I’ve been out traveling to different sites, and I am SO impressed with the engineers, maintenance crews, mill rights, and other technicians who continue to improve and upgrade their lines. We have so much “can-do” ingenuity in our industry! I’ve seen lines built in the ‘40s that are still running! Not only that, but these “old” scrubber brush machine lines are whizzing along at strip speeds 10-20x faster than they’ve been engineered to move! Some have required expensive upgrades; others have gotten by with less-expensive modifications. Either way, it’s impressive!
We all want to speed up the process line, and it seems like anything is possible if we have enough money to make it happen. But I want to tell you about a process upgrade that won’t set you back too much. Instead of thinking about upgrading your scrubber brush machine, consider first changing the size of the abrasive scrubber brushes.
In our last post, we talked about the footprints made from manufacturer brushes. We talked about what the footprint can tell us about the pressure of the load. While the concept is easy to understand, it’s something we often overlook, so I wanted to bring it to your attention in case the reminder helps a lightbulb go off. If you haven’t seen that post, you can read it here.
Today, we are talking about the footprint of abrasive scrubber brushes again, but this time, we want to understand the benefits of increase line speed and the increase ability to clean and deoxidize when we increase the diameter of our footprint. This drawing represents the diameters of our scrubber brushes. As you can see, the circles increase from left to right.
We all want to speed up the process line, and it seems like anything is possible if we have enough money to make it happen. But I want to tell you about a process upgrade that won’t set you back too much. Instead of thinking about upgrading your scrubber brush machine, consider first changing the size of the abrasive scrubber brushes.
In our last post, we talked about the footprints made from manufacturer brushes. We talked about what the footprint can tell us about the pressure of the load. While the concept is easy to understand, it’s something we often overlook, so I wanted to bring it to your attention in case the reminder helps a lightbulb go off. If you haven’t seen that post, you can read it here.
Today, we are talking about the footprint of abrasive scrubber brushes again, but this time, we want to understand the benefits of increase line speed and the increase ability to clean and deoxidize when we increase the diameter of our footprint. This drawing represents the diameters of our scrubber brushes. As you can see, the circles increase from left to right.
The diagram is illustrated in mm; standard measurements would be 5”, then 6, 8, 12, and 14.
Notice the four rows all show scrubber brushes with the same diameter. What changes between rows is the amount of compression. The first row shows the abrasive scrubber brushes at 0mm of compression, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th show the compression from 1mm, 2mm, and 3mm of compression.
We’ve already talked about increasing the footprint of a scrubber brush by increasing the brush’s pressure on the strip—but this can also increase the wear of industrial scrubber brushes as they’re cleaning and finishing flat metal strip. (Read more here.) Every machine has a max point of compression where the abrasive scrubber brush performs best against the metal strip and sheet. Beyond that point, wide-face bristle scrubber brushes lose their ability to clean. The filament is crushed against the metal, so the abrasive scrubber brush tips cannot glide along the surface of the metal to get it clean it. Adding pressure at this point destroys industrial brushes. A safe rule of thumb is somewhere around 3-5mm of compression. Make sure you have measurement scales installed on all your scrubber brush machines so you know the accurate amount of compression. Learn how here.
Beyond finding the ideal compression point, you can also increase the footprint by increasing the diameter of the abrasive scrubber brush. Makes sense, right? Bigger brush, bigger footprint.
Let’s do some Calculations
By increasing your abrasive scrubber brush diameter from 12” to14,” the brush footprint increases by 8%. When an industrial brush diameter expands from 8” to 12,” the brush footprint improves by 22%. In general, we can estimate an increase in an abrasive scrubber brush diameter by 2” will yield a 10% increase in footprint. APT builds scrubber brush machines that can hold 16,” 18,” and even 20” diameter industrial brushes, which can really improve the speed of the line. We even have brush-on-brush machines.
What does all this mean? A “footprint” is the amount of contact area the abrasive scrubber brush has with the strip, sheet, or workpiece. The larger the footprint, the more friction and cleaning is done on the strip. Often the the cleaning section is the bottleneck in your line, so by increasing your scrubber brush diameter by only 2”, you could feasibly increase your line speed by 10%. Now, there are some qualifiers: you have to make sure the dwell time in all your chemical tanks is long enough, and a few other things, but conceptually you understand the improvement a larger diameter on your abrasive scrubber brush can make. Here’s the point: you can increase the speed and your machine’s ability to clean mechanically simply by increasing the diameter of the brush.
Adjusting for Space.
If you are considering upgrading your scrubber brush machine but have a fixed amount of space, APT can build machines to accommodate abrasive scrubber brushes with larger diameters that don’t require more foot space. We can also show you a brush-on-brush system. In the same space you currently operate a 4-head system, for example, we can place an 8-head system—doubling the speed using the same amount of space.
We are also working on projects where we can shorten the chemical section and increase the mechanical cleaning using abrasive scrubber brushes, which is environmentally responsible, but it also provides a way to make the best use of space! That’s a topic for a different series when we discuss chemical vs. mechanical cleaning.
For now, I wanted to hit home the concept that if you increase your brush diameter, you increase your ability to clean more metal strip in a faster time—and you get cleaner strip.
To talk with us about the possibility of increasing the diameter of the abrasive scrubber brushes in your scrubber brush machines, give us a call at 816-382-9150. We would love to talk to you about ways you could increase the speed of your line.
We’ve already talked about increasing the footprint of a scrubber brush by increasing the brush’s pressure on the strip—but this can also increase the wear of industrial scrubber brushes as they’re cleaning and finishing flat metal strip. (Read more here.) Every machine has a max point of compression where the abrasive scrubber brush performs best against the metal strip and sheet. Beyond that point, wide-face bristle scrubber brushes lose their ability to clean. The filament is crushed against the metal, so the abrasive scrubber brush tips cannot glide along the surface of the metal to get it clean it. Adding pressure at this point destroys industrial brushes. A safe rule of thumb is somewhere around 3-5mm of compression. Make sure you have measurement scales installed on all your scrubber brush machines so you know the accurate amount of compression. Learn how here.
Beyond finding the ideal compression point, you can also increase the footprint by increasing the diameter of the abrasive scrubber brush. Makes sense, right? Bigger brush, bigger footprint.
Let’s do some Calculations
By increasing your abrasive scrubber brush diameter from 12” to14,” the brush footprint increases by 8%. When an industrial brush diameter expands from 8” to 12,” the brush footprint improves by 22%. In general, we can estimate an increase in an abrasive scrubber brush diameter by 2” will yield a 10% increase in footprint. APT builds scrubber brush machines that can hold 16,” 18,” and even 20” diameter industrial brushes, which can really improve the speed of the line. We even have brush-on-brush machines.
What does all this mean? A “footprint” is the amount of contact area the abrasive scrubber brush has with the strip, sheet, or workpiece. The larger the footprint, the more friction and cleaning is done on the strip. Often the the cleaning section is the bottleneck in your line, so by increasing your scrubber brush diameter by only 2”, you could feasibly increase your line speed by 10%. Now, there are some qualifiers: you have to make sure the dwell time in all your chemical tanks is long enough, and a few other things, but conceptually you understand the improvement a larger diameter on your abrasive scrubber brush can make. Here’s the point: you can increase the speed and your machine’s ability to clean mechanically simply by increasing the diameter of the brush.
Adjusting for Space.
If you are considering upgrading your scrubber brush machine but have a fixed amount of space, APT can build machines to accommodate abrasive scrubber brushes with larger diameters that don’t require more foot space. We can also show you a brush-on-brush system. In the same space you currently operate a 4-head system, for example, we can place an 8-head system—doubling the speed using the same amount of space.
We are also working on projects where we can shorten the chemical section and increase the mechanical cleaning using abrasive scrubber brushes, which is environmentally responsible, but it also provides a way to make the best use of space! That’s a topic for a different series when we discuss chemical vs. mechanical cleaning.
For now, I wanted to hit home the concept that if you increase your brush diameter, you increase your ability to clean more metal strip in a faster time—and you get cleaner strip.
To talk with us about the possibility of increasing the diameter of the abrasive scrubber brushes in your scrubber brush machines, give us a call at 816-382-9150. We would love to talk to you about ways you could increase the speed of your line.
