Southfield, Michigan – With its EcoCWave, Dürr Ecoclean has developed an innovative equipment system for aqueous cleaning processes that can handle tasks from rough to fine cleaning, offering cleaning quality and process reliability, shorter overall cleaning cycles, and major energy savings.
Aqueous part cleaning with alkaline, neutral, or acidic media ranks among the most widely employed technologies in many industries with application levels ranging from rough to intermediate and, ultimately, fine cleaning. The EcoCWave system covers this entire application spectrum with to its modular, forward-looking technology. Its small footprint can easily integrate in any production process and it provides versatility by being easily adaptable to changing cleanliness and throughput specifications.
Intelligent technology yields superior cleaning quality
The EcoCWave is equipped with two or three flooding tanks, depending on customer requirements. The tanks are upright and the rounded geometry allows for optimized flow, preventing the formation of chip and dirt traps, which delivers improved cleaning quality and longer service life of the cleaning fluid. Each tank has its own separate fluid circuit with full-flow filtration. The cleaning and rinsing fluid is filtered while filling and draining as well as in the bypass. Bag or cartridge filters can be fitted in the combination-type filter housing. The system's filtration characteristics can be adapted to changing cleanliness requirements quickly and without any hardware modifications.
An optimized rollover unit in the working chamber ensures that the fluid and mechanical cleaning devices – e.g., ultrasonic units and spraying nozzles – can reach the product effectively from all sides. Design of the rollover unit also minimizes fluid drag-out.
Faster processes cut per-unit costs
Powerful pumps and large-diameter piping used throughout the EcoCWave accelerate filling and draining the work chamber and tanks, minimizing idle time while product throughput is increased and costs per cleaned unit are reduced. These improvements also apply to spray cleaning processes. In this case, additional nozzles are working in an optimized sequence to deliver a more effective cleaning performance and shorter cycle times even when removing harsh contamination. In order to shorten cycles further, the vacuum drying system available in addition to hot-air drying has also been improved.
Equal to any cleaning task
The use of variable-frequency driven pumps means volumetric flow rates can be adjusted, resulting in energy savings. Additionally, the cleaning process can be selectively adapted to meet specific requirements. For example, different work chamber filling levels may be defined in the immersion processes to allow for filling and draining cycles suitable for cleaning parts with blind holes or complex geometries. An intense fluid exchange in critical component areas substantially boosts the system's cleaning performance. In spraying processes, the jet strength can be adapted exactly to the part being processed. The ability to control the spraying pressure expands the range of cleaning agents that can be used.
Continuous processing of the rinsing fluid is provided by an Aquaclean system, which can be integrated into the machine. The cleaning fluid in the first flooding tank is heated entirely by waste heat recovery from the evaporation process.
Flexibility includes adaptable batch volume
The EcoCWave has a vacuum-tight work chamber designed for batches measuring up to 670mm x 480mm x 300 mm. As an alternative, an enlarged work chamber for 670mm x 480mm x 400mm containers may be installed without enlarging the footprint. The volume adapted batch configuration reduces per-unit costs.
Easy operation with process visualization
A new color display with self-explanatory images makes the EcoCWave easy, fast, and reliable to operate. Diverse process data, such as the work chamber fluid level, are indicated in real time by the built-in process visualization system. The availability of all relevant process parameters (e.g., for the development of cleaning programs) can be implemented optionally.
Exterior design: space-saving and open to modification
Dürr Ecoclean's engineers also focused their attention on minimizing the system's footprint, and the EcoCWave only needs 59 square feet of floor space.
Source: Dürr Ecoclean Inc.