Inside an automatic line
Follow a batch of parts from the incoming pallet to the finished container: through degreasing, pickling and flux, into the zinc, through the centrifuge, and out again. Every station on the map is a step you can open.
Now at: Loading and weighing
Hover or tab through a station to see what happens there.
1. Loading and weighing
The barrel is opened, turned upside down to empty and moved under a vibratory feeder that refills it. It stands on a scale, so the feeder stops the moment the programmed batch weight is reached; the operator refits the lid and releases the barrel to the line.
2. Barrel handover
The filled barrel is handed to the overhead trolley that runs the pre-treatment line. The trolley works automatically, can be driven by hand, and takes its orders from the line's control system.
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3. Buffer 1
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
4. Buffer 2
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
5. Buffer 3
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
6. Buffer 4
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
7. Buffer 5
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
8. Buffer 6
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
9. Buffer 7
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
10. Buffer 8
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
11. Buffer 9
A waiting position. The trolleys decide for themselves when to set a barrel down here — a bath that is busy never stalls the line behind it.
12. Degreasing
An alkaline bath held at 60 °C lifts oil, drawing compound and shop soil off the parts. The barrel rotates in the bath to shorten the process time, and the tank stays lidded with extraction underneath so fumes never reach the hall.
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13. Degreasing, second position
The second degreasing tank. Both run the same bath, so a barrel never waits for the one in front of it to finish.
14. Rinse after degreasing
A warm rinse carries alkaline carry-over off the parts so it never reaches the acid downstream.
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15. Rinse after degreasing, second position
The second rinse position after degreasing, kept moving so alkaline carry-over never reaches the acid downstream.
16. Pickling
Hydrochloric acid strips mill scale and rust down to clean steel. The tanks are lidded and ventilated, the barrel rotates to speed the reaction, and several positions run in parallel so the line never waits on the longest step.
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17. Pickling, second position
Another pickling tank. Four run in parallel because pickling is the longest step in the line.
18. Pickling, third position
Another pickling tank. Four run in parallel because pickling is the longest step in the line.
19. Pickling, fourth position
Another pickling tank. Four run in parallel because pickling is the longest step in the line.
20. Rinse after pickling
Cold rinses in counterflow: clean water enters at the last tank and cascades back towards the acid, so rinse quality rises while water use falls.
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21. Rinse after pickling, second position
The far end of the counterflow rinse. Clean water enters here and cascades back towards the acid, so the last thing the steel meets is the cleanest water in the line.
22. Flux
A zinc chloride flux at 60 °C leaves a film that keeps the cleaned steel from re-oxidising before it reaches the zinc. Heaters sit in the short side of the tank, out of the barrel's way.
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23. Drip-off
The barrel keeps rotating in open air so surplus flux drains back rather than being carried into the kettle. A drip guard under every station collects what runs off.
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24. Drip-off, second position
A second drip-off position, so flux draining off one barrel never holds up the next.
25. Drying
The barrel is tipped onto a vibratory feeder with an electric dryer above it, at up to 120 °C. The feeder is angled about 3° upwards, so the parts walk forward in an even layer while liquid runs back. Moisture reaching molten zinc flashes to steam, so this is a safety step as much as a quality one.
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26. Basket filling turntable
Dried parts are weighed into a galvanizing basket at one position of the turntable while the robot picks a full basket at another, so filling and picking never wait on each other. Further positions take manual filling, the robot's returned empty basket, and a change of basket type.
27. Robot cell
A six-axis ABB robot moves baskets between the turntable, the basket buffer and the centrifuges, interlocked so the turntable cannot rotate while the robot is inside its reach. It takes every order from the Procon control system, which logs each batch so a quality question can be traced back through production.
28. Basket buffer 1
A basket waiting position beside the robot. Parts too awkward to fill automatically are loaded by hand here, and a basket type is changed by crane or forklift.
29. Basket buffer 2
A basket waiting position beside the robot. Parts too awkward to fill automatically are loaded by hand here, and a basket type is changed by crane or forklift.
30. Basket buffer 3
A basket waiting position beside the robot. Parts too awkward to fill automatically are loaded by hand here, and a basket type is changed by crane or forklift.
31. The zinc bath
The basket is lowered into molten zinc held between 460 and 560 °C, through a surface a skimmer has just cleared of ash. An agitator arm with a vibrator breaks the load apart and lifts ash to the surface. The kettle sits in a ventilated enclosure with automatic doors, its fumes led to a zinc filter.
32. The zinc bath, second position
The second position over the kettle. Two baskets can be in the zinc at once, which is what keeps the robot and the centrifuges busy rather than waiting.
33. K2 centrifuge
Two K2 units run on a rail above the kettle and take the basket from the robot with their own gripper. Spinning starts the moment the basket clears the surface, in two phases with their own speed and duration, so surplus zinc is thrown off before it can freeze in threads and washer holes.
34. K2 centrifuge, second unit
The second centrifuge. The two units take turns: one spins while the other is being loaded, so neither the kettle nor the robot stands idle.
35. Basket discharge
The basket is turned upside down over a cooling tank and the parts drop into the water, which quenches them and separates any still holding together. A hood with a fan over the tank draws off the steam.
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36. Cooling
The water is held at about 70 °C, cooled if the load demands it. A tilting bucket lifts the cooled parts out and onto the final dryer.
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37. Final drying and unloading
A second vibratory feeder with an electric dryer, at up to 120 °C, drives off the quench water. The finished parts drop into the container on a scissor lift set into the floor, which keeps the drop height short.
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Temperatures, dwell times, equipment detail, and photo and video of each step are open to logged-in visitors. Ask us for access or log in.