The blast machine is used by Hyżyk to clean and prepare various steel components for its structures, which are built for the likes of Bridgestone Tyres, Ławica Airport and Electrolux.
Prior to the upgrade, the company had 4 powerful 22kW V-belt driven wheels on its machine.
They faced significant problems with the wheels failing, and needed to replace parts and make adjustments frequently. These issues culminated in the company being forced to maintain the wheels on a weekly basis, causing significant and disruptive machine downtime.
The team at Wheelabrator Poland were called in to implement an Equipment Modernisation Programme, helping to bring the Hyżyk machine back into good working order. An initial assessment showed that upgrading the existing wheels to Wheelabrator’s TITAN direct drive blast wheels would bring significant benefits.
V-belt driven blast wheels suffer from a loss of power through friction generated by the belt drives. They also tend to take up more space and have increased service time, as belts and pulleys need to be inspected.
In comparison the direct drive TITAN wheels offer:
The TITAN wheels use hardened tool steel parts, which have a longer life time than the cast parts found in other turbines. Hyżyk’s new 18.5kW TITAN wheels replaced the 22kW V-belt wheels. Despite the reduction in power, the new wheels provided equivalent performance – without the downtime.
The power reduction also translated to energy cost savings for the company. A year on, the wheels have yet to require significant maintenance and no breakdowns have occurred, reducing machine downtime and ensuring that Hyżyk can keep their operation running smoothly.
Marek Hyżyk, Vice Chairman of the Board at Hyżyk Steel Structures said: “We’ve been very impressed with the performance of our machine following the upgrade. Wheelabrator’s TITAN wheels have been in operation without any breakdowns or any maintenance effort. What’s more, we’ve reduced our running costs through energy savings.
“It has been fantastic working with Wheelabrator. We know we can rely on them for excellent customer support from a friendly local team, who know the manufacturing landscape in Poland as well as we do.”
Aleksander Zuraw, Sales Director at Wheelabrator Poland said: “Achieving great results for our customers is what our Equipment Modernisation Programmes are all about. We always assess the specific needs of the company to ensure they get the maximum impact for their investment. We’re really pleased to have achieved Hyżyk Steel Structures’ requirement to reduce maintenance and downtime, while also delivering the added benefit of energy savings.”
The upgrade was carried out in November 2014.
