Power Up: 3Space Multiplies Precision with SA
Mike Gunn, president of 3Space, runs a specialty measurement company that works with several industries, including power generation. He uses SpatialAnalyzer® (SA) for two big reasons: confidence and consistency. “It’s confidence that we have the correct data, that we’ve made all of our quality checks, and when we hand that data over to the customer, we know it’s correct. Consistency across all of our measurement platforms is another key,” Gunn said. During scheduled outages, 3Space checks critical components of the turbine generators for worn out, damaged, or misaligned parts. Parts are disassembled and replaced as needed – and all of it needs to be put back in proper alignment. Power Up: 3Space Multiplies Precision with SA
Mike Gunn, president of 3Space, runs a specialty measurement company that works with several industries, including power generation. He uses SpatialAnalyzer® (SA) for two big reasons: confidence and consistency.
“It’s confidence that we have the correct data, that we’ve made all of our quality checks, and when we hand that data over to the customer, we know it’s correct. Consistency across all of our measurement platforms is another key,” Gunn said. During scheduled outages, 3Space checks critical components of the turbine generators for worn out, damaged, or misaligned parts. Parts are disassembled and replaced as needed – and all of it needs to be put back in proper alignment.
“The lifecycle of a power plant system is dependent on proper alignment and fit. Anything that’s out of position on a turbine unit takes time off their useful life and causes need for more maintenance in shorter intervals,” Gunn explains. That’s where SA comes in – the precision measurements are key for maintenance and for minimizing the outages.
NRK Southeast Region Manager, David O’Neal, sees the benefit of a common software platform for power industry giants like Duke Energy. “This allows power gen companies to use all types of metrology equipment including API Trackers, Leica Total stations, and the Faro Focus 3D Scanner in one software environment,” O’Neal said.
Gunn explains why precision is critical for power projects: “The consequences of components not fitting correctly the first time are all bad, but mostly the cost to the power company is phenomenal for them to buy power from other utilities while they are in an outage. Many of the components we work on contain exotic alloys of metal and take many months to fabricate, so the old adage of ‘measure twice – cut once’ is very appropriate here. It simply has to be right,” he said.
Outages are usually planned around low power usage periods in the spring and fall when people aren’t using heat or A/C in their homes. The power company rotates which turbines and equipment are undergoing maintenance and finds alternative energy sources to cover the needs of their customers. How long an outage lasts depends on how much work needs to take place and how long it takes to do it. The power company tries to minimize this time because they never know when a heat wave or a cold spell will hit and more power will be needed.
“We have retained clients and had many callbacks because of the results we can provide, and the level of confidence the customer has in the data we give them. This is directly attributable to our use of SA,” Gunn said. That’s why SA is making a difference for companies like 3Space – more efficiency and less time out of service. It’s win-win for everyone involved. Having confidence and consistency means powerful results.
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