From the harsh conditions within foundries to the high output requirements of the automotive industries to the exacting tolerances of peening aerospace parts, Genesis wheels are proving that they are not only one of the most technologically advanced wheels on the market - they are also one of the most versatile in terms of range of design.

The Genesis family of wheels offers unmatched performance, better cleaning and significantly lower operating costs, and fits to a lot of miscellaneous machines and plants. 

The patented designs also allow for faster maintenance, more precise alignment of the runnerhead, longer part lifetime while also almost completely eliminating "shot-lock". As a result of these advantages, the Genesis Family of blast wheels has been rapidly adopted by industries scattered around the world, and it is quickly becoming the most sought-after and cost-effective blast equipment upgrade.

Upgrading, rebuilding and modernization

A further advantage of the Genesis Wheel is its variability to machines and plants of miscellaneous manufacturers. The wheels are suited to new machine development as well as rebuilding or modernization.

Especially in our modern and fast pacing times it is essential to update from time to time the technique for a longer lifetime of machines and plants and for cost-savings.

An example: A customer approached the Pangborn Group to improve the shot peening process to one of its coil spring production lines. With the old Gutmann wheels, the customer had been  experiencing excessive down-time on the line due to the unpredictable maintenance requirements of the existing abrasive throwing wheels and unacceptable replacement time of service parts.

The criteria for the customer were:

• Repeatable "Peening" results to all spring diameters and sizes processed by the line.
• Continuous repeatable passage speeds for all springs produced by the line.
• Minimum disruption and down- time of the equipment during the upgrade.
• Easy fit of the new wheels to the existing machine cabinet.
• Optimized life time and service of the new wheels, liners and feed parts.
• Ease of maintenance of the new wheels.
• Common spare parts stock for all 4 wheels, eliminating CW and CCW on site spare parts stock.
• On completion, down-time due to wheel malfunctions or maintenance to be less than 2% of the working hours per week of the line. 

The engineers of Pangborn studied the application, the equipment configuration and criteria where set down by the customer very thoroughly.

And in fact, the application was very demanding. The used shot is a very aggressive hard-conditioned cut wire, and the production line is working continuously around the clock.

On inspection of the Gutmann plant, the machine structure was very good and well-maintained. The wheel positioning for this special application was extremely important; the original wheel positioning and rotation was checked and cross-referenced with the Pangborn range of wheels to determine the most effective one for the application, along with abrasive velocities and abrasive flow rates.

After all the parameters were checked, the Pangborn Genesis® range of Rotoblast® wheels was offered to meet the criteria and production requirements.

On completion of the upgrade that was supervised by Pangborn while working closely with the skilled maintenance personnel and management of the customer, production trials were run, and the Genesis® wheels exceeded the pre-set criteria.

Now, the wheels have been in service for more than two years of continuous operation in this very demanding aggressive application. These wheels have proven reliable and to be easily maintained, and above all, they give the exact repeatable results that Pangborn agreed to achieve at the start of the project.

Actually, due to the upgrade, the wheels have a lifetime of 750 hours compared to the former life time of 350 hours. The top end liner and lid liner have now a lifetime of 1000 hours. Furthermore, with the new Genesis Rotoblast wheels, they have the possibility to be variable in speed control of the wheels. A simpler maintenance process, because of the patented pending design, allows better access to the internal wear components like the vanes and therefore faster and more cost-effective service. And last but not least, a constant peening performance with various work pieces is given by using the Genesis wheel.

The Pangborn Group continues to support the installation of the wheels on site with technical backup, service engineers and ready available local spare parts inventory, eliminating expensive down-time for the upgraded "Peening" system.

The customer's Managing Director said: "It was a great challenge in teamwork for both parties resulting in a very successful Pangborn Rotoblast® retrofitting project which will greatly benefit our company's production now and in future years."

Key features of the different Genesis® wheel versions

The Genesis family of wheels includes high-speed, 13" - 17" (330 - 432 mm) diameter wheels with either single or double-sided runnerheads. The low-speed, 24" - 26.5" (610 - 673 mm) diameter wheels result in reduced consumption of abrasives, allow better cleaning, and lower power requirements.

Pangborn's Genesis blast wheels offer major improvements in comparison to traditional blast wheels.

Key advantages:

• Complete Genesis family of Rotoblast wheels are available in metric and imperial systems.
• Easy assembly and maintenance. Front-of-housing access to runnerheads is just one of the Genesis features that enable full assembly in less than one hour. Setting the pattern length is now a quick, one-step job. Dual-tapered vanes eliminate "shot locking".
• Long-lasting parts: Genesis has replaceable housing liners, which are less expensive to replace than one-piece cast manganese housings. Cast linings are made with Pangborn's proprietary P-41 metallurgy. Tight tolerances result in significantly less wear.
• Economical operation. Users of all Genesis wheels can expect rapid ROI from simplified maintenance, faster cleaning cycles and high longevity of parts. In addition, the low-speed wheel saves money due to reduced consumption of abrasives and lower power requirements.
• Increased safety. New safety innovations include a lid with pin-locked safety hinges, an integral U-shaped feed spout safety lock, and rapid release vanes.
• Wheels can be upgraded to Genesis technology without replacing motors.

"Customers who want to save time, save money and improve efficiency will be ideal candidates for the Genesis family of blast wheels," says Joe Camerata, Pangborn's president. "Genesis represents change versus traditional thinking in blast technology. Shot blast customers will find a range of choices, all with the ability to tailor features of the equipment for best meeting their specific needs."

Regardless of your type of machine, regardless of the type of blast wheel and its blades, Pangborn is your partner for refitting and optimizing your machine.
 
Pangborn will help you to save money and time.

For Information:
Pangborn Group
Heike Hübner, Global Marketing
Siegburger Straße 229 c
Cologne, 50679, Germany
Tel. +49.221.989495 822
Fax +49.221.989495 849
E-mail: heike.huebner@berger-st.de
www.pangborngroup.com