Recreating the most extreme climatic conditions, while protecting the environment was the challenge won by 3P Engineering, which has implemented for Blupura a climatic chamber specifically designed to satisfy the company’s requirements
Recreating the same climate as the Countries with the most extreme climatic conditions and measuring the energy efficiency, the refrigeration capacity and other performances required by the market was the challenge of Blupura, Italian manufacturing company that produces water coolers connected with the water supply net. With a production plant that takes up 11,000 m², 120 workers and a production capacity of over 100,000 plants yearly, Blupura is a sector leader reality on a world scale, with an export share that amounts to 80% of the turnover.
100% made in Italy machines for a global market
«Our products can deliver up to five types of microfiltered water – room temperature, cold still, slightly sparkling, sparkling and hot – and satisfy any market, from HORECA to office, domestic, vending and public areas, too », Gianni Grottini, Managing Director, founder of the company with Luca Costantini in 2008, explains. The latest design provided for the execution of the insulating system test for Blubar product in the UAE market, where the humidity concentration is very high and condensate problems might occur. From Venezuela to China, from United States to Arab Emirates crossing Europe, it was not simple to foresee and to recreate any kind of climatic and temperature situation, to assure the perfect functionality of our products everywhere», Grottini highlights, pointing out that the company exports its systems to as many as seventy-five Countries in the world. «The most recent design provided for the execution of the insulating system testing for Blubar product in the UAE market, where the humidity concentration is very high and condensate problems might occur. Relying on such a cutting-edge climatic chamber allows us to prevent problems, to carry out targeted tests with different insulation systems, choosing the most suitable for the purpose and remarkably shortening the time to market».
A climatic chamber to simulate the most extreme environmental conditions
Blupura climatic chamber was implemented by 3P Engineering, specialized in the production of test benches and chambers. «The reliability and professionalism demonstrated in previous collaborations have induced us to choose 3P Engineering instead of other realities existing on the market -, Grottini adds. – Due to the climatic chamber, today we can offer even more efficient and technologically advanced products». Equipped with an automated conditioning system with a temperature regulation range from +5 to +50 °C, and humidity from 50 to 90 R.H.%, the test chamber is provided with manual setting of the set-point, and arranged for three samples under test simultaneously.
«We have designed a customized chamber, insulated with a plant that includes a refrigerating group, a closed-circuit heating and humidification system, implemented with units both inside and outside the chamber, with an on-board automated management system with PLC logic that can manage all functions», explains Rosalino Usci, co-managing director of 3P Engineering. The chamber has been equipped with cells of seasoning/drying, conservation with/without humidity control and climatic cells for static humidity tests, both thermal and climatic cycles, with the possibility of excluding warmth and wetness to manage the only conservation cell, with defrosting activation. «In addition to the dehumidification programming with cold or hot call, or from independent clean contact, we have programmed various functions managed according to Blupura specifications, such as programmed or automated air exchanges with energy saving function and external probe reading of temperature/humidity, or the possibility of activating inner air recirculation by destratification », adds Michele Marcantoni, co-managing director of 3P Engineering.
Targeted functions for specific tests
«These analyses will allow preventing eventual malfunctions owing to adverse climatic conditions and the eventual erosion of materials -, specifies Gianni Grottini from Blupura. – Besides, the chamber is absolutely silent and with low energy consumption. Moreover, the plant overall dimensions and inner spaces are among the peculiarities that have more aroused our lively interest: with an inner volume of 40 mc and sizes of 4x4xh2.5 metres, we could also test our Outdoor line that includes bulky products». The capability of adapting our designs to the requirements of each company is one of the peculiarities of 3P Engineering, due to its highly specialized hi-tech team. «Climatic chambers are a strategic tool for any company that intends to test its products in the most different environmental conditions, irrespective of the appurtenance sector», Usci underlines.
Cutting-edge test chambers and benches
«We create automated systems for our customers and they are tested every day in our accredited Test Laboratory (Accredia Lab n. 1537 L, UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018) where we perform one of the widest test ranges on the market: from chemical-physical tests on metals and polymeric materials to mechanical tests, from environmental tests to conditioning, ageing and light solidity test -, Marcantoni specifies. – Our target is creating high-quality designs and products, using as much as possible a green-impact philosophy like the one that characterizes Blupura». Not fortuitously, 3P Engineering, high engineering all-round company, is developing the project CHIMERA (CHIckens Manure Exploitation and RevAluation GA n. LIFE15 ENV/IT/000631), for the implementation of a plant aimed at converting chicken manure into fertilizer and electric/thermal energy according to the circular economy principle.
High quality, low environmental impact
Blupura stands out in the world for its green economy: due to the use of natural refrigerating gases in the cooling plant, it was mentioned by GREENPEACE in Cool Technologies reports. «The use of coolers connected with the water network shares in eliminating the economic costs of bottled water transport and their enormous environmental impact on the whole planet, with release of CO2 into the atmosphere and the use of non-biodegradable plastic containers», Grottini goes on. «The constant availability of huge water quantities is a comfortable, hygienically safe and economically intelligent choice. Each of our coolers is designed by using recyclable materials as much as possible and it is equipped with devices to decrease electric consumptions -the Managing Director of Blupura specifies. – We were the first manufacturer on the world market that used fully natural refrigerating gases (HC) such as R290. A farsighted choice that allows not contributing in the global warming, achieving the approximate 15% energy saving and higher efficiency in terms of cooler’s overall performances. Furthermore, now, with the climatic chamber, our international customers will have the opportunity of appreciating all tools we use as support to designers, to assure the utmost quality of our products».
