eagle GB even with full utilisation of our AquaBlast cabinet whilst also improving the supply of compressed air to our mechanical workshops and trim shop”.                                                                                                                             

 

This particular application for compressed air and its contribution to the highly specialised process of restoring and re-engineering such a prestigious end-product is an excellent example of HPC’s ability to respond to a wide range of challenging situations.