Finishing - May-June 2023

34 CLEANING
Hitting targets
With demand increasing, BAE Systems
Land (BAES Land) contacted
MecWash Systems to create a
bespoke solution to clean a wide range of
challenging components to a high standard.
After lengthy discussions, BAES Land
purchased a Duo interstage cleaning system
and a MWX400 final clean system to drive
the efficiency and quality of their component
cleaning.
BAES Land are leaders in the defence
sector where they design, manufacture,
upgrade and support combat vehicles and
provide ammunition, precision munitions,
artillery systems and missile launchers to a
global customer base. The BAES Land
business unit is a primary supplier of
ammunition of all calibres to the UK MoD for
use by the UK Army, Royal Navy and Royal
Air Force and the site at Radway Green in
Cheshire manufactures Small Arms
Ammunition. A new project to make a new
brass component at Radway resulted in the
need to wash parts on numerous occasions
during the manufacturing process.
By using both the Duo and the MWX, the
team at BAES Land ensure a stringent parts
washing process. Initially, the Duo is used for
the intermediate cleaning process, known as
the manufacturing stage, which focuses on
degreasing the component ready for the final
stage.
The MecWash Duo is a highly compact,
efficient, interstage cleaning system and
features both wash and rinse tanks, allowing it
to deliver high quality cleaning. First of all, the
components are put through a rotational
immersion wash cycle, then a powerful spray
wash, followed by the spray rinse stage. The
single chamber design houses 100 jetting
nozzles that operate in conjunction with drum
oscillation or rotation. Finally, a high volume,
hot air drying cycle completes the process.
The result is clean and dry ammunition
brass tube components, within the required
TAKT time and cleanliness specification. The
system makes light work of removing
coolants, cutting fluids, drawing lubricants and
fine brass swarf.
The Duo wash system is required to
remove contaminants at the various
manufacturing stages of the brass tube
cutting and forming. The MecWash cleaning
chemical AC32 is perfect for the contaminant
removal on brass, this is also suitable for
multi-metal applications. A demineralised
water rinse leaves the tubes with a stain free,
shiny finish.
Jigged stainless steel weld mesh wash
baskets were designed by MecWash to satisfy
the specific handling requirements from BAES
Land. These are interchangeable between the
Duo 400 and the MWX400, saving both
manufacturing time and costs. Once the Duo
has degreased the components, the basket is
transferred to the MWX400 for the final clean
stage, known as acid pickle, to remove
discolouration and impurities such as scale
and other contaminants.
John Pattison, managing director at
MecWash, comments: “BAES Land has very
specific cleaning requirements for the brass
components, so we worked closely with their
team to develop the right process, chemistry
and washing system that could deliver the
desired results. Using the MecWash Duo and
the MWX400 ensures a rigorous standard of
cleaning for a high volume of components.
“We designed the stainless steel baskets
specifically for BAES Land, which helped to
drive the efficiency of their processes. The
cleaning chemical solutions, AC32 and S5,
were both designed inhouse by our
laboratory team, and are effective at
degreasing, washing and decontaminating
their brass components. We were delighted to
provide BAES Land with a holistic parts
washing solution with our unique chemicals
and systems,” said John.
Finishing - May/June 2023