Hydraulics manufacturer, MGR Fluid Power is helping keep military vehicles in the field by reverse engineering obsolescent parts when they reach the point of failure.
The Midlands-based firm has the capacity and expertise to take an obsolescent hydraulic component from a military vehicle and either make a new component should the existing designs still be available, or reverse engineer a new part from the existing component.
This unique service is delivering an immediate solution to failed military vehicles in the field, alongside extending the service life of both land and air vehicles.
The specialist work is being carried out in MGR’s purpose-built factory in Leamington Spa, and is only made possible with the many years of expertise and experience the business has in hydraulic component manufacturing.
Previously, it has always been difficult to repair military vehicles once parts become obsolete due to the complexities of the work involved.
In many cases, new components, such as hydraulic valves, have to be fitted into the exact same space as the original valves, and rarely does a standard model of valve suit these specific dimensions.
However, MGR Fluid Power has recently carried out a successful project where it upgraded a previously obsolescent valve for a military vehicle through reverse engineering.
The work not only required the manufacture of a bespoke valve based upon the original part, but also a detailed understanding of hydraulic valves and how they perform in tough terrain environment.
Managing director of MGR Fluid Power, Mike Retford explained: “Obsolescence is a huge issue in the defence industry and often, when many vehicle components fail, the original manufacture of that component has long gone out of business, making a build-to-print process difficult.
“For this particular project, we had to reverse engineer a valve to the same size to fit the original design criteria, connect the necessary pipes, and perform a factory acceptance test for the customer to demonstrate that the vehicle will continue to operate successfully.
“We had to set the valve to withstand six different pressures in order for it to perform to capacity in difficult environments.
“Projects like this are difficult for most hydraulics businesses in the UK…We are one of a small handful of businesses that can deliver this immediate and bespoke solution to keep military vehicles in the field for as long as possible.”
