Great progress has been made in April, with more components being placed on order as well as some design changes this month, most notably the material selection for the bearings used for the main winch drum and the spur gear shaft as well as a redesign of the mechanism used to prevent back spooling of the winch during primary tensioning operations. These design changes mean that these components are far simpler and more robust which will in turn simplify the maintenance of the tensioner.
Delivery of the prototype tensioner by May 2021 was always going to be a stretched target and this has now moved back into June, which is still fantastic progress. May will see us concentrating on equipment deliveries and finalising the build and test procedures to ensure that the tensioner is extensively tested prior to being deployed.
