Haulage truck manufacturer drives down component cleaning time thanks to Ultrawave
Off-highway haulage truck maker, TerexTrucks, has halved the time it takes to clean vehicle components by employing ultrasonic cleaning technology from British company, Ultrawave.
Motherwell-based TerexTrucks, builds both rigid and articulated haulage trucks utilised in mining and quarrying applications.
Rotary spray washers were previously used to clean heavy brake and differential components as part of the manufacturing process. High cleanliness levels are essential as parts can be damaged, causing rejects, if any contamination remains.
Terex Trucks found that whilst the washers cleaned the external surface of components, they did not remove oil and casting residue from the intricate and detailed component design.
The spray wash systems were unable to access these sections, leaving contamination in place, reducing throughput and affecting productivity.
Understanding the detailed requirements of the Terex Trucks manufacturing process, Ultrawave recommended a single, heavy duty ultrasonic cleaning system to replace the three rotary washers.
The 615 litre ultrasonic cleaner included a heavy duty basket to support the parts weighing up to 150Kg. Incorporating a built-in stainless steel pump and filtration system with a hinged lid, ultrasonic cleaning is provided by submersible transducers for ease of service.
Having commissioned the new cleaner, Terex Trucks immediately started to make savings on their previous contract costs which reached tens of thousands per year.
Not only were operating costs saved but the capacity and speed of cleaning the components has increased. The cleaning cycle time has been cut in half, with a full load now processed in just 8 minutes.
Craig McSpadyen Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Terex Trucks said: “We are extremely pleased with the performance of the Ultrawave ultrasonic system which cleans our components and brakes to a far higher level than before.
The system is user friendly in operation and takes significantly less processing time, leading to many benefits in production efficiency and cost savings.” http://www.ultrawave.co.uk/
