Parts cleaning to the tightest specifications with the D?rr Ecoclean Universal 81C and Universal 71W

Take a minute to consider parts cleaning in industrial machine shop operations. Any time a part is machined, stamped or ground, it has a certain amount of oil or grease left on it from the machining process. Additionally there are usually varying amounts of chips or swarf left on it from the grinding process, carbon from the stamping process, or simply dirt or other soiling. All of these have to be removed before further production, otherwise they inhibit later manufacturing processes, whether they are performed in-house or at an outside manufacturer. While there are many parts cleaning systems on the market, the challenge for machine shops is finding a system that cleans parts thoroughly, inexpensively and safely.

ATP - an Internationally Active Family Business

Like many machining companies, American Turned Products (ATP) of Northwest Pennsylvania has a good deal of familiarity with the challenges of cleaning machined parts to tight specifications in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner. ATP operates two facilities in Erie County with more than 125 metalworking machines in over 90,000 sq.ft manufacturing space, pursuing high-volume precision machining and assembly contracts in the automotive, hydraulics and heavy off-road equipment industries. Though the majority of their volume comes mainly as a Tier II and Tier III supplier manufacturing fuel injection, engine timing, airbag, and braking systems components from standard and exotic steels for the North American automotive market, they also export these to China and other foreign countries.

Parts Cleaning Challenges

"We like the 'tough stuff'!", claims ATP, meaning that they welcome the opportunity to manufacture complex parts to extremely close tolerances. ATP stakes its reputation on producing components with zero defects. In other words, they strive for a rejection rate of zero parts-per-million. It is understandable that they would need parts cleaning solutions to help them meet these demanding requirements and close tolerances. As Harry Eighmy, ATP's vice president for manufacturing pointed out, "Customers not only want to see how you're going to manufacture their components, but also how you're going to clean them. A lot of them said, 'You have a decent cleaning system, but it's not robust enough to meet our requirements.'" As an example, by late 2006, ATP had been using aqueous parts cleaning systems in their two plants for about ten years. These systems were fairly good and efficient for their generation, but ATP found that they did not meet the most modern requirements for today's market. For example, the parts cleaning system that ATP used for cleaning parts that came from their thermal deburring unit sometimes left a chalky or milky film on the on the parts. This variation in cleanliness caused unacceptable production delays and cost run-ups for ATP. This made Mr Eighmy look closely at the processes and systems that ATP was using for parts cleaning.

Choosing D?rr Ecoclean

Over a 16-month period that began in late 2006, Mr Eighmy and the people at ATP put considerable time into their search for the right parts cleaning systems from a variety of manufacturers. They found that D?rr Ecoclean compared favorably with other manufacturers both in terms of overall parts cleanliness and the environmental impact of the parts cleaning systems. Not only did they meet or exceed cleanliness requirements from their customers, but in comparison with other aqueous systems, the Universal 71W aqueous system used a great deal less water during its operation and consequently generated much less waste for disposal. Digging deeper, Mr Eighmy also found that aqueous parts cleaning systems from other manufacturers were not as self-contained as the systems from D?rr Ecoclean. In other words, not only was there a much larger volume of disposal with those systems than with the D?rr Ecoclean systems, but there was always something to be added (detergents, degreasers, chemicals) or something to be drained from the system during operation. Furthermore, aside from the environmental and accompanying cost concerns due to the greater amounts of water, the D?rr Ecoclean system also compared favorably in terms of space constraints. Other systems occupied a lot more space.

Exceptional Results - Exceeding Cleanliness Specifications

In 2008, ATP purchased three parts cleaning systems for their two plants - one D?rr Ecoclean Universal 71W aqueous parts cleaning system and two Universal 81C solvent-based systems. The Universal 71W was purchased to remove residue and rust coloured oxide remaining on the parts from the thermal deburring process at the Fairview plant. The Universal 81C parts cleaning systems were purchased to remove machining oils from the parts at both plants, and to prepare some parts at the Fairview plant for the thermal deburring process. Mr Eighmy and the staff at ATP were satisfied right from the start with the level of cleanliness on their machined parts that were cleaned with all three systems.

The D?rr Ecoclean Universal 71W is a cleaning system using an immersion process and aqueous media in all cleaning stages. A vacuum drying system completely dries cleaned parts and significantly reduces the possibility for rust and oxidation on steel components. The one put into service at the Fairview plant consistently de-rusts steel parts that are coated with oxides from their thermal deburring process. Thanks to this vacuum drying and chemistry change, the chalky film that occasionally appeared on parts cleaned with their former aqueous washer was completely eliminated.

The Universal 81C cleaning systems use non-halogenated hydrocarbons as highly effective cleaning media and allow the safe and economical use of solvents for removing oils, greases, emulsions and swarf between or after manufacturing processes. On account of its many different process variants using hot and / or cold immersion with downline vapour degreasing, the sophisticated technology of the Universal 81C is ideal for meeting the requirements expected of modern manufacturing processes with regard to quality and functionality.

The two Universal 81C systems that they put into service at their Erie and Fairview production facilities allowed them to meet cleanliness specifications that they could never meet with their former aqueous system. Their fuel injection components meet strict ultrasonic testing requirements for the minimum number of particles on workpiece surfaces.

The results speak for themselves: to this point no parts have failed customer cleanliness tests, and Mr. Eighmy is pleased to report that all the D?rr Ecoclean systems they have in place at their production facilities are doing it on a consistent basis.

Customer Satisfaction from the Start

In addition to being pleased with the cleaning results, Mr Eighmy and the team at American Turned Products had only positive things to say about D?rr Ecoclean's customer service. They were more than satisfied with the speed of installation, the training process and D?rr Ecoclean's customer support. The Universal 81C system, for example, was delivered to ATP on a Monday, the D?rr Ecoclean tech support personnel trained the employees and they were using it in production on Wednesday. Furthermore, the costs associated with the project were significantly less than expected when the speed of the installation, the thorough training and D?rr Ecoclean's responsiveness are considered.

When it comes to maintenance and operating issues with any of the three D?rr Ecoclean parts cleaning systems, Mr Eighmy points out that he can count on one hand the number of times he had to call D?rr Ecoclean for troubleshooting, or had to have a technician come in and do something they couldn't do themselves. Not only are the systems reliable, but the ATP personnel have been trained well enough by the D?rr Ecoclean technicians to be able to troubleshoot any technical operating issues that have come up.

Outlook

On his overall satisfaction with the D?rr Ecoclean systems, Mr. Eighmy has a solid recommendation for other manufacturers: "If you are looking to benefit your company and certainly exceed your customers' and suppliers' expectations, this system is meeting and exceeding the current requirements along with providing a cleaner environment." These days questions about the environmental impact of plant operations are being ever more closely scrutinized as they also have an impact on financial balance sheets. Parts cleaning systems like D?rr Ecoclean's Universal 81C and Universal 71W by D?rr Ecoclean are ahead of the curve in these respects, while also delivering clean, rust-free parts that are ready for further assembly.

(Durr Ecoclean India, Pune. Tel: 020-30585001. Fax: 91-20-30585000. Email: Info.india@ecoclean.durr.com)