Vixen Surface Treatments Tristar Conveyor Type Throughfeed Flat Bed Mesh Belt Degreasing Machine

Aerospace Packing Area Cleaning, Oiling and Bag Sealing Cell

This machine was originally part of a cell that worked on the following basis.

Stage 1: Kerosene (Exxsol D80) Spray Wash [DA1414 - Vixen Tristar]

Components are placed on the Vixen wash belt conveyor to be spray washed with Kerosene (exxsol D80), the speed of the conveyor is adjustable to achieve the required cleaning result an optical sensor at the end of the conveyor will stop the conveyor when a part is detected making unattended operation possible.

Stage 2: White Spirit Dip 

The components are removed from the Vixen spray wash and placed in a basket, the basket is placed in the white spirit tank and manually agitated up and down to remove the kerosene. The basket is the paced on the side draining board and left for a short period of time for any excess white sprit to drain off back into the tank.

Stage 3: Drying 

The components are removed from the now drained basket and placed in the drying oven on a stainless steel tray, the oven temperature is set to 110 degrees centigrade the time in the oven is dependent on the shape complexity of the component, complex shaped components are left in the oven for 2 hours simple shaped components for 1 hour.

Stage 4: Oil Dip [DA1413 Heated Cleaning Tank]

At the end of the drying time the components are removed from the oven and either placed in a basket or on a jig and completely submersed in the oil tank containing Ardrox 311. Ardrox 311 is Hygroscopic i.e. it absorbs moisture from the air, it is for this reason the oil tank is equipped with a Pall moisture sensor and Pall Purifier. The pall purifier pumps a measured amount of oil out of the tank into a chamber which is under vacuum the oil is spread thinly on a plate and the moisture evaporates back to the atmosphere the now ‘dry’ oil is then pumped back to the tank and the process is repeated for the next measured amount, this can continue until the desired moisture level is achieved. The tank is also equipped with a circulating pump and oil cooler, with hot parts being submerged into the Ardrox 311 the temperature of the oil gradually rises and should not be used above 30 degrees Celsius the, oil cooler can be set to operate at a temperature that will maintain the oil tank temperature below 30 degrees Celsius.

Stage 5: Draining [DA1413 Heated Cleaning Tank]

When the components are cool enough to handle they are removed from the oil tank and placed on a draining board next to the oil tank to allow any excess oil to drain off and pass back to the oil tank

Stage 6: Identification

Once the excess oil is drained off the unique component identifier is found on the component and written on the packing bag. The component is placed inside the bag.

Stage 7: Bag Sealing 

The now bagged component is placed on the Radyne RF bag sealer. The Radyne RF bag sealer utilises radio frequencies to heat fiberglass tape covered blades to seal the bag. The open end of the bag is at first not complete sealed enough room is left to insert the suction pipe from the vacuum pump to be inserted into the bag. The vacuum pump is operated by a foot switch keeping the operators hands free to manipulate the bag and component, the air is sucked out of the bag and the final seal is made completely sealing the bag.