Maintenance, Servicing, Repair: How to Prevent Downtime of Your Shotblasting Machines?
You know, a halt in your production, no matter how short, has severe consequences: reduced production, financial loss, mobilization of employees, searching for the source of the problem, emergency maintenance intervention… Your priority should be the safety of your production system to avoid the worst. Choosing preventive maintenance is a guarantee of quick and effective repair and maintenance interventions.
For over fifty years, Winoa has been supplying its customers with superior quality products and services, engineered to improve their shotblasting operations. Today, Winoa is expanding the breadth of its offerings by providing unique services for optimization, repair, and maintenance, all thanks to the skills of the W Care technical teams. Our services also encompass parts replacement and annual service contracts.
When the Worst Occurs: Crucial Shutdown Due to Inadequate Maintenance of Shotblasting Turbines and Air Curtain
Within a steel automotive parts foundry, the effectiveness and quality of shotblasting are paramount. Unfortunately, due to neglecting regular maintenance of the turbines and not cleaning the shot curtain, the shotblasting machine’s performance significantly depreciates.
The quality of shotblasting on components has declined, causing a concerning rate of rejection. Consequently, the components are consistently rejected as part of the quality control process, leading to growing delays and surplus costs.
What are the direct implications of such a situation?
Significant Financial Losses
Pausing the machine during peak production results in notable direct and indirect costs.
Reputation Damage
The dependability of the manufactured parts could have eroded customer trust if the machine had not been halted.
Stress and Pressure on the Team
Any unexpected stoppage increases the strain on the production and maintenance teams.
Cost of Repairs
The damages due to the inadequate operational mix necessitated the replacement of parts (blades, control cage, squirrel cage) at a high cost.
This is not an isolated case! It underlines the critical importance of routine, professional maintenance for shot blasting equipment. A preventive maintenance program and regular oversight from our W Care teams could have detected and addressed these issues before they brought production to a standstill.
Technical Services W Care – Your Partner for Blasting Operations
W Abrasives is widely recognized for addressing customer needs in metallic abrasives. Did you know, however, that W Abrasives is also a comprehensive service provider for blasting equipment?
Indeed, Winoa strives to offer customers a superior approach worldwide. W Care’s technical team can help deliver fundamental and effective operational elements to ensure technical success in blasting operations.
Our focus lies in productivity. Therefore, Winoa has devised a program called “PPM” (Preventive/Predictive Maintenance) aimed at attaining optimal operational yields while minimizing costs.
The 3 Essential Points of the “PPM” (Preventive/Predictive Maintenance) Program
1 – Diagnosing before taking action
Studying existing operating conditions and assessing the environment and processes are vital to understanding the causal relationships of the varied self-destructive aspects of a shot blaster. Essentially, diagnosing before taking action is about prioritizing. One should aim to address the actual source of a problem instead of treating a symptom.
2 – Prompt and responsive intervention
Adjustments, substitutions, and repairs need to be conducted swiftly and, importantly, accurately. The primary steps include:
- Knowing what to do
- Knowing when to do it
3 – Supervision
Successful supervision significantly depends on the technician’s observational skills. It covers monitoring key parts of your shot blasting machines, from the turbines and their components (blades, control cage, impellers) to the blast conveyor system (screw conveyor, bucket elevator, rotary screen, bearings), and from the air wash operation (airwash separator) or the magnetic separator.
The technician should:
- Know how to observe
- Know how to analyze
- Know how to act
These three crucial points must remain in mind for each preventive maintenance task or any work on your shot blaster. It’s about ensuring the safety of operators, the security of the machinery, and optimizing production and associated costs.
Maintenance: Shield the value of your blasting machines and systems
Providing technical service is a key aspect of the business relationship that Winoa seeks to sustain with its customers.
Winoa holds the belief that abrasives and blasting equipment are interconnected, and one cannot function without the other. This ideology, combined with our partnership with our customers, positions us as the market leader for steel abrasives.
Maintenance and Servicing
- Regular machine maintenance check-ups
- Evaluating wear of spare parts
- Documenting main components of the shotblasting equipment
Repairs
- Replacement of worn spare parts
- Repairing or replacing major components of the shotblasting machine
Spare Part
- Assessing the need for part replacements
W Care, an experienced, qualified, and international team
Thanks to the expertise and know-how of our W Care teams, we can offer you complete “turnkey” projects, including:
- Parts
- Machine upgrades
- Task supervision
- Installation
- Precision settings
- Optimization after startup
- Training
- Comprehensive maintenance programs
A global team of experts available wherever your industrial site is located on the planet:
- Audits and diagnostics of your shotblasting lines
- Training your teams
- Implementation and monitoring of industrial test and trial centers
- Technical advice on the choice of shot to use to optimize your production objectives
- Deployment of the TCO (real cost of a product or service) approach to your service needs
Contact our specialists to discuss how the Winoa technical team can become a partner with your company.
