A term is translated wrong, the order is yellow, and the rework is hundreds of thousands
Two days ago, I met a customer who turned "straight pipe pressure balance joint" into "straight pipe pressure balance joint". The other engineer was directly stunned-he replied to the email and asked, "Are you going to do butt welding of water pipes?" Do you say it's embarrassing? The correct name for this thing isStraight Pipe Pressure-Balanced Expansion Joint。 One word difference, the order almost went yellow.
The translation of metal expansion joints looks simple, but in fact there are more pits than expected. Especially for those who do foreign trade, send inquiry drawings, fill in parameter tables and write technical tenders. If a word does not correspond, the other party will misunderstand the model, and the construction will be reworked and the claim will be disputed. Don't ask me how I know it-it's all lessons from real money.
Clear up the core terminology first: Don't think of "compensator" as "expansion joint"
Metal Expansion JointIs the most common term, and more people in the industry use itBellows Expansion JointOr simplyBellows。 But note: "Expansion joint" and "compensator" are often mixed in Chinese, and in EnglishExpansion JointIs a special word for pipeline compensation, andCompensatorMore electrical devices (such as power compensators). So in the technical documentation,Expansion Joint for Unified Pipe CompensatorDon't write Compensator. The Q&A in our station also said that expansion joints and compensators are essentially the same kind of equipment, but the English distinction is clear.
"Metal Hose"CallMetal HoseNot Soft Tube. Soft Tube in English refers to medical hose or straw-if you send a quote for "Metal Soft Tube" to a foreigner, the other party will probably think you are joking.
Subdivided product translation: 26 types, each with standard English name
There are 30 categories in the product list in our station. Let me pick a few of the most wrong ones.
- High temperature axial expansion joint→High-Temperature Axial Expansion Joint。 Note that "Axial" is the Axial direction, don't write it as "Axis". A customer turned "axial compensation" into "Axis Offset", and the foreigner directly answered three question marks.
- Compound hinge transverse expansion joint→Double Hinged Lateral Expansion Joint。 "Hinge" is Hinged, not "Joint" or "Chain".
- Non-metallic expansion joint→Fabric Expansion JointOrNon-Metallic Expansion Joint。 Never write it as "Non-Metal", which in industry refers to "metal-free" materials, not "non-metallic materials".
- Direct buried (fully buried) type expansion joint→Underground Direct-Buried Expansion Joint。 I will talk about a case later, because this translation is wrong, and rework loses hundreds of thousands.
- Metal rectangular expansion joint→Rectangular Metal Expansion Joint。 Rectangular don't miss "ar".
The rest is likeExternal pressure single axial expansion joint(Externally Pressurized Single Axial Expansion Joint),Curved tube pressure balance expansion joint(Curved Pipe Pressure-Balanced Expansion Joint), Each one has a fixed match. Flip through the product manual before translating, or read it directlyEN 14917Standard, ten times more reliable than patting your head to guess.
How to turn the model and parameters? Write clearly to zero error
The customer sent "DN500 PN16 Axial Compensation Amount ±50mm", and the standard writing method is:DN500, PN16, axial compensation ±50 mm。 Note: The pressure level PN is directly followed by a number, so you don't need to add "bar" or write "MPa". Because PN16 itself stands for 16 bar (1.6 MPa), it is redundant to write "PN16 bar". Foreign engineers only recognize PN + numbers.
And the names of those parts must also be unified:
- tie rod→Tie Rod(not a Pull Rod)
- guide tube→Internal Sleeve(Some people also call it Flow Straightener, but Internal Sleeve is the standard term)
- Bellows→Bellows Element(Not Bellows Pipe, not Corrugated Tube)
In the question and answer on our site, the article about "the function of the expansion joint guide tube" uses Internal Sleeve. Maintain consistency, and customers can understand in seconds.
Real case: directly buried expansion joint translated wrong, reworked 300,000
There is a bidding document that translates "directly buried expansion joint" intoDirect Buried Expansion Joint。 Looks like something? Results After winning the bid, the construction party calculated the bracket layout according to the above-ground pipeline, and the on-site installation found that it was incorrect-becauseDirect-BuriedIn English it means "directly buried in the soil," and the correct term isUnderground Direct-Buried Expansion Joint。 Without the prefix "Underground", foreigners thought that you were buried directly on the ground (some special tools). As a result, the bracket design was all wrong, and all the scene was reworked. Party A angrily fined Party B 300,000 yuan.
How much do you say a word is worth?
Don't rely on Baidu literal translation, check the standard or peer sample
If you want to translate a technical parameter table of metal expansion joints now, if you are unsure, just look at the English sample from your peers, or check itEN 14917(European standard for corrugated expansion joints),EJMA standards(American Association of Expansion Joint Manufacturers Standard). The words used in these standards are industry consensus.
Use English keywords to search pictures in Google and see how the foreign factory website is written. For example, when you search for "axial expansion joint", the pictures accompanying the text are basically written in the standard way. Much more accurate than guessing the web translation.
In the final analysis, the translation of metal expansion joints is to benchmark with international standards. Don't bother, build the terminology, right again, right again. Otherwise, if you translate a word wrong, you will be laughed at by customers at the least, and you will lose money and rework at the worst-which one do you choose?