Medical Grade Gold Plating – 24

5G Reduced Ion EN Systems – 20

What To Do After HCFC-225 Phase Out – 30

APRIL 2014 / vOLuME 78 / NO. 7

PLATING

NICKEL

PARTS

CLEANING

Inside OSHKOSHTake a peek inside their

huge ecoat line

PFonline.com

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NEW PRODUCTS

PRODUCTS FINISHING

58 APRIL 2014 — pfonline.com

Edited by El McKenzieemckenzie@pfonline.com

Pumps Stand Up to Destructive Grinding Fines

Polyester Masking Discs Feature Silicone AdhesiveWell-suited for general-purpose powder coating applications,

EPSI’s AW12 Wishbone masking discs are made from a polyes-

ter flm that has been coated with a single layer of a pressure-

sensitive silicone adhesive. The tape is laminated with a center

tab, and the discs are rotary die-cut on a specially formulated

fuorosilicone liner. The tabs aid in proper disc placement as well

as eliminate the “hunt” for buried discs that can cause rework,

the company says. Finding and removing the discs afer fnishing

can be done without surface marring.

EPSI / 866-275-3774 / epsi.com

A metal fnishing company’s 50,000-sq.-f. Ohio plant employs

about 50 people in operations that include grinding, machining

and plating in the refurbishment of process rollers for the steel

and aluminum industries.

Like many metal fnishing operations, the plant fows a cooling

bath—mostly water—over the cutting elements during ma-

chining. Large amounts of metal shavings (grinding fnes) end

up in the solution as coolant washes over the cutting surface;

these fnes must be removed in order to reclaim and reuse the

fuid. Spent coolant is channeled from several work areas into

a 250-to-300-gallon catch sump, from which the company had

been using diaphragm pumps to move the coolant to a flter for

reclamation of the fuid.

Because of the need to keep the coolant moving through

the flter at a constant pace, with the grinding fnes always in

suspension, it is important that the sump maintain a constant

three-foot fuid level. The company previously varied the air

supply to the diaphragm pump to adjust the fow of fuid and

maintain the sump’s level, but the pumps were noisy and difi-

cult to regulate. Furthermore, the grinding fnes were tearing the

pumps apart, and the company was replacing pumps every four

to six months—a costly situation for a relatively small plant. The

environment was so hostile to pumps that several pump suppli-

ers declined to even submit a quote for new pumps.

BJM, however, was eager to solve the problem. The Old Say-

book, Conn.-based company recommended its SV22, a 3-horse-

power recessed vortex impeller pump designed especially for

solids-heavy sewage and industrial uses. The pump incorporates

silicon carbide industrial grinding and machining applications

with variable frequency drive (VFD) mechanical seals and an

optional proprietary-design inverter duty motor with special

“R”-class insulation.

To further protect the pump from the destructive grinding

fnes, BJM worked with its distributor, Atlas Supply, to harden

the impeller with a special coating. The pump is combined

with the plant’s existing automations direct variable fre-

quency drive and an ultrasonic level control that is connected

to the VFD to adjust the line frequency of the pump and main-

tain the constant three-foot level in the sump.

BJM’s engineering department mapped out the system’s

performance curve at various operating speeds,

and based on this information, added a “T” to the

discharge line so that half the fuid is now sent

to the flter and the other half is recirculated

within the sump for optimum hydraulic

performance and to agitate the liquid,

keeping the metal fnes in suspension.

Algthough the line frequency to the

pump normally ranges from 45 to 50 Hz,

the SV22’s motor has the ability to go

outside this range

when required. Atlas

Supply provided a

mechanism to con-

trol the motor’s speed,

which starts at 3,600 RPM

but must slow down by as

much as 15 percent under heavy

load to match the fow capacity of

the flter.

The system has been successfully pump-

ing approximately 100 gallons per minute since the late winter

of 2010. While the SV22 has been rebuilt once, the solution

has halted this metal fnishing plant’s frequent and expensive

pump replacements and prolonged the life of its flters.

For more information, visit bjmpumps.com.

Handbook Shows How to Maximize Performance, Reduce Spray Operation CostsSpraying Systems is ofering a guide that explains how to use

spray technology to optimize performance and lower costs in

cleaning, coating, cooling and lubricating operations. “Optimiz-

ing Your Spray System” covers the use of

the technology from system specifca-

tion, installation, operation and mainte-

nance, through optimization.

The handbook is free and can be

downloaded from spray.com or ob-

tained by calling 1-800-95-SPRAY.

Spraying Systems Co. /

800-957-7729 / spray.com

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