Dürr Ecoclean develops EcocSteam air and steam part cleaning system

Available from Gosport-based Geo Kingsbury Machine Tools, the EcoCSteam is suitable for cleaning large, heavy parts such as wind turbine gearboxes, railway engine blocks and bogies, and parts for ships, but is equally efficient at cleaning smaller housings, stamped parts and general manufactured items. It is suitable for cleaning components before they are painted or otherwise coated. The chemical-free EcocSteam process is based on the flow of saturated steam and high velocity air. It removes a wide range of contaminants, including oil, grease, emulsions, chips, dust and fingerprints, from any material in fast cleaning cycles. The system can be installed in a painting booth and automated with the aid of robots. The method of steam generation is based on the same principle as continuous-flow hot water systems. Pressurised water flows through a pipe fitted with heating coils which, depending on the cleaning task, raise the water temperature to between 135 and 280°C. The water is converted to steam before being pumped out of the pipe and fed to the cleaning nozzle. The EcocSteam PLC control accurately adapts the flow of water and steam as well as thermal output to suit the cleaning task, continuously monitoring the parameters and adjusting them as required. When the jet of steam exits the nozzle, a jacket of high speed, hot air focuses and concentrates the jet and directs it at the surface to be cleaned. Due to the high velocity airflow and the properties of the steam, the two media remain separate. The amount of liquid contained in the steam is adjusted to suit the application. For example, wet steam effectively removes oil, the viscosity of which is altered so that it is atomised into tiny droplets. These are then air blasted off the component surface, together with any particulate contamination present. The high velocity air then dries the surface.