Customer Background
An established North American manufacturer of cast aluminum components with value-added machining and assembly capabilities for automotive and related industries.
Challenge
The customer needed a conveyorized parts cleaning system to process machined aluminum lower engine block assemblies for a major automotive manufacturer. Requirements included cleaning multiple holes and passages present on the part, which were to be introduced on 30 second intervals. In addition, the engine block washing machine needed to be integrated into an automated manufacturing cell, interface with automated loading and unloading equipment, fit within limited floor space, and meet the customer’s specific machinery requirements. The machine also needed to accommodate manual loading and unloading of parts.
Solution
Alliance provided an Aquamaster CC-2400E indexing conveyorized parts cleaning system with wash and regenerative blowoff modules. Custom part fixtures, engineered for positioning parts to optimize cleaning and moisture removal, were utilized in conjunction with strategically located spray nozzles, compressed air ports, and sensors to ensure precise transfer throughout the process. The entry and exit conveyors of this engine block parts washer were equipped with operator controls to allow for manual part loading and unloading. The engine block washing machine utilized a customer-specified PLC and operator interface control panel.