Low maintenance is key to efficient deflashing: removing flashings from diecast aluminum transmission cases wasn't a real challenge, maintaining the deflashing equipment was.Ryobi Die Casting die casting Forming metal objects by injecting molten metal under pressure into dies or molds. An early and important use of the technique was in the Linotype machine (1884), but the mass-production automobile assembly line gave die casting its real impetus. (USA), Inc (Shelbyville Shelbyville. 1 City (1990 pop. 15,336), seat of Shelby co., central Ind., in a rich corn and livestock area; platted 1822, inc. as a city 1860. , IN) was challenged to find machines to deflash large diecastings aluminum transmission housings, create a uniform finish, and meet stringent maintenance requirements. Before turning to the Wheelabrator Group (Burlington, ON) in the late 1980s, they had tried another brand of machine and had experienced maintenance issues. Since coming to the company, Ryobi has purchased 10 Wheelabrator[R] Wire Mesh wire mesh, wire netting n → tela metálica Belt machines. The ten 36"-wide Autoblast[R] units are used in 10 work cells. The two newest machines are currently being installed in their Shelbyville plant. Application criteria included: machines had to be robotically loaded and unloaded as well as run one housing/casting every 14-20 sec. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Preventive maintenance The routine checking of hardware that is performed by a field engineer on a regularly scheduled basis. See remedial maintenance. preventive maintenance - (PM) To bring down a machine for inspection or test purposes. See provocative maintenance, scratch monkey. was a must and machines needed to operate an average two shifts per day (16 hours a day) five days a week. The Group worked closely with Ryobi's maintenance engineers to design a customized 36"-wide Autoblast machine solution for Ryobi. Designed to make maintenance easy, the new equipment features nylon nylon, synthetic thermoplastic material characterized by strength, elasticity, resistance to abrasion and chemicals, low moisture absorbency, and capacity to be permanently set by heat. After 10 years of research E. I. elevator elevator, in machinery elevator, in machinery, device for transporting people or goods from one level to another. The term is applied to the enclosed structures as well as the open platforms used to provide vertical transportation in buildings, large ships, buckets, allowing for easier replacement and servicing. Other features such as the overall design of the blast wheels make tune-up kits easier to replace. The wheel assemblies are easier to maintain due to easy access and replaceable liners liners, n the liquid material applied to teeth to protect them within a cavity preparation, to seal carious tissues, or to release beneficial chemicals such as fluoride. . Rick Croslow, Ryobi's maintenance manager, comments, "Nylon elevator buckets are very important to us because we don't have overhead cranes An overhead crane is a type of crane where the hook-and-line mechanism runs along a horizontal beam that runs along two widely separated rails. Often it is in a long factory building and runs along rails along the building's two long walls. . This takes a six-man job down to a two-man job. It took so much longer before because the work area is tight and a portable crane is difficult to get into the area." Ryobi's intensive preventive maintenance program has extended the life of many of the deflashing machines. The company routinely gets 30,000 hours or more per machine and now has a machine with over 52,000 hours on it. Maintenance Key Dave Bentley, Ryobi maintenance supervisor states Typically associated with mainframes, it is a hardware mode in which the operating system executes instructions unavailable to an application program; for example, I/O instructions. Contrast with program state. , "Maintenance is absolutely the key in making these machines run longer. We don't have to get rid of them or quit using them; we just maintain them and keep running them." He continues, "We have worked closely with Wheelabrator to develop specific features on the machines we run. Wheelabrator has been extremely willing to make modifications for us to the new equipment and these adaptations have helped us make maintenance easier." One example of this was adding a larger platform on top of the machine to provide better access around the elevator. Chris Field Chris Field is a United Kingdom based rock and roll singer/songwriter and recording artist who was discovered by music producer Bob Rose while on tour with Julian Lennon. Before crossing the channel to pursue his musical career. , Ryobi finish processing engineer, states, "It had really become a safety issue for us. It was difficult and dangerous to perform maintenance while hanging over a guardrail. We suggested a larger platform, and Wheelabrator has accommodated us on the new machines." Ryobi's preventive maintenance program takes one line down each week. During this eight to twelve hour shift, a team performs any necessary repairs. Bentley states, "We have experienced a significant reduction in down time with our machines due to preventative maintenance. When we first started the program, our average down time for machine repair was 8% - 12%. Now, two years into the program, our average down time for our shot blast equipment is 4%. It is hard to figure the cost of down time as a production expense, but our general savings as a result of preventive maintenance is pretty tremendous." Wheelabrator Group www.rsleads.com/510mn-211 or Circle 211 for more information |
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