Component cleaning and finishing equipment from Hodge Clemco has been supplied as part of a major investment in manufacturing and refurbishment capabilities at a site in Cheshire.

The equipment – a pressure blast cabinet, wash booth and spray booth – was chosen to provide versatile facilities for cleaning a wide variety of pumps, valves and associated components used in the chemical industry before repair and refurbishment.

The pressure blast cabinet supplied by Hodge Clemco was specially designed to remove corrosion from components which can vary in size and weight from 20kg to 1000kg. In order to accommodate the biggest sizes and allow them to be loaded by fork lift truck or jib crane, the cabinet has a pair of doors and a hinged top at the front. The chamber – which incorporates a flush-fitting full-size turntable – measures 1250mm x 1000mm x 965mm.

Components are cleaned with metallic abrasives, and a special valve is fitted to control flow rates in order to provide the most effective performance. A remote control valve allows extremely accurate adjustment of air flow.

The blasting equipment has a tungsten carbide nozzle which resists wear by the highly abrasive media used.

Dust is collected from the cabinet by a reverse pulse system, which cleans the filter cartridges in the collector automatically while the machine is in operation. The system maintains good visibility within the cabinet with minimal involvement from the operator. An integral fluorescent light also helps the operator to see the components clearly – many of them intricately shaped.

The wash booth is used to remove chemical residues from heavily contaminated components before they are cleaned to bare metal in the blast cabinet, and also to clean internal surfaces.