Background
This privately owned precision machining operation employs over 350 workers and was established in 1988. They manufacture a variety of parts including cast aluminum oil pans for Honda Motor Corporation. Problem
The Honda oil pans were previously being cleaned using a small, dip tank and dried manually with an air gun. This process was slow, and it involved the use of solvents, which the company needed to eliminate. The following provisions needed to be met in order to replace the cleaning process: a) automatically wash and dry the oil pans removing machining oils from the many blind holes b) produce over 1400 clean and dry parts per day, c) utilize a minimum amount of floor space.
 Solution
Incorporate a Carousel system into a cleaning "work cell" which integrates the machining and cleaning functions. This Carousel has four rubber-coated fixtures attached evenly around the turntable . Each fixture held one oil pan at a 15ƒ angle which allowed for quick drainage after the wash cycle. The front of the Carousel is exposed for continuous loading and unloading. The operator loads the newly machined oil pans onto the Carousel washer fixture and unloads them at his convenience. The turntable rotates very slowly, moving the parts through a "wash" zone and then a "dry" zone. With one oil pan being thoroughly washed and dried every 60 seconds, this machine is cleaning 1,440 pans per day and is performing well beyond the customers expectations.
System
A C-5000 (50" turntable) Carousel wash and dry system with customized fixturing. This machine also had the following options: a steam exhaust collector, a regenerative blower, and a 35 kW air heating system.
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