Machining

Customer
Manufacturer of Medical Products

Application
Brass Pins

Background
This manufacturer is producing precision machined brass pins in very large quantities. One part is a pin weighing less than 1 oz. And measuring 1/16 in. diameter by 3/4 in. long. These pins are used in the alignment of resin molds used to make medical prosthesis.

Problem
The current production rate is 30,000 per hour. Batches of 500 pins need to be cleaned of drawing compound and oil and then thoroughly dried before moving on to small quantity packaging. They are then shipped to various supply houses. Their old cleaning process utilized an old spray tumbling machine without immersion or drying capabilities. This system could not handle the required throughput nor was it capable of drying the parts effectively.

Solution
Better Engineering, in conjunction with the customer, determined that a stainless steel tumbling system with immersion wash was needed to effectively wash and dry the required throughput of parts.

System
A stainless steel Cyclojet 1 system with a custom designed cylindrical basket (17 1/8" x 7 1/2" x 6 1/2") to hold hundreds of these small pins. This system was also fitted with the following options: regenerative blower, steam exhaust, and a stainless steel 2 hp pump.

10/12/98