Metal Jacketing & Cladding – See the Unique Machine...

BS Stainless are extremely proud and excited to unveil a brand-new machine that will make them the first ever stainless steel manufacturer and supplier to offer a complete in-house service for an innovative range of cladding solutions. Until now, creating acoustic and moisture barriers for metal jacketing has been a fragmented, and therefore more costly process, but a new machine is set to change everything.

The new lamination line is one of the many positive results of the extended collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University. Around 3 years ago, representatives from BS Stainless travelled far and wide, meeting with people involved in the construction of large-scale LNG Plants and other industry sites around the world. One of the main areas of interest expressed by many companies was metal cladding and how this could be improved.

CoolMet, the PVDF paint system created by BS Stainless, and DryMet, the moisture barrier, were developed through this collaboration and, as they continued to work, SoundMet then came into development, the final piece of the jigsaw was Tedmet a PVF/Tedlar coating. Generally, large areas (usually 100%) of insulation systems within LNG Plants require moisture barriers but a much smaller area will require acoustic barriers. SoundMet combines the benefits of both and the new lamination line means that, unlike competitors, they need no subcontractors or outsourcing to create complex, bespoke metal jacketing solutions.

The benefits to a diverse blend of customers provided by the new lamination line are many, and include:

• Total Control - as everything can be done in-house, BS Stainless have complete control over every aspect of the manufacturing process, ensuring they can keep a sharp eye on quality throughout.

• Accurate Temperatures - When creating laminated metals, it is essential that the temperatures (which vary for different metals and coatings) are achieved, maintained and lowered with perfect accuracy - using powerful infrared heaters, the new laminating line is capable of the finest alterations in temperature to ensure an even, consistent result every time

• Complete Consistency - even months after the original cladding is created. Each time BS Stainless use a new ‘formula’ to create bespoke cladding, the unique parameters of the formula (such as temperature, coating speed and pressure level) are safely stored so that the process can be repeated at a later date and produce cladding to the exact same specification

• Home-Grown Talent - the new lamination line has been built in the UK and BS Stainless receive excellent support from the manufacturer as well as Hallam University. They use only genuine, approved materials - other companies involved with the provision of materials used as moisture barriers appear to have no actual Surlyn within the barrier when tested by third parties.

• New Knowledge - The company have always been involved with trainee and apprentice schemes, as they continue to advance and evolve. Thenew lamination line opens up a host of opportunities - look out for more news of this coming soon

• Save Time & Money - uniquely, the machine is able to apply several coatings simultaneously. For example, a sheet of aluminium could be coated with SoundMet on the bottom and TedMet on the top - this involves controlling the different temperatures accurately which, as described above, is well within the capabilities of the new lamination line

• Versatility & Diversity - from the tiny to the massive and everywhere in between, it is now possible too create the right size to make installation work as simple, quick and cost-effective as possible.

• Development - As BS Stainless work closely with film and coating manufacturers, they are well placed to develop solutions for bespoke applications and can provide innovative laminates to meet customer needs.