Return Conveyor Aircraft Wheel Washer
Background:
This company is the global leader in motion and control technologies for industrial and aerospace markets. They are a leading supplier of aircraft wheels and brakes and related hydraulic products. As such, they were looking for an automated aircraft wheel washer and brake washer to improve their manufacturing process.
Parts Cleaning Challenge:
This plant needed to clean and powder coat a variety of parts, including aircraft wheels and brakes, prior to painting to help ensure the durability of the parts. In particular, the steel parts needed to be iron phosphate coated, and the aluminum parts needed a Chromium III conversion coating.
Solution/System:
In this case, the solution was two side-by-side conveyor washers: the aircraft wheel washer and the brake washer. Markedly, the systems are identical 5-stage C-16-S2/S2/S2/S2/DH washers, except they are mirror imaged. The system processes parts through wash, rinse, phosphate (or conversion coat), rinse, and dry cycles. A 5HP regenerative blower powers the dry stage. When finished, the parts then move around the powered return conveyor for easy unloading.
In addition, other system features include:
- low water shutoff and automatic fill
- oil skimmer
- inline micron filtration for the wash tank
- steam exhaust system
- lid safety switches
- marine cleanout doors for easy cleaning access to the tanks
- sound shield for the regenerative blower
- central control station
