BETTINA KERN
ICT | CASE STUDY
MAFAC – E. Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG - Alpirsbach (Germany) bettina.kern@mafac.de
High cleaning quality for upmarket special purpose machinery manufacture In order to make cleaning gunmetal parts as efficiently as possible, Eckerle Industrie GmbH in Ottersweier uses a MAFAC JAVA type spray-flooding machine. In particular the new vector kinematics method is designed to meet the high cleanliness requirements of these customers from the medical technology industry with efficiency and reliability. or over 50 years, Eckerle has been manufacturing complex
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Multi-faceted requirement profile for cleaning
assembly groups and system components that are used in a variety
The new machine is now meant to combine these work steps and
of industries. For the renowned medical technology company Maquet,
make them more efficient. Before the gunmetal components reach
for example, which has been part of the Getinge Group since, the
the final cleaning stage, they pass through a multi-stage production
CNC specialist manufactures three assembly groups for the electrical
chain. They are deburred and polished after the turn-milling process.
operation of operating tables.
At the end of the process, their surfaces show machining residues
Production Manager Reiner Schäfer explains what is important for
such as cooling emulsion, polishing dust and chips that must be
these high-quality components: “Modern operating tables are high-
carefully cleaned off. It is important that all regions of the component
performance medical devices that use many sophisticated technical
are free from particles, because even the smallest contamination can
features to ensure safe and easy patient positioning. To ensure
jeopardise the assembly requirements at Getinge-Maquet and prevent
that they can be used reliably for a long time, all components must
the necessary smooth running of the engines installed in them.
meet the highest quality standards in terms of materials, technology
In view of these cleanliness requirements, the numerous boreholes
and workmanship. For our assembly group it is important that the
and undercuts in the component parts and the now very small particle
surfaces do not show any contamination from machining and leave
sizes of the contaminants pose a challenge. In addition, gunmetal
the cleaning process absolutely dry. This enables us to guarantee not
creates further requirements because it is a rather soft material and,
only corrosion-free storage and shipping, but also trouble-free further
due to its high copper content, tends to stain and develop verdigris.
processing at our customer’s site.” Up to now, the components have
For the cleaning process this means: it should be effective and at
been washed in a simple cleaning system, then dried manually, stored,
the same time very gentle and involve a drying system that releases
and cleaned and dried again shortly before shipping. “This procedure
components with stain- and moisture-free surfaces at reduced
had since become uneconomical and would not have been able to
temperatures. For this reason, the Eckerle technicians decided to
meet the increasing demands of our customers for much longer,”
use the MAFAC JAVA spray-flood machine with two-tank technology.
summarises Ferdinand Ernst, team leader at Eckerle.
In combination with the technology options of vector kinematics and
© Klaus Hohnwald/Getinge
Eckerle Industrie GmbH has been manufacturing a three-part gunmetal central body casing for the assembly of operating tables for more than 15 years. After CNC processing with subsequent deburring and polishing, the surfaces show contaminations like cooling lubricant, chips and polishing dust. Their complex geometries are an additional cleaning challenge.
