A MecWash Systems 'Duo' - the most recently designed machine to be launched by the component cleaning specialist - is now central to production at one of the UK's leading manufacturers of high performance fasteners. Installed at SPS Technologies Ltd., a PCC company, in Leicester, the stand-alone unit provides a highly effective and environmentally beneficial aqueous cleaning process. The facility is not only helping the organisation to maintain the highest levels of production quality, but is also instrumental in addressing the trike usage requirements defined in the Solvent Emissions Directive.

With the vast majority of its production destined for the aerospace sector and with additional sales in equally demanding areas, the quality of the wide range of fasteners produced by SPS Technologies has to be of the highest order. Producing some two million units per week in a range of sizes - up to 1.5" in diameter and 6" in length - the organisation is regarded as one of the leading specialists in its field.

The latest component cleaning system from specialist manufacturer MecWash Systems - the 'Duo' - is providing a highly effective and environmentally beneficial cleaning process at SPS Technologies Ltd., one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of high performance fasteners.

"Quite clearly the cleaning processes are key factors in our production operation," comments Stefan Szczurek, Customer Technical Liaison Manager at SPS. "The MecWash Duo is of particular relevance in this context, located as it is ahead of cadmium and silver plating processes. It successfully removes material including oil and swarf which result from machining processes, across a range of materials including titanium, steels and nickel alloys."

Featuring twin wash and rinse tanks, the new MecWash Duo is designed to deliver a high volume flood/immersion wash cycle and a powerful spray rinse stage - all contained within a compact footprint design.

"The components at SPS are loaded in baskets into a single chamber - where no less than 100 jetting nozzles are located - which then rotates and oscillates according to the selected programme," comments MecWash Director, Paul Young. "This proceeds through washing and rinsing stages ahead of high velocity heated drying to produce clean components for onward processing. The Duo also cleans the loading baskets themselves - reducing the risk of cross-contamination." He points out that each basket - also supplied by MecWash Systems - can house up to 20,000 pieces per wash cycle, reflecting the importance of the installation at SPS.

Apart from the environmental benefits associated with replacing solvent methods with aqueous cleaning, the installation offers further advantages in this regard. These result from the use of an Aqua-Save waste water recycling system from the specialist Aqua-Save Technologies division of MecWash which dramatically reduces the need for effluent disposal by recycling both the wash and rinse waters. In turn, this adds to the economic operation of the Duo design.

"The cleaning performance is every bit as effective as that achieved by the previous trike installation," continues Stefan Szczurek. "It also gains from the fact that we no longer need to replace carbon filters while our material disposal volumes are just 5% of the previous level.

"Because the quality of the fasteners that we produce is critical - particularly given the demanding industries within which the majority are used - the ability to provide the highest levels of cleaning is clearly critical," he continues. "The use now of the MecWash Duo has not only fulfilled our requirements in performance terms but has also clearly enabled us to continue to meet the highest levels of environmental performance - itself an important and growing obligation across manufacturing industry," he concludes.