30 Inline Cleaning Systems For GKN
GKN Driveline Deutschland, Mosel plant:
30 PERO compact tunnel washers integrated into the productions lines.
Consistency – that is what PERO shows once again. At its Gotha plant, the company produces tunnel washes for production lines. GKN Driveline Deutschland has recently integrated 30 such cleaning machines into it own production lines, and installs PERO compact tunnel washes in production cells of other plants of the GKN group. The compact units are hidden behind the guards of the production cells and are hardly visible. Only the exhaust air condenser, which protrudes at the top of the unit like a snorkel, and the clean parts leaving the machine indicate that there is a PERO machine at work.
The automotive industry is dominated by one key word: quality. GKN is a leading supplier of drive systems and
Pero tunnel system at GKN
components for car manufacturers, employing 21,000 people at 49 plants in 31 countries. One such facility is the GKN Mosel plant, where 30 PERO cleaning machines are contributing to the ongoing success of the company. When asked why GKN Driveline chose the PERO solution, Jürgen Abendroth, head of the central engineering department at the Mosel plant had a simple ready answer: “PERO offers value for money”’ said the engineer responsible for the planning and implementation of production facilities, products and mechanical engineering projects.
To be truthful: A number of compact tunnel washers had been installed before the reunification of Germany, when the Mosel and Gotha plants were part of state-run conglomerates. The automotive supplier GKN acquired the Mosel plant in 1991, while PERO took over the Gotha plant in 1993. The two companies continued the close cooperation established during the GDR era between these works. “We were delighted to hear that PERO had acquired the Gotha plant, thus continuing the production of compact tunnel washers,” says Jürgen Abendroth, “as we were very happy with the performance of these machines”.
Machines of the KDA series can be easily integrated into any production line and have been specifically designed to cater for many different applications. They are compact in design and suitable for the cleaning, degreasing, rinsing and drying of nearly all types of parts and assemblies. PERO KDA machines cater for both iron phosphating with or without degreasing and de-phosphating. The compact tunnel washers have been designed for use with alkaline, neutral or slightly acidic cleaning solutions.
Click for larger image of Pero tunnel system
The KDA machines are of a modular design, so that they can be easily adapted to suit the requirements of customers. The modules “W” for washing, “S” for rinsing and “T” for drying can be combined in any chosen sequence. “PERO tunnel washers have one great advantage”, explains the PERO sales engineers Holger Grams “as the washing and rinsing modules are always followed by a neutral zone, where any residual liquid is blown off the parts”. This prevents contamination of the rinsing module with the washing medium and also ensures that no drip-dry parts enter the drying module.
Due to their compact design and excellent cleaning capacity, PERO tunnel washers are the ideal solution for automotive production lines of car manufacturers and component suppliers alike. At all steps where parts must be clean before they can be processed further, a KDA unit can be integrated into the process. “We were actually able to retrofit an existing production line with a compact tunnel washer. For this purpose, we simply removed a section of a roller conveyor and inserted the KDA machine”, says Holger Grams, referring to a solution found for a well-known component manufacturer.
Various different models of the compact tunnel washer have been installed at the Mosel plant of GKN. The majority of the units are KDA 35 W models, and some production lines include more than one such machine. “Many of our drive components must be completely free of chips and grease before they can be processed further”, explains Jürgen Abendroth. As different lubricants are applied in the various machining stations, a number of different water-soluble cleaning agents must be used in the 70°C baths. For GKN, it is sufficient that the residual liquid is blown off the parts in the neutral zones so that they are dry, preventing contamination of the process lubricants and cleaning agents via the conveyor belt.
click for larger image of Inline Pero System
In order to demonstrate how easily compact tunnel washers can be integrated into a production cell, Jürgen Abendroth points to such a cell designed for the manufacture of stub axles, which are part of the drive train to the wheels. In the cell, the gearing is produced by means of a cold forming process developed by GKN Driveline. A robot takes the pre-machined forged part from the conveyor belt, places it in the forming machine and then transfers it to the exit conveyor on which the stub axles are transported through the PERO compact tunnel washer. The cleaning unit is positioned in the right corner of the square production cell, and thus form an integral part of it. “This cold forming cell has been designed and built entirely by our engineers and is now used in many other plants of the GKN group”’ says Jürgen Abendroth with great pride. The PERO KDA is of course part of every such cell, as the head of the central engineering department has made the PERO machines part of the standard equipment. This was not a difficult choice, he says, as the dimensions of the parts processed here are in the μm range and components must therefore extremely clean to meet the stringent quality requirements.
About 18,000 stub axles in 25 different designs are produced every day at the Mosel plant. This component is needed in the drive trains of all engines and its dimensions and shape varies in line with the engine power. This also applies to tulip joints with long shafts that are installed in car transmission systems. These components are cleaned in a PERO WDA 75 W unit, which is a special tunnel washer model for the cleaning of shafts. There are again numerous such machines installed at the Mosel plant, as there are several processing lines for the above components where the parts are cleaned between the separate milling, forming, hardening and hard turning stations. The PERO washers can easily be identified, as they all feature approximately 300 mm thick pipes through which the exhaust air is led across the roof where the cleaning agent condensates so that is can be returned to the washers. The agents in the baths are kept clean with oil separators and filters, ensuring consistent cleaning performance.
The only point at which the “W” concept of GKN Driveline is not applied is the grinding station. At the end of the production lines, where the parts are issued ready for installation, they undergo a final cleaning process that includes a preservation cycle. This is done in PERO KDA20 WST units (washing – rinsing – drying) in which the washed parts are rinsed with a preservative, dried and finally discharged for mounting. In a plant as complex as the Mosel plant of GKN, it is of course not possible to use one single preservative: “We are using various different products”, explains Jürgen Abendroth, “ as the preservation of rubber collars for instance is very different from that of metal parts”.
When asked about the economy of the PERO washers, GKN praises their cleaning performance. “If the parts were not sufficiently clean, we would have a serious quality compliance problem on our hands”. Jürgen Abendroth is delighted that he does not have to face any such problems, as the cleaning performance of the PERO units meets all expectations, is cost-effective and backed up with excellent after-sales service, which is made even easier as Gotha and the Mosel plants are close to each other.
About GKN
GKN employs 21,000 people at 49 plants in 31 countries and is the world’s leading supplier of drive systems and power train components for cars and light goods vehicles. The popularity of 4-wheel drives has brought a great increase in business for GKN. Virtually all car manufacturers in the world are using GKN products. Thanks to its global production capacity, the company can respond flexibly and reliably to new trends in the market, while its local presence in many countries ensures excellent support. Together with customers, GKN engineers are constantly working on optimised solutions for new vehicles. They can thereby tap into one of the largest ranges of components for drives trains available to any company. The huge experience and expertise of its staff and the ability to develop innovative solutions are the keys to the success of GKN. The PERO cleaning machines used by GKN at many of its plants worldwide contribute to the excellent quality of products.
