Aerospace Parts Washing Specialists

ACTUATION AND CONTROLS

MecWash systems are used to clean a wide variety of actuation components, including hydraulic control systems, gears, gear boxes, landing gear components and brakes.

These components typically demand the highest quality of component cleaning and drying. This is achieved with the MWX400 cleaning systems, by combining ultrasonics with high flow washing, rinsing, dedicated jetting and vacuum drying. The dedicated jetting functionality enables the cleaning solution to get to the most inaccessible internal galleries and blind holes.

GEARS AND ACTUATORS

UTC Actuation Systems specify MecWash to clean gears and rotary actuators in their key manufacturing sites. MecWash systems have been selected for factories in the UK, Germany, Poland and Indonesia.

WHEELS, BRAKES AND CONTROL SYSTEMS

Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems manufacture of wheels, brake pads and control systems both for new build and refurbishment. The complexity of many of the component geometries presents interesting washing and drying challenges.

COMPLEX ENGINE COMPONENTS

MecWash systems are used to wash a wide range of components with complex geometries or with tenacious contamination, for example bearing housings, intercases, NGVs, heat exchangers and heat shields.

These components will require the effectiveness of high flow flood washing, typically complemented by either ultrasonics or dedicated jetting. Ultrasonics loosens adhered contaminants such as greases, polishing compounds or NDT penetrants to achieve very high levels of cleanliness.

The dedicated jetting is perfect for cleaning complex geometries with critical apertures and is crucial for blind holes, fine oil ways and water galleries. The jets are positioned over holes and galleries and provide continuous targeted flushing/air blasting during rotation, which provides excellent results and fast cycle times.

BEARING HOUSINGS

Our customer had a challenge, cleaning large bearing housing engine components to a high specification (nearly a metre in diameter). As well as the sheer size of the components, the challenge in this particular application was to adequately flush out the internal galleries, channels and tubes.

FASTENERS

MecWash systems are used extensively for cleaning bulk fasteners produced in high volumes, at various stages in the production process.

Customers typically use the Duo system for this task. The Duo provides high volume flood wash and spray wash stages followed by a spray rinse and hot air dry, all contained within a compact footprint. The Duo provides higher standards of cleaning by full solution contact with all component surfaces, and the re-circulating heated spray rinse gives higher standards of surface finish by removing detergent residues left by the wash solution.

CADMIUM-BASED FASTENERS

Specialist manufacturer SPS Technologies Ltd required a new MecWash cleaning system to ensure that each component arrives in a clean condition at the subsequent process (passivation, phosphating or spray).

TITANIMUM COMPONENTS

A world leading manufacturer of titanium components for the aerospace sector needed to increase their cleaning capacity following a doubling of their order book.

SENSORS

MecWash systems are used to wash a wide range of sensors, including temperature sensors, pressure switches and edge-welded bellow sensors, prior to assembly. Cleanliness requirements are very stringent as any minute trace of contamination may have huge cost implications in lost labour and material scrapping. Water and mineral based contaminants like lubricants and coolants can be difficult to remove completely as they may become embedded in the components, making cleaning and degreasing very challenging.

The high surface cleanliness standards required often necessitate ultrasonics for the wash and rinse, plus a rinse water polishing system, to maintain high purity deionised water in the rinse.

Customers would typically use an MWX300 in such applications, as components and volumes are relatively small.

US BELLOWS MANUFACTURER

Kinemotive Corporation manufactures a whole range of sensors and switches as well as edge-welded bellows which presented one particular cleaning challenge: the chill rings must be absolutely free of any contaminants prior to being micro-welded. Any encapsulated contamination would cause the weld to fail and lead to the entire bellows sensor being rejected.