Industrial parts washers are an integral part of almost every manufacturing process. Whether the parts or assemblies are metal or other materials they have to be cleaned to meet the customer’s approval. That customer may be the next operation in the manufacturing process or the assembly of a finished goods. The washing is usually preceded by a previous operation or operations and requires part handling after the cleaning. Thus material handling is a significant part of the process.

Many companies offer parts washing equipment but few are involved in the total system. We at Walsh Manufacturing have been in the business of handling the entire scope of the process from conception to design to manufacture.

Pre-Heat Treat: In order to prevent carburization of parts in a furnace, the parts must be free of oil. We design the washer to clean the parts but go a step farther. From the washer, we take transfer parts to our furnace feed unit. This transfer may be a shaker style feeder in conjunction with a conveyor or a product dumper or a special designed conveyor. We have developed various methods to feed the furnace by volume or weight, depending on the type of product and style of furnace. Because the parts may be susceptible to nicking, as in the case of fasteners, our equipment is designed as “soft handling” systems.

Post-Heat Treat: After the heat treating the parts go into a form of quench for immediate cooling or rust prevention. We have designed and built various types of quench systems utilizing oil or other coatings. In addition to the quench, we have incorporated oil and fume collectors to make the quench environmentally friendly and more economical. The quench may be continuous or a batch style in which the parts are put into containers for immersion into a quench tank.