Specialising in the design and manufacture of shotblast equipment
by J Reid Engineering, UK
“We have used AllyCAD (and its earlier versions) for at least 10 years and find it essential in our design process. It’s not overly complicated, yet it gives you enough choice to produce detailed working drawings.”
J Reid Engineering specialise in the design and manufacture of shotblast equipment with expert knowledge in the supply of compressed air and airless, manual and automatic abrasive blast cleaning machines, dust extractors, portable blast equipment and blast rooms.
Andy Freeman of J Reid Engineering explains: “We were asked to find a solution to external shotblast steel pipes and managed to design the machine to fit inside a standard shipping container for ease of transport.
The machine was based upon the steel pipe being moved through the shotblast using diablo rollers. A diablo roller is a ‘double cone’ roller positioned at an angle to the pipe. These rollers provide support, linear and rotational drive to transport the pipe through the machine. This enables the shotblast abrasive to provide the required surface finish of the entire pipe. The abrasive is then recycled for reuse. Dust extraction is provided to ensure no dust escapes from the process.”
According to Andy Freeman, AllyCAD is superior to other CAD packages they have tried. “It really is a very easy to use and a robust package. Other programs may have more ‘bells and whistles’ but unless you really need them, they can slow you down. The mechanical Toolbox is invaluable in being able to draw a wide range of fasteners, shafts, flanges, etc and it comes as standard with the program. We get excellent backup service, any technical issues we have get answered within hours via email. Having to wait days for an answer is not an option for us.”
To learn more about J Reid Engineering Ltd please visit:
www.shotblastequipment.co.uk.
