BACKGROUND
This customer, a machining center for a global corporation manufactures thousands of small precision fittings/connectors per day for the fiber optics industry. These connectors range in size from 1/8" long to 1/4" long and are made of brass, aluminum, and stainless steel, with through holes as small as 1/1000 of an inch ... one hundred fittings could be held in the palm of your hand. The previous method of cleaning was a primitive dip/soak in solvents. Drying was accomplished via alcohol dip and an oscillating fan! A fire caused by the alcohol spelled the end of this process and a solution was required immediately.
PROBLEM
Removing the fine chips, machining oils, and moisture was extremely critical to passing the cleanliness test (each connector is painstakingly put under a microscope and checked for chips and moisture). To be cost effective, thousands of parts needed to be washed, rinsed and 100% dried at one time.
 SOLUTION
After extensive lab testing, a Cyclojet 1 tumbling system with a custom fixture was selected. The fixture was designed to accept four (4) round baskets, or one large rectangular basket depending on the workload or the size of the parts being cleaned. Working with a 70-minute cycle, including wash, dual rinses, and a dry, the company has drastically improved the cleanliness of the parts as proven by a lower rejection rate, reduced the labor involved in this cleaning project, and eliminated the use of alcohol from its machining center. The company is well into an expansion that will triple is production of parts and the CJ-1 is keeping up well.
SYSTEM
A custom designed Cyclojet 1 all stainless steel system with the following options: PLC upgrade with Better Engineering's flexible programming package, ARC-33 rinse to drain, ARC-66 recirculated rinse, regenerative blower with air heating system, dual oil skimmers, 2-channel timer, end-of-cycle beacon light, and a detergent injection system.
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