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Burgess Furniture's Cleaning Efficiency Increased by 50%

Story added 30 November 2011.

By automating the washing and degreasing of aluminium chair components at its Feltham factory in Greater London, hotel and conference furniture manufacturer, Burgess Furniture, has increased the speed of its cleaning cycles by 50 per cent. It follows the purchase in March 2011 of a Durr Ecoclean multi-tank aqueous system that washes and rinses the parts in plain, cold water, ie at 18ºC, to save energy. The German-built machine was supplied by UK agent, Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools.

With Burgess Furniture's previous cleaning plant, which was also a cold water, detergent-free system that was ageing and needed replacement, an operator had to physically move baskets of aluminium extrusions between the washing / spray rinsing stage and the drying stage.

Now, after one of three trolleys loaded with a basket of chair components is coupled mechanically and electrically to the end of the input conveyor of the Durr Mega 95W machine, the washing and drying cycle is completed automatically at the push of a button. The cycle comprises immersion of the basket in a wash tank in which the water is vigorously agitated by jets to increase the cleaning action, followed by transport to a rinse tank and on to a gas dryer. The latter is more efficient than a conventional electric dryer at encouraging water to evaporate, bearing in mind that much of it is inside hollow extrusions.

After each stage, the basket is programmed to dwell and rotate for approximately one minute above one of the tanks to assist the removal of excess water. Drip time and rotational speed are both programmed into the washing cycle.

The basket returns to the same load / unload conveyor to be transferred to the trolley and decoupled, whereupon a new trolley prepared with the next basket is sent into the machine. Components for around 2,000 chairs are processed every week to a high standard, which is crucial as they have to be completely clean and dry before transfer to a robotic welding cell.

Craig Kent, engineering manager at Burgess Furniture, said, "Our old washing system was capable of handling only four baskets per hour, whereas the new Durr machine processes six per hour and is able to handle seven, if required.

"We chose Durr Ecoclean due to the quality of build and engineering content, as well as the manufacturer's willingness to accommodate our requirement for a gas powered dryer. The manufacturer also took the trouble to demonstrate our parts being washed in a Mega 95W in its Filderstadt factory.

"We have been impressed at the service provided by Geo Kingsbury, which installed the machine in one piece into a very tight space. It was virtually plug-and-play after the power was switched on and has performed very well ever since."

With the Durr system, water consumption is some 50 per cent lower at 18 litres per cycle compared with when the old washing system was in place, which translates into on-going financial savings for Burgess Furniture in terms of reduced usage of metered water.

The company used to wash its aluminium components in hot water until the mid-1990s, when it decided to alter the lubricant used on its bending machines and the wax used on its piercing, drilling and tapping line so that they could be removed in plain water at the lower temperature of 18ºC. At the time, it enjoyed a 30 per cent cut in electricity usage across the entire company, with a consequent big reduction in energy bills.


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