Linamar Installs Multifunction Deburring/Cleaning System

February 1, 2010

With factory floor space at a premium and capital equipment funds scarce, Tier 1 automotive part supplier Linamar Corp. turned to Bertsche Engineering for an all-in-one part deburring, final rinse, and drying system.

Typically, complex machined automotive parts with multiple intersecting holes require feature-specific part deburring to ensure that parts are burr-free. After deburring, parts also need a final cleaning to remove microscopic particles that might adversely affect performance. They are then preserved with a rust or oxidation inhibitor and dried for shipment. This usually involves separate pieces of equipment linked by conveyors or robots to transport parts to each machine.

To solve the problem of densely filled factory floor space, Bertsche developed a system that handles all these processes in one machine, in one deburring cycle. The machine takes oil- and chip-contaminated parts, previously machined on CNC milling centers and mill/turn machines, then selectively deburrs critical features using high-pressure water, blasting chips out of internal cavities, knocking off all feather-edge burrs, and fan-washing the outside of the part, using a CNC for full cycle control.

This process is accomplished by a series of rotating lance nozzles that probe small-diameter internal holes to blast feather-edge burrs clean at intersection points and wash chips out of dead-end passages. External features are then blasted with a series of direct nozzles that release up to 10,000 PSI of water at the burr while tracing the part edges. The part is then washed with high-pressure, rotating fan nozzles.

The same machine moves the deburred part to an agitated wash and rinse station, where the part is rinsed, cleaned, preserved with an aqueous rust inhibitor, and is finally dried. The part is then ready for final assembly.

For more information, visit www.linamar.com and www.bertsche.com.