Bonding problems solved
May 25th 2007 Ahead of October's Solvent Emissions Directive (SED), manufacturer of air filtration systems, Clarcor has installed an Elba 100 aqueous-based washing and degreasing system at its showcase production site in Warrington.
Clarcor manufactures a range of air filtration systems for highway, agricultural and construction vehicles, as well as multi-stage intake systems for land and offshore-based power generation applications. One of the most common filter components produced by the company is a zintec (electrolytically galvanised steel sheet) end cap, which is manufactured in a host of different diameters.
“Cleaning a pressed end cap sounds straightforward but we produce many different variants in a wide range of batch sizes,” explains Works Engineer Paul Hickling. “These need to be cleaned and degreased prior to a hot bonding operation that adhere sealing strips using thermosetting polyurethane. Previously we were using a solvent washer but we had a number of bonding failures due to contamination that hadn’t been removed. To combat the situation we were cleaning end caps manually using solvent aerosol cans prior to the bonding operation.”
The zintec end caps manufactured by Clarcor are exposed to many different types of contamination, including grease, dust and swarf – a fact that steered the company away from the idea of a replacement solvent system.
“From experience we know how difficult it is to remove all of these contaminants using a solvent washer unless you introduce agitation,” says Mr Hickling. “Therefore we concluded that a detergent washer would be more suitable. We looked at a number of different detergent systems before we came across IB Industries.”
IB Industries is a UK-based specialist in the provision and support of a vast range of surface treatment processes, including aqueous and solvent-based cleaning systems. The company represents a host of carefully selected, renowned manufacturers of washing and degreasing machinery, including MAFAC cell-based wash systems.
“IB Industries introduced us to MAFAC, who were exceptionally professional and very impressive,” says Mr Hickling. “Once we had seen a MAFAC Elba machine in action we knew our search had ended. MAFAC’s two-bath technology means the neutral detergent in 3-5% concentration is ideal for removing grease, while the water takes care of the dust and swarf.”
The brief supplied by Clarcor was to supply an environmentally friendly system to clean the end caps in bulk to a higher level of cleanliness than the company’s previous system and reduce bonding failures. After careful consideration Clarcor opted to install a MAFAC Elba 100, which with its 1000 by 400 by 300mm basket size could cater for the company’s entire range of end caps at the desired throughput.
“The MAFAC Elba 100 has transformed our cleaning operations,” says Mr Hickling. “We put up to 300, 3-inch end caps in the same basket and press the start button. We come back around 7 minutes later to find them all clean and dry.”
All models are equipped with the exclusive MAFAC Machine Control, which combines an easy-to-use operator interface with a plain text display. This advanced control enables cleaning programmes to be configured quickly in response to specific cleaning requirements, and stored programs, which take account of the type of material being cleaned, can be retrieved as and when required.
Due to the hard water in the northwest of England, Clarcor also bought a deionising unit from MAFAC to avoid potential detergent stains and acquired a special micro filtration unit via IB Industries to separate the oils and recycle the water back to the system. The micro filtration system only requires a fraction of the energy needed in comparison with traditional heated distillation units.
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