The situation
Truck manufacturer DAF Trucks Vlaanderen NV contacted us to improve their truck axle drying system. They wanted to realize a profit in 2 areas. First of all, they wanted a better drying result and to save on energy.
The axles hang on a chain and arrive from the pretreatment line (degreasing, rinsing, etc.) in a gas-heated drying chamber. In a second step, compressed air nozzles are used to blow out cavities. Only then do they leave for the wet coating line. These three steps, heating the drying chamber, compressed air consumption and cooling the axles, generate high energy costs. Therefore, a more energy-friendly solution that also provides a better drying result is being sought.
The question
So we were asked to offer a more energy-efficient installation with a better drying result that would fit within the existing drying room. This means that the design must be build without lifting devices or in other words everything must be able te be carried by manpower. Since the FAT, the Factory Acceptance Test, has to take place at another location, the installation also has to be demountable.
The axles vary in length between 2 and 2.4 metres, depending on whether they are rear or front axles. Their shape is also not always the same. Furthermore, there are 750 axles to be dried every day. So one axle needs to be dried in 50 seconds. The speed of the chain is quite high. It amounts to 0.22 metres per second.
The solution
Thanks to more than 20 years of experience in air technology, CYAGO designed an installation consisting of a mix of movable and fixed nozzles. The design has an integrated power of 37 kW. After start-up, it turned out that the power consumption could be reduced even further to +/1 15 kW. Quite a bit lower than the existing energy absorption.
To meet the additional conditions of high chain speed and the limited space of the existing drying chamber, a movable installation was designed. The mobile installation first moves along with the axles, creating a lower relative speed. This lower relative speed allows for more efficient drying. The movement of the axles is therefore temporarily stopped. During that time, the mobile plant moves back to the starting position and meanwhile dries the remaining part of the axles. In this way, this mobile unit provides a solution to the high speed of the axle chain and the limited space of the drying chamber. The design was built so that all parts are dismountable and can be carried by manpower.
The result
Together with the right partners, CYAGO realised a mobile drying blowing installation with airknives technology. Energy consumption was significantly reduced by eliminating gas heating of the drying chamber. The compressed air could also be switched off and cooling of the axles is no longer necessary. The drying result is better than ever before and the mobile character answers to the limited space of the drying chamber and the high speed of chain transport.
