James Aiken raises the bar in power distribution frames

From detailed drawings supplied, including dimensions, angles, tolerances and bill of materials, James Aiken’s project team set about the task in hand. Stainless steel grade 316 extrusions – square and rectangular hollow sections – and angles were cut to shape and welded to form the power distribution frames, while steel plates were precision cut on James Aiken’s water jet, before the frames were polished and assembled ready for load testing.

Mounting frames comprised thirty-six parts with frames tested and certified to a Working Load Limit (WLL) of 0.9 tonnes and 1.3 tonnes respectively. All welds to lifting points and structural assemblies were subject to non-destructive testing. Our coded welders were instructed to undertake fillet, penetration and other welds, all of which were to be inspected, before and after load testing, and be free from linear indications.

The contract drew on the expertise and teamwork of our fabrication and machining workshops working side by side, thanks to these workshops being under one roof at our large Bridge of Don facility. This enables work to be streamlined as part of a continuous process rather than wait for third party support that can often result in delays and extended lead times.