Fusion Marine has recently refurbished eight fish farm pens at The Scottish Salmon Company’s (SSC) Toward site on Loch Striven using innovative new manufacturing techniques.
The upgrade of the existing two-ring pens to the three-ring Oceanflex model is part of SSC’s ongoing strategy to ensure that only the highest quality and most modern equipment is used for its farming operations.
As part of the programme, Fusion Marine has teamed up with polyethylene (PE) jointing specialist ControlPoint to utilise its suite of technologies, enabling Fusion engineers to upgrade the farm whilst being supported by two new advanced information and inspection systems.
Fusion Marine pens are constructed incorporating a combination of two proven PE jointing methods – Electrofusion and butt fusion.
For Electrofusion joints, they are now using the ‘BlueBox’ technology which is mounted onto Electrofusion welders. The system, which is driven by a smartphone app, is used to record data such as weld information along with multiple photographs and a GPS location for each joint which is then sent in data format for online analysis by ControlPoint’s dedicated inspection team. This gives operators real-time information on joint status and alert messages are triggered if necessary.
Fusion Marine is also one of the earliest adopters of ControlPoint’s innovative ‘BDI’ tool. This machine works on a similar principle to ‘BlueBox’, offering an instant, quantitative test of each weld by testing the ‘weld bead’ that is formed and removed after a butt fusion joint is carried out. Manual visual and physical ‘bend back’ tests are performed as standard practice by operators as part of the post-welding process inspection. ‘BDI’ takes this inspection to the next level.
