End-Suction Water Pump
Overview
The project focused on the SIHI ZLND Overhung Industrial Process Pump and was initiated as a follow-up to a product portfolio rationalisation initiative. Its objective was to further reduce manufacturing cost and complexity by standardising components across the remaining pump product lines and increasing interchangeability between different configurations.
I joined the project during the redesign phase to support the engineering team with mechanical design and CAD development. My responsibility was to redesign the driven-end assembly of the long- coupled pump configuration, separating the originally integrated bearing housing and cover into two independent components.
Project Development
The project aimed to establish a common volute casing design for close-coupled and long-coupled pump configurations. While both shared the same pump casing, their mechanical interfaces differed.
In close-coupled configurations, the casing was connected directly to the motor through an adapter, with the impeller mounted on the motor shaft or a shaft extension. In long-coupled configurations, the casing connected to a separate bearing housing through a cover. The bearing housing supported the pump shaft, which connected to the motor shaft.
Driven-End Redesign
For the long-coupled configuration, I redesigned the original integrated bearing housing and cover as separate components. The new architecture was based on two standard bearing housing sizes, with interchangeable covers providing the connection to different pump casings.
I developed the new components in Solidworks, using the original design as a starting point where applicable. This involved creating a new mechanical interface between the bearing housing and cover, as well as incorporating additional design features. These included a machined surface on top of the bearing housing for a standardised nameplate.
I also introduced a cast Flowserve logo on the sides of the bearing housing as a design detail. Although not part of the original requirements, the project team welcomed the addition and retained it in the final design.
International Collaboration
The project brought together engineers from several Flowserve locations, including Spain, Germany and India, who were responsible for different aspects of the product development. I coordinated with the other engineers throughout the redesign phase to ensure that the components and interfaces developed in parallel remained aligned.
Outcome
The redesigned components contributed to a more standardised pump product range, reducing the number of unique parts and overall product complexity. The resulting component commonality across different pump configurations also contributed to manufacturing cost savings.
My contribution focused on the mechanical design and CAD development of the long-coupled driven-end assembly, supporting the wider team's modularisation initiative.