Cast Metal & Diecasting Times July/ August 2016 July/August 2016 | Page 22

20 | FINISHING

w w w. n e w b u s i n e s s m e d i a . c o

Custom engineered for the harshest
operating conditions
The range of components produced by forging and casting is nearly limitless. To meet the challenges arising from such a
workpiece variety, Rösler offers many different application-specific shot blasting solutions.

Two independent blasting stations are at the centre of this crankshaft blast cleaning machine. The turbines can be easily replaced with different turbine
types, allowing quick, low cost adaptation of the shot blast machine to future crankshaft designs.

When it comes to castings and
forged parts, descaling, de-sanding,
core sand removal and general blast
cleaning operations are indispensable
manufacturing steps. For the forge and
foundry industry, Rösler develops shot
blasting concepts that are precisely
adapted to individual customer needs
and equipment requirements, including
complete process automation.
Shot blasting of two engine blocks
in 25 seconds
For a globally operating manufacturer of
power train components, Rösler developed
the custom-engineered RMBS shot blaster,
equipped with dual robots for blast cleaning
of four, six and eight cylinder engine blocks
in a three shift operation. The 8m high,
barrel-like machine has two blast chambers,
allowing simultaneous shot blasting and
loading/unloading of the workpieces.
The engine blocks, each weighing up
to 43kg arrive at the blast machine on a
transport belt. A robot equipped with two
special workpiece fixtures picks up the
engine blocks in pairs of two and transfers
them to a ‘gripper system’ in the blast
chamber in a precisely defined position.
Once the workpieces are placed in the
machine, the barrel rotates by 180° and the

part-specific shot blasting process starts.
Four Rösler long life high performance
turbines, type Gamma Y, with a drive power
of 22kW each direct their blast stream
from different angles onto the engine
blocks rotating in the gripper system.
Depending on the workpiece type and
blast programme, the blasting times can
vary between 25 and 55 seconds. At the
conclusion of the cycle, the barrel rotates
again by 180°, the robot removes the two
engine blocks and places them on a rack.
There, the second robot picks up the
finished parts and moves them in a defined
rotational motion to remove any residual
blast media. Subsequently, the engine
blocks are deposited on a transport belt and
transported to a quality control station.
For best possible wear protection,
the two blast chambers are made from
manganese steel and lined with 15mm
thick, replaceable manganese steel plates.
Chain hoists for lifting the turbines from
their placement combined with a gantry
crane facilitate maintenance on the
blast machine, which does not require a
foundation pit.
Crankshaft shot blast machine sets
standards
Short cycle times and perfect blast

coverage were the main requirements
for a fully automatic shot blast system
for forged crankshafts at the Swedish
subsidiary of an automotive supplier
headquartered in India. The components
with a length of up to 700mm weigh
between 10kg and 25kg and have an orbital
diameter of up to 200mm.
Rösler met this technical challenge
with the innovative crankshaft blast
cleaning system RKWS, equipped with
two independent blasting stations and
one single robot. The system controls are
integrated into a higher level computer
that provides information about the
crankshafts to be processed to the blast
machine for automatic selection of the
assigned blast programme.
The crankshafts arrive on a transport
belt. The robot picks up one crankshaft
at a time and places it on a workpiece
carrier, which travels through the blasting
stations, both containing two Gamma 400
G turbines with a drive power of 22kW
each. The two blast stations are blasting
for 10 seconds from different angles,
delivering up to 600kg/min of blast media
per turbine. This high processing intensity
guarantees that the scale is completely
removed from all surface areas, even from
the hard to reach flanks of the crankshafts.
The robot removes the finished crankshaft
from the carrier and places it on another
transport belt.
The turbines can be easily replaced with
different turbine types. This allows the
quick, low cost adaptation of the shot
blast machine to future crankshaft types,
which in line with automotive trends are
redesigned every two to three years.
www.rosler.com

The barrel-like engine block shot blast machine has two blast chambers.
This allows the simultaneous shot blasting and loading/unloading of the
workpieces.

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