Automotive

Customer
Robert Bosch Corporation

Application
Brake Parts

Background
Bosch, a major supplier of automotive componentry, is manufacturing disc brakes at the plant in question. The part being cleaned is an "anchor plate" which measures 12" in diameter and is 3" high.

Problem
The parts are made in work cells where one (1) operator is constantly rotating from machine to machine. They needed to clean the parts in the cells without burdening the operator with constantly opening and closing a door and then waiting for the cycle to end.

Solution
A "Carousel" system which has the front of the turntable exposed for loading and unloading.

The operator, at his convenience, loads and/or unloads the parts. The turntable rotates very slowly -about 5 minutes per rotation in this case - moving the parts thru a "wash" zone and then a "dry" zone. By the time the parts come back around, they are clean and dry.

The operator doesn’t care if the parts went around once or several times. He knows that any parts coming through the exit curtain are clean and can be removed.

System
A C-5000-P (50" diameter turntable) with wash and dry zones. For drying, the machine has a 10HP regenerative blower and a 21 KW air heating system. The large "Box" on top is a "Mist-Pac" which pulls out the steam and condenses it, avoiding the hassle of running a vent line. The system runs 24 hours a day, six days a week, and processes up to 6,000 parts per week.

10/22/98