Product category:
Cleaning media and cleaning systems
News Release from: Hodge Clemco | Subject: Customised blastroom
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 May 2006
Customised blastroom cleans railroad
bogies
A self-contained custom-built blastroom has been installed at arailroad car plant to clean bogie frames and associated components before inspection and maintenance.
A self-contained custom-built blastroom has been installed by Hodge Clemco at the Doncaster works of Railpart UK as part of a GBP 1 million investment by the company in facilities for overhauling bogies on railway rolling stock The new facilities, which also include a wash plant, spray booths, welding plant and test equipment, are the first step into production for Railpart, which had previously specialised exclusively in supplying spare parts
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 6 Oct 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The blastroom is used to clean bogie frames and associated components before inspection and maintenance.
At 11m long x 5.5m wide x 3.2m high, it allows two frames to be worked on at a time, using chilled cast iron abrasive in order to create an SA2.1/2 surface, which allows defects to be seen clearly.
Equipment is moved in and out on trolleys running on a track through double doors at each end of the chamber.
High-performance dust extraction, ventilation and abrasive recovery systems give good working conditions for operators while minimising abrasive costs.
Four sets of blasting equipment can be used a time, all of them high-production direct pressure units connected to the abrasive storage hopper, and so providing a fully enclosed feed system.
A water separator prevents moisture entering the system in order to keep abrasive dry and free-flowing.
The dust collection system has a filter area of 158m2 and is rated at 10,000ft3/min, giving a linear air-flow of 43ft/min along the length of the room, which provides good visibility and comfortable working conditions for operators by drawing dust to a free-standing collector outside the booth.
An automatic reverse-pulse system dislodges dust at pre-set intervals from the filter cartridge in the collector in order to maintain extraction performance continuously without interrupting production.
Used abrasive is collected automatically in a recovery unit beneath the blastroom floor, from where it is delivered by bucket elevator to a separation and cleaning system with a four-outlet storage hopper situated over the blast machines.
The recovery system separates out dust and lighter particles to give optimum performance at the nozzle and ensure the required surface finish is achieved.
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