Mini Cell Conveyor

We were approached on this project with the need for multiple, small, low cost, portable units to apply rust preventative to a variety of heavy machined cast iron parts in a cell environment. The heavy parts in some cases would be rolling into the washer at a fast pace and in other cases tossed in by the operator. Air drying was not required because the parts would be heated to the point that water would evaporate in the following holding station, leaving only the rust preventative behind.

The 5 finished units, in operation, not only applied the rust preventative, but the flooding sprays provided significant removal of machining fines, even from product lines that were already pre-washed. Feeding and discharge of the heavy product went on with-out a hitch and SS smooth-bore heaters used to heat the solution have had no problems with build-up of solids.

Low Profile Conveyor

Our customer required two mirror image washer systems for cleaning & cool-down (to 75 F) of various sized steel bearing housings following honing operations. Floor space was at a premium with fast access to nozzles for maintenance a priority. Drying required only a mild wipe to remove large droplets.

A 3-chamber system was devised using a heated wash/rust preventative spray for oil and metal fines removal, followed by two chilled water rust preventative rinse sprays, and a small compressed air wipe (activating only for passing product). The wash and rinse conveyors were physically separated in order to minimize solution drag-out in the event that different chemistries were used in the wash and rinse. Top entry hinged lids were used for conveyor and nozzle access and the spray manifolds were attached to each chamber lid for quick nozzle inspection during maintenance.

Final results provided cleaned bearings at room temperature with a rust preventative coating at conveyor speeds up to 10 FPM.

Our customer required the removal of metal fines from small diameter precisely located bore holes on a precision-machined product. The product feed rate from an adjoining machining center was 2-4 parts per minute with parts presented to & from the washer by a robot arm. In addition, due to space constraints, the washer footprint had to be a maximum of 3' x 4'.

A carrousel concept with 4 arms on a carrousel head was devised in order to fix the product orientation for repeatable cleaning inside each borehole. Spring-loaded grippers were placed on each arm to hold the product in location as the carrousel rotated in exact 90 degree intervals. At the first fixed interval position, product was loaded and unloaded into the gripper mechanism by a table-mounted robot. At the second & third positions, individual fixed spray nozzles were precisely positioned at each of the product bore holes to provide for removal of metal fines and machining coolant. At the fourth and final position, heated air knives were positioned for drying of the product before return to the first position.

The washer has been in successful operation for over 1 year.