Neptune 5000
© Copyright Datem Limited 2014
65
Maintenance
When the system is in operation, the thruster should be washed down with
clean, salt-free water whenever it is returned to the deck of the ship. This will
reduce corrosion, and enable thorough inspection of all the main housing,
connectors, and connecting cables.
It is good working practice to regularly check all fastenings to ensure they are
present, tight, and there is no damage to them or the items they are fitted to.
Any damaged fastenings should be replaced immediately.
The electrical cables connected to the sensors should be visually inspected to
ensure there are no chafes or cut in the insulation. The connectors on both
ends of the cable should be tightly fitted with no face gap, and the lock-rings
should be finger-tight. Any damaged cables or lock-rings should be replaced.
Chassis
Description
The chassis forms a solid mounting for holding all the other sub-assemblies in
correct alignment during operation. It is manufactured from thick marine
grade stainless steel plate, with bolted construction to minimise any problems
generally associated with heat-based assembly principles.
The chassis consists of a back plate that has gussets bolted to it that provide
the mounting arrangement for the chassis to a sub frame. A mounting shelf at
the rear is provided for the motor/gearbox assembly. The front of the vertical
back-plate is machined to create a high precision datum plane, from which all
the mechanism and rod retaining parts are located.
This assembly also contains the front pedestal for supporting the front end of
the central shaft, and providing a mounting arrangement for the penetration
encoder and its pressure compensation unit.
Maintenance
There is no general maintenance that needs to be performed on the back-
plate, other than observing that there is no distortion in any of the parts, and
that all the fastenings are present and tight.
Mechanism
Description
The mechanism consists primarily of a drum and cassette assembly, which
combine as a storage media for unused cone-rod, and a means of pushing the
cone-rod through the straightener.
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