Lower operating costs and increased blasting capacity

Retrofit of an existing plant, no matter what brand, already directly reduces operating costs. With the TuneUp Retrofit service, Rösler was able to reduce the operational costs of blasting by more than a third at a German customer in the casting industry. 

Text and image: Rösler

Rösler's TuneUp retrofit service is more topical than ever now that investment budgets are frozen in many companies. They often look up to high operating costs of their blasting systems, which, after all, have a long service life. For many plants, operational costs begin to rise after years. On the one hand due to high maintenance costs and consumption of consumables, on the other hand due to high energy consumption. By properly managing all these points, Rösler ensures lower operating costs on a daily basis for blasting systems using this technology. A practical example at a German foundry shows that retrofit of a blasting plant from another manufacturer is a serious alternative to a completely new plant if one wants to reduce the operational costs of blasting. 

Less maintenance, lower energy consumption

Rösler carried out a complete retrofit at the German foundry. The blast turbines were replaced with the Rösler Gamma 400G-8 high performance turbines in a special wear-resistant design. The Gamma G turbines feature curved blades, which are designed so that the shedding speed is significantly higher than with other turbines and a precise blasting pattern is created. As a result, Gamma G turbines have extremely high efficiency and thus reduced consumption of consumables. The blades made of forged tool steel have an average service life three times longer, depending on the blasting medium. The blades of this turbine are equipped with a quick-change system. As a result, changing the blades takes less time. In a TuneUp retrofit, Rösler also replaces other wear parts with new parts, which have a longer service life and maintenance interval. Upgrading the turbines with the Gamma 400G-8 resulted in the German foundry reducing maintenance costs by as much as one-third. 

Energy costs sharply lower

Compared to traditional turbines, Rösler Gamma G turbines have a 15% higher energy efficiency. In practice, this translates into lower energy consumption, one of the major cost factors in blasting. Part of the TuneUp services at the foundry included replacing the drive motors of 22 kW each. Because the new generation motors are much more energy efficient, the foundry saw a significant reduction in energy consumption and associated costs. Along with lower maintenance costs, the TuneUp retrofit reduced total operating costs by 34%. 

Cheaper and more capacity

At the same time, the foundry has more blasting capacity. This is due to the higher performance of the Rutten Turbines with Gamma G technology. At the foundry, the capacity is 45% higher. The Y-shaped throwing blades of the Gamma-G turbines eject the abrasive very precisely with more power. This improves the capacity of the plant. In other words, without investing in an additional blasting plant, the foundry has been able to increase capacity to handle the increased workload. The combination of lower operating costs and increased capacity, provides a payback on the investment in the TuneUp retrofit of just over a year. 

Custom

As part of the TuneUp service, Rösler's retrofit experts always make a customized proposal. Part of this is a realistic calculation of the payback period, so that the customer clearly knows in advance what the investment in a retrofit of the blasting plant will yield.