Automotive

Customer
Manufacturer of Hydraulic Pumps

Application
Trays for Holding Pumps

Background
This facility manufactures hydraulic pumps for car engines. These pumps are placed in large plastic "trays" immediately after the manufacturing process and are covered in oil and hydraulic fluid. These trays had previously been sent out to be cleaned at a cost of $5/tray. 500 trays per week needed to be cleaned - a total cost of $130,000 per year. In addition to the cleaning cost, shipping and turn-around time were also a factor.

Problem
This company ultimately wanted to bring the cleaning process "in-house" to reduce costs and the amount of time that the trays were off the assembly line. To further increase efficiency, the company wanted a machine that could perform the cleaning process on multiple numbers of trays simultaneously. The three different sizes of trays were: 1) the largest tray was 46" square and had a depth of 9 in., 2) the second largest was 46" long, 20" high and was 6" deep, and 3) the smallest tray was about the same size as #2 but was molded differently.

Solution
An F-6000LX-P turntable system with a customized fixture allowed 2-4 trays to be washed and dried in a 6 minute cycle. Manifolds were designed to spray and dry from central and peripheral locations. The basic design of this machine allows for the cleaning of other manufactured parts by simply removing the fixture.

System
An F-6000LX-P with a custom fixture, custom manifolds, a 25 HP wash pump for additional pressure, and a 15 HP regenerative blower for drying.

7/18/00