Today, centrifuges are the most commonly used systems for cleaning and recycling the process water required in mass finishing operations. A case in point is Wegmann Automotive, a specialist supplier of balancing weights, which is today utilising a fully automatic Rösler Z1000 centrifuge.

As a pilot customer, Wegmann expanded the software for its centrifuge with the ‘advanced version’ of the digital process water management system from Rösler Smart Solutions.

Wegmann makes its balancing weights as stampings from steel and galvanised steel, as well as die-castings from zinc or zinc alloys. Eugen Weizel, department manager for mass finishing and coating, says: “After the stamping or die-casting process, the weights undergo a part-on-part mass finishing operation in a rotary vibrator. The goal is to remove the residual oil left over from the stamping process and the water-based mould release agent that remains from the die-casting operation. At the same time, the compound provides corrosion protection for the steel parts, while the zinc die-castings require a certain surface tension for the subsequent coating step. The surface tension is carefully monitored and controlled.”

Since the process water is recycled, the process water cleaning operation – with a fully automatic Z1000 centrifuge from Rösler – and control of the compound concentration are key factors that determine the quality of the balancing weights.

Says Wegmann’s Manuel Salomon: “When the mass finishing machine and the centrifuge were commissioned, we quickly recognised that there is a close correlation between the process water quality and the quality of our products. Therefore, we carefully measured the compound concentration once per week and recorded the measured results. This allowed us to define the compound concentration for our finishing process and correct it as needed.”
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