Products Finishing magazine is the No. 1 industrial finishing publication in the world. We keep our readers informed about the latest news and trends in plating, painting, powder coating, anodizing, electrocoating, parts cleaning, and pretreatment.
Issue link: https://pf.epubxp.com/i/213540
PRODUCTS FINISHING NEW PRODUCTS Edited by El McKenzie emckenzie@pfonline.com Anodizer Eliminates Crane Downtime with Oil Shear Brake Technology Operating 24 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week, there is no convenient downtime for Linetec. The Wausau, Wis., anodizing plant uses a computer-controlled hoist system to guide parts through the anodize process, eliminating any chance of variation in precleaning, etching, anodizing, coloring or sealing. But any system is only as strong as its weakest link, which in this case were the dry brakes used to stop and position the hoists. They required weekly maintenance and quarterly overhauls, and still experienced periodic failures that brought operations to a standstill. But oil shear brake technology from Force Control Industries slashed downtime and eliminated failures— resulting in unprecedented productivity for Linetec. There are eight cranes in the Linetec plant—each with a 3-hp trolley motor and a 15-hp hoist motor, each performing roughly 2,000 moves per shif. Previously, dry brakes were mounted on each motor for stopping and positioning. Since these brakes have a sacrifcial wear surface (the disc), each one had to be checked weekly and rebuilt on a quarterly basis, a process requiring disassembly, replacement of the disc and solenoid, gap checks, reassembly and restart—all from scissor lifs hoisted nearly 30 feet in the air. Altogether, Linetec was spending 124 hours a year and $8,000 in parts on preventive maintenance, numbers that don't factor in breakdown and repair. Before employing oil-shear technology, Linetec's service team constantly had to repair the company's anodizing system's brakes from scissor-lifts hoisted 30 feet in the air. The new system has dramatically reduced brake maintenance. Robotic Surface Preparation System Blasts Components Guyson's Model RB-600 robotic blast machine is designed to precisely repeat programmed surface preparation routines on individual components and automatically process a tray of parts without interruption. The machine uses a six-axis FANUC LR Mate 200iC robot as a component manipulator. The articulated arm mounted in the 38 DECEMBER 2013 — pfonline.com grit-blasting chamber is ftted with a pneumatically actuated gripper and a tailored suit of laminated fabric that isolates the robot from the harsh abrasive environment. Inside the blast-fnishing cabinet, a single pressure-blast nozzle is rigidly bracketed in position within easy reach for the robot to hold the component in the blast stream at the correct angle and distance to the nozzle, turn and move the part at the right surface speed for thorough surface preparation, and eficiently follow the programmed tool path to ensure complete coverage without over-blasting. Robotic motion programs and blast processing recipes for more than 50 diferent components can be stored and recalled instantaneously. No set-up time or adjustments are required to change over from one part number to another, and trays of components can be processed in any sequence. The robotic grit-blast system is said to ofer increased throughput over manually operated blast cabinets, as well as energy savings from reduced compressed air consumption and low-energy LED lighting, and improved fnish consistency. Guyson Corp. / 800-228-7894 / guyson.com