Environmental and climate protection is not possible without alternative drive systems. In this respect battery driven electric motors and light-weight vehicle design play a dominant role. As a long-time, experienced and competent partner of the automotive industry Rösler offers numerous innovative solutions for the electric mobility.
The strategic reorientation of the automotive industry towards alternative drive systems goes along with numerous new and modified components. This applies not only to drive assemblies for hybrid and purely electric vehicles but also to the battery modules. Because of the increased use of light-weight materials, different manufacturing and assembly technologies, but also due to a continuously growing automation, the surface finishing requirements for these components are particularly strict, and they must be completely free of any burs. For quite a while the experts at Rösler in the fields of shot blasting, mass finishing and post processing of 3D printed components have been developing solutions for these specific finishing tasks.
Smart manufacturing cell for casting and shot blasting
For example, in close cooperation with renowned manufacturers of casting cells the company developed a solution that combines die-casting and shot blasting as well as work piece handling by robot into one fully automated system. Since this smart die-casting/shot blasting cell requires a production space of only a few square meters and requires no operator, it can be easily integrated into a fully automated manufacturing line.
This innovative system for in-line die-casting, deburring and surface homogenization is already in use at various OEM’s as well as suppliers of die-castings. One customer is FIASA. This company, located in Nanclares, Spain, manufactures, among other items, components made from different aluminum alloys for vehicles with BEV-, PHEV- und mHEV drive systems. After the die-casting process the robot removes the work piece and, after a brief cooling time, places it on a part-specific fixture in the swing chamber shot blast machine RWK 6-12-2. This machine can handle components with a length of up to 1,200 mm and a diameter of up to 600 mm. A key feature is that loading/unloading of the work pieces takes place during the shot blast process, thus minimizing idle equipment times.
For optimum handling of the FIASA work piece range the shot blast machine was equipped with two Gamma 300 blast turbines with a drive power of 11 kW each. Compared to conventional blast wheels these high-performance turbines, utilizing curved throwing blades in Y-design, achieve a 20% higher blast performance with, at the same time, reduced energy consumption. The blast media flow rate amounts to 212 kg/minute. This media throughput in combination with the higher blast performance results in surprisingly short cycle times. Their special Y-design permits the use of both sides of the throwing blades, practically doubling their usable life. A quick-change system allows quickly changing the throwing blades without having to remove the turbine from its housing. This feature, along with the use of both blade sides considerably extends the overall equipment uptimes.
Once the blast cycle is completed, the robot removes the work piece at the load/unload station and places it in a packaging unit.
Special turbine for aluminum blast media
To ensure quick and efficient blast cleaning with lighter aluminum blast media, the swing chamber shot blast machine can alternatively be equipped with high performance turbines with “C” shaped throwing blades.
This turbine was specifically developed for blast cleaning of aluminum work pieces with aluminum blast media. In order to handle the special operating conditions existing with aluminum media, it allows a considerably higher media throughput by volume. The lower bulk density of aluminum media requires a higher throwing speed to achieve optimal blast cleaning results. The Rösler C300A blast turbine fully meets these requirements.
At 3,000 RPM the C300A high performance turbine achieves a throwing speed of up to 75 m/s and a blast media flow rate of 90 liters/minute at surprisingly low operating costs. Under certain conditions a flow rate of 130 liters/minute is possible. Compared to other turbines available in the market the C 300 A produces a better blast pattern characterized by its extra length and a homogeneous blast media distribution. Based on the special turbine design the blast media consumption is about 10 % lower.
This newly developed turbine allows the customer using aluminum blast media instead of the usual steel media. This ensures that the work piece surface is not contaminated with other materials caused blast media residue. This helps prevent post-blast machining, which saves a considerable amount of costs.
