MANUFACTURING
plate, drill a hole and machine it, and cut
the plate and machine it, with a variety of
different heads. It mills and drills. [In the
old system.] If I want this plate drilled and
milled, I’d place an order with my supplier
and it would take four weeks to arrive. On
the other hand, if I put the plate on this
new machine, it will take 18 minutes to
achieve the same result.”
It is this type of innovation that
achieves reduced production time, while
removing the potential for human error,
and affords the ability for in-house mass
customisation.
The machine can take eight heads at
one time while it retains a memory for 32
heads for simultaneous applications.
Painting
Once fabricated, the component needs
to be painted and for this, it must be
prepared. A shot-blasting process
removes all corrosion and prepares
the surface for the primer and paint.
The shot-blasting machine comes from
Austria and contains six wheels revolving
at 3 000rpm, which blasts a controlled
stream of abrasive shot material, as fine
as dust, onto the fabricated components.
Nothing under 3mm thickness can be
shot-blasted as the metal sheet will bend
under the force.
Once blasted and cleaned up, there
are two lines for the painting process.
One line can take chassis weights of up
to 10 tons, measuring six metres by six
metres. The process takes 25 minutes
on this slower moving line. The other line
takes five-ton components and, because
the parts are smaller, the processing time
takes between 10 and 15 minutes.
The company understands the need
to move towards more environmentally
friendly manufacturing. In this regard,
Combilift is one of the few companies in
Europe that uses water-based paint as
opposed to solvent-based paint, having
developed its own product called Combi
Two Aislemaster chassis are ready for shot-blasting to prepare the
surfaces for painting.
Spec. The process entails removing the
solvent from the paint, which escapes into
the atmosphere and is replaced by water,
reducing the volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) found in paint by up to 70%.
Quality assurance
In-house, the company runs 14 separate
quality tests, including impact and
scratch-resistance (ISO 1518-2:2011),
and a shot spray test that runs for 850
hours. While these tests may seem
excessive, they all form part of Combilift’s
move towards a more environmentally
production line. The US, in particular,
has stringent standards around the
environment and requires assurance that
the product that they buy from the Irish
manufacturer adheres to these standards.
Combilift struggles with suppliers like
every other manufacturer, with delivery
of cylinders, masts, and motors being
the main issues. Moffat emphasises
that this is exacerbated by the fact
The new drilling and milling machine can take eight heads at one time
while it retains a memory for 32 heads for simultaneous applications.
JUNE 2018
17