Rotary Drum Washers

Drum Cabinet

Wash/Rinse Cabinet

The design of the Wash/Rinse portion of the Almco System consists of a rectangular cabinet that houses the rotating process drum, the drum support rollers, and the spray systems. The cabinet is mounted on top of the wash/rinse tank, and this cabinet/tank assembly forms the main structure of the machine.

The wash/rinse cabinet is fabricated from 10-gauge 304 stainless steel sheets and structural reinforcing members using all-welded construction to provide a water-tight, first-rate appearance. The bottom of the cabinet is designed to collect sprayed wash solution and direct it through a removable stainless steel chip tray before return to the wash and rinse tanks.

The inlet end of the wash/rinse cabinet includes a stainless-steel product inlet cone, which funnels incoming parts into the process drum. Access to the inside the wash/rinse cabinet for maintenance purposes is gained by removing large stainless steel access panels on both sides of the machine.

Process Drum

PROCESS DRUM

The first 12” of the drum’s outer wall in the Inlet/Wash section is fabricated from non-perforated 10-gauge 304 stainless steel. The remainder of the drum has an outer wall fabricated from 11-gauge 304 stainless steel sheet that has 1/4″ diameter perforations located on 3/8″ staggered centers.

The interior of the drum includes a helix fabricated from 10-gauge 304 stainless steel. The helix is continuously welded on both sides to the process drum wall and has a 12″ pitch that acts as an auger to move parts from the inlet to the discharge end of the machine as the process drum rotates. Product lifters are also provided to tumble the process parts for additional liquid drainage. These lifters are fabricated from 1 1/2” stainless steel angles and are continuously welded to the inside of the drum at 90-degree intervals.

Drum Drive

Drum Drive

The two drive rings or “tires” bolted to the outside of the process drum are fabricated from hardened steel for strength and durability. Each tire rests on a pair of hardened steel rollers fitted with ball bearings that ride on 40mm diameter support shafts. The non-moving support shafts are drilled out to allow for re-lubrication of the ball bearings manually at one common grease manifold.

The drive unit for the process drum consists of a 1/4 HP, 90 Volt DC motor and right-angle speed reducer mounted to the outside of the wash cabinet and is connected to both drive shafts by #40 chain and sprockets. Drum speed is variable from 2 to 6 RPM.

Process Tanks

Process Tank

The wash and rinse tanks have capacities of approximately 300 and 200 gallons respectively. The tanks are fabricated from 10-gauge 304 stainless steel sheet and structural reinforcing members using all-welded construction. Floor pads on the underside of the tanks allow the entire machine to be picked up and moved via forklift during installation. In addition, the tanks are approximately 16″ wider than the cabinet along one side of the machine, providing open tank areas for mounting the top-pull-out wash and rinse pumps. Bottom-mounted tank drain fittings. A sloped tank bottoms is also provided. Tanks are also equipped with overflow fittings plumbed to drain by customer.

Drum Spray System

Spray System

The wash and rinse pumps are Gusher brand vertical, end-suction centrifugal units with stainless steel construction, complete with 3450 RPM motors. The 3 HP wash pump is rated to flow up to 72 GPM @ 40 PSI, while the 3 HP rinse pump is rated to flow up to 48 GPM @ 40 PSI. Pressure gauges and stainless-steel ball valves are provided to monitor and control each pump’s output.

The two spray systems each consist of a stainless-steel header pipe connected to the supply piping from the wash and rinse pumps. The 1” header pipes are both positioned inside the process drum to spray solution downward onto the parts, and each header is drilled to accept Spraying Systems brand adjustable-ball clip-on nozzle mounts made of polypropylene and fitted with ¼ turn V-jet nozzle tips made of stainless steel.

Electrical Controls

Electrical Controls

Electrical controls are housed in a free-standing NEMA 12 enclosure. All components within the enclosure are finger-safe and are Allen-Bradley brand unless noted otherwise. Components include a main disconnect switch, power distribution block, fuse holders and branch circuit fuses, Taylor wireways, terminal strips, a power supply to provide a 24 Volt DC control circuit, master control relay, a G.E. (or equal) transformer to provide 115 Volt single phase power (as needed), a PowerFlex variable frequency drive, and motor circuit protectors with thermal overloads and short circuit protection.

Equipment Power On and Emergency Stop pushbuttons are located on the front and/or side of the machine electrical enclosure. The optional touch screen includes all machine controls and is used to display system messages and to enter values for processing parameters.

All electrical components are UL listed and the machine is wired in accordance with NEC (NFPA 70) and NFPA 79 standards, ready for connection to your electrical service.

Blow-Off Dryer

Blow-Off System

This section of the machine consists of a regenerative blower and is designed to remove moisture from the process parts prior to exit from the machine.

The 36″ long blow-off header inside the process drum consists of a 2″ stainless steel pipe with approximately 3/16″ diameter holes drilled in it. These holes blow air downward onto the process parts as the parts pass through the Blow-Off section of the process drum.

The Blow-Off station is powered by a 10 HP Gast brand regenerative blower rated to flow air at 250 CFM @ 100″ WC static pressure. The blower mounts on top of the wash cabinet and is connected to the headers by Schedule 40 stainless steel pipe. The blower also includes an inlet air filter, pressure relief valve, and built-in mufflers for noise reduction. For additional noise reduction the blower is enclosed within a sheet metal shroud lined with 3” thick sound-absorbing foam insulation.