March 2021

HYDRAULICS 28 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS March 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk Darlington-based FPE Seals, the worldwide distributor and manufacturer of seals and hydraulic cylinder parts, has introduced the Helpzone platform to its website to offer the team’s knowledge and expertise to support customers in need. The platform features product demonstration videos, as well as guides and blogs to answer commonly asked questions in the industry, which supports Aftermarket and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operations for fluid power systems. Sharing knowhow Steve Ellis, FPE Seals’ managing director, says: “Finding solutions for customers is part of what makes FPE who we are, and we wanted to share our knowhow with existing and new audiences that would find it helpful. Helpzone is yet another channel we can use to offer everyone that needs it access to our team’s skills and capabilities, no matter where they are based.” In addition to Helpzone, FPE Seals continues to offer advice over the phone or at its in-branch trade counters, which have been made COVID-secure. The firm has remained operational throughout the pandemic, continuing to supply parts needed to keep essential industries moving. The firm also offers a free legacy service, where existing seals can be sent to the team to be identified and matched for replacements. For customers needing a bespoke approach, its in-house manufacturing team also designs and create seals to order. Ellis adds: “Helpzone will only continue to grow as we create more videos and guides. We’ve created a platform which can provide support to our customers and others in our industry whenever they need it, and that’s something I’m very proud of. Established in 1984, FPE Seals employs 71 members of staff across its branches in Darlington, Doncaster, Aberdeen and Breda, Netherlands. www.fpeseals.co.uk/helpzone FPE Seals launches the Helpzone platform New workshop crimper Tubomatic H170ES from OP OP has launched the new hose crimper Tubomatic H170ES (up to 1’’ 1/2 six spirals), claimed to be particularly suitable to process industrial hoses up to 4’’ with big flanges and camlock fittings. When designing the machine, the goal OP’s engineers had in mind was to create a crimper that allows operators to comfortably process hoses with big bulky flanges, thus to create a wider working space. They made this possible by enlarging the opening of the crimping head – Tubomatic H170ES boasts an opening without dies of 219 mm and a die opening of Ø + 61 mm. Like all OP’s ES H series crimpers, the machine is provided with a back limit switch and ES3 control, with a 5.7’’ colour touch-screen display, with a user-friendly interface that allows to improve crimp quality, safety and reduce crimp cycle times. On this particular crimper, the ES3 control comes with a new function, the Industrial hoses crimp calculator – a feature that was added to make this crimper a compelling choice for anyone who works with industrial hoses. Automatic calculations The crimp calculator allows the system to automatically calculate the ideal crimping diameter of the industrial hose to be processed, helping to make the operators’ daily job easier. Operators will only have to input a few simple parameters – hose internal and external diameter, hose compression factor, ferrule thickness and fitting shank outer diameter – and the system does the rest. The ES3 control can be enhanced with the addition of several optional features, including pressure-controlled crimping, USB port connection, multistep crimp option and a quality check function. www.op-srl.it