The following are summary examples of customer solutions executed by Creative Engineers. For more detail, see our LinkedIn page.
  • Advanced Materials Research System
    Researchers at the University of New Mexico are researching advanced alloy development using a very high temperature molten lead test loop. Creative Engineers, Inc. worked with the research team to provide and startup a Style VI Electro-Magnetic pump.
    Electro-Magnet Pump, UNM research team, and LabVIEW user interface.
  • Chemical Process Move
    A leading medical device manufacturer needed to relocate a complicated fully-automated chemical system. This required disassembly, shipment as sea cargo, reassembly, and the performance of all levels of quality activities to bring the system back online in the new location. “No process changes” was the ideal goal for the move.
    Process Move
  • Liquid Metal Test Loop
    Testing components to be used in a liquid metal system such as Lead-Bismuth, Lead-Lithium, Sodium, NaK, or similar liquid metals can be very difficult. The customer needed a safe, reliable, robust system to handle molten liquid metals at temperatures ranging from 150 to over 400 degrees C. A large test section was necessary for testing the first item, but the system needed to be flexible for a wide range of future test articles that could include heat exchangers, traps, and more.
  • Electromagnetic Pump Testing
    Safely and accurately pumping hazardous liquid metals such as liquid sodium, potassium, or NaK (a mixture of the two) poses unique challenges for the process engineer or scientific researcher. Such is the case for Guina Energy, which has developed cutting-edge homopolar motor technology that incorporates a liquid-metal brush system. Creative Engineers designs and builds a wide variety of electromagnetic pumps that are useful for many applications. For detailed pump testing of the DC Lab Pump implemented in this case, the system used high-purity NaK liquid metal as the fluid, which mimics actual process conditions.
    Creative Engineers - Electromagnetic Pump Testing
  • Custom Glove Box
    Our customer, Nanoscale Powders, needed a kilo-scale pilot plant with tightly controlled environmental conditions for scale-up R&D. Creative Engineers designed, built, and is operating a 250-cubic-foot glove box (6.8 m3) to meet the customer’s challenge. The glove box is fully inerted with Argon gas and is pressure-controlled to approximately 2½-in. water column. The moisture content is controlled to less than 50ppm, and the design supports up to five simultaneous operators.
    Creative Engineers - Custom Glove Box Fluoroplastic
  • Flexible Tubing Etch Cart
    A world leader in fluoroplastic tubing products needed an extruder-to-reel solution to provide continuous, high-quality fluoropolymer etching of many products in their portfolio. The solution needed to be simple and easy to use and maintain, and be compact to economize on floor space. Operations required that the design minimize the use of etchant, and generate minimal waste. Creative Engineers, Inc., responded with the Tubing Etch Cart product shown here. It features a proprietary-designed glass-tube etching section, quickly and easily removable to change sizes or for cleaning and maintenance.
    Creative Engineers - Flexible Tubing Etch Cart
  • High Purity Blend System
    A large market for SACHEM’s products is in the semiconductor industry. One particular supplier to the semiconductor industry was in need of a new high-purity blend of chemicals that would push the limits of current high-purity manufacturing and packaging technology. The project was large and required an accelerated design and construction effort. Creative Engineers, Inc. (CEI) was selected to be a partner with SACHEM on the design, construction, and startup of the new facility, because CEI could provide the engineering manpower SACHEM did not have in-house for such a large project.
    Creative Engineers - High Purity Blend System Sachem
  • Vessel Decommissioning
    In 2016 MEMC/SunEdison made the decision to close its facility in Pasadena, Tex., which required decommissioning of five large storage tanks containing the intermediate-stage product sodium aluminum hydride and two large storage tanks for liquid sodium. The sheer size of the tanks (some nearly 40 feet tall), quantity of residual material, and the presence of solids and other contaminants presented significant challenges. Creative Engineers, Inc. (CEI) utilized its superheated-steam process, tailored the solution for each tank, and performed round-the-clock treatment operations. CEI’s control system provided up to 600°F superheated steam and nitrogen utilizing two 20KW super heaters while scrubbing the outlet stream of any undesirable particulate.
    Creative Engineers - MEMC / SunEdison Vessel Decommissioning
  • Nuclear Reactor Sodium Passivation
    Energy Solutions, a world leader in decommissioning of nuclear power plants, needed a company with sodium-removal expertise for passivation of the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor in Fayetteville, Ark., which has been closed since 1972. Energy Solutions first contracted with Creative Engineers, Inc. (CEI) in 2011 to utilize its superheated-steam process, where CEI tailored the solution for each secondary-side component that contained residual sodium. After successful passivation of the secondary components, CEI was once again employed in 2017 to passivate the primary side, which included the complex nuclear reactor. Passivation activities were completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
    Creative Engineers - Nuclear Reactor Sodium Passivation
  • Specialty Chemical Plant Expansion
    Munzing Corporation in Clover, South Carolina needed to expand its on-site storage capabilities for raw materials, and provide more storage of in-process and finished goods. The facility would require a new warehouse, upgraded indoor tank storage as well as additional storage tanks outdoors on the order of 50,000 gallons in the near term, and another 50,000 gallons in the future. Inside the production building, changes were needed to increase efficiency and capacity. Creative Engineers, Inc. played the central role of engineering design by implementing the needed facility upgrades through execution of a complex series of projects.
    Creative Engineers - Specialty Chemical Plant Expansion