Circle Technical Services Ltd

By: Gordon R Blakemore (Circle Technical Services Ltd)

Gordon R Blakemore
Circle Technical Services Ltd.
Wellheads Place
Dyce, Aberdeen AB21 7GB
Scotland

Telephone: +44 (0)1224 775222
Telefax: +44 (0)1224 775333
E-mail: info@circletechnical.com
Website: www.circletechnical.com

History

Circle Hire and Technical was established in 1990 to provide high-pressure water pumps and SNARK diver held dredge units for hire to subsea contractors operating in the North Sea. In 1994 with the acquisition of GENFLO, and a name change to Circle Technical Services Ltd., activities expanded to include JETCUT water abrasive cutting systems. Further expansion involved the inclusion of HYDROMARINE friction stud welding equipment, INDEPTH air entrained grit low pressure cleaning systems and the TUBAXYS splash zone inspection system.

Following the management buyout from the Pressure Products Group in 1999, the company is well placed to service the worldwide underwater and offshore maintenance industry.

Circle Technical Services Ltd. design and manufacture a complete range of friction welding equipment including items specifically produced to meet particular application requirements. As well as performing at an optimum level in air, and underwater (diver and ROV deployed) to 1000 metres, the Hydro Marine Systems range of equipment has been further enhanced to function safely and at maximum operating parameters in Zone 0 explosive atmospheres. All stages of the friction welding process, in whatever application are subject to full quality control and quality assurance checks.

Circle Technical Services Ltd. have also developed HMS portable equipment for friction stitch welding, using the processes of taper-stitch and FHPP (friction hydro-pillar processing) to enable crack repairs for topside and underwater structures and pipelines.

Circle Technical Services Ltd. remain at the forefront of portable friction welding technology, and are currently involved in three R&D projects with European partners.

Circle Technical Services' Contributions to the EuroStir® Project

To determine design parameters for portable equipment
To conduct experiments on a range of materials of various thickness
To establish a market advantage by providing a range of portable FSW equipment capable of operating in air and underwater
To demonstrate the capability of Circle Technical Services Ltd. to design and manufacture equipment to suit Customer requirements for construction and repair in various markets, under field conditions.

Fig.1: Circle Offices and Workshops © 2001, Circle Technical Services Ltd

Circle Technical Services' plans for dissemination and exploitation of the EuroStir® Know-How

Demonstration and presentation to Circle Technical Services' extensive existing customer base, and by utilising existing publicity and advertising contracts to extend the customer base into other market sectors.

Summary of Services, Products and Materials Available at Circle Technical Services

HMS 3. Hand portable pneumatically driven friction stud welding equipment. Capacity 3mm to M6 diameter. Capable of welding in-air, and explosive (Zone 0) atmospheres. Weld parameters are pre-set and internally controlled to ensure repeatability and reliability.

HMS 10. Hand portable pneumatically driven friction stud welding equipment. Capacity M8 to M12 diameter. Capable of welding in-air, explosive (Zone 0) atmospheres, and underwater to 40 metres. Weld parameters are pre-set and internally controlled to ensure repeatability and reliability.

HMS 3000. Hand portable hydraulically driven friction stud welding equipment. Capacity M12 to M27 diameter. Capable of welding in-air, explosive (Zone 0) atmospheres and underwater (diver or ROV deployed) to 1000 metres. This equipment is electronically controlled with real-time display of weld parameters (and data recording). The HMS 3000 is unique in its ability to carry out an in-process tensile proof test (also with real-time display and data recording) on every weld.

HMS 3000 equipment is also capable of friction stitch welding, with the same QA/QC traceability as above provided by the (patented) control system.

Remote control allows the operator to be up to 4 kilometres away from the weld site.

Circle Technical Services Ltd. will design and manufacture clamps, jigs and fixtures for all HMS equipment to suit customer requirements and work situations.

Circle Technical Services Ltd. will design and manufacture portable friction welding equipment to suit customer requirements.

Circle Technical Services Ltd. provide skilled Friction Welding Technicians and Machine Operators for contract friction welding tasks using the HMS range of equipment and accessories.


Fig.2: HMS 3 © 2001, Circle Technical Services Ltd	Fig.3: HMS 10 © 2001, Circle Technical Services Ltd	Fig.4: HMS 3000 © 2001, Circle Technical Services Ltd

EuroStir^® homepage