Customer Background
Customer is a global supplier of custom-tooled components using powdered metal materials and processes including secondary machining and assembly. Products serve a variety of markets, including automotive, food processing/appliance, medical, porous products, pumps/compressors, tools/hardware, valves/fittings, and heavy truck. Several types of metals are used in their production.
Challenge
Customer needed an automated washing process for cleaning steel ABS ring gears after being tumbled in ceramic media. Parts were to be visually clean, and 100% dry was preferred, though some residual moisture was acceptable.
Solution
Alliance provided an Aquamaster CB-2400E parts washer for cleaning brake gears. This 3-module configuration includes wash, rinse, and heated blowoff modules with a 24” wide belt and low product clearance for effective cleaning of low-profile parts. Alliance’s lift-off “Full-Access” canopy segments provide easy interior access for maintenance and process adjustments. A 200 gallon wash tank and a 125 gallon rinse tank contain spray nozzles which are positioned above and below the conveyor belt in both the wash and rinse zones. The nozzles are clip-on and fully adjustable for ease of maintenance. Strainer baskets are incorporated to remove larger particles from the solution, while micro-filtration was added to remove smaller particles. An exhaust fan system was added to direct condensation back into the washer. A heated blowoff was chosen to remove as much moisture as possible from the brake gears. Heated air is directed through air plenums located above and below the conveyor that evaporates residual moisture upon exiting the brake gear cleaning system. Upgraded stainless steel pumps and exterior piping replace the standard mild steel. The overall configuration of the brake gear cleaning system is 15’8” long x 7’4” wide x 6’3” high.
