Pennsylvania, US – October 30, 2024 Finch Manufacturing & Technology, LLC established in 1855, is a leading provider of Rotary Kilns, Dryers, and other Rotary Processing Equipment (RPE). Finch Manufacturing stands apart as the only ISO 9001:2015 certified company in our industry, delivering precision-crafted parts and tailored solutions to optimize your operations with slogan “Real Solutions backed by the highest quality parts”.
“6 Most Common Mistakes that Cost Our Customers” – Part A
Bob Zinnen, CEO of Finch Manufacturing & Technology, LLC says “Our engineers routinely notice common mistakes during our site visits and customer interactions. We thought we should outline the 6 Most Common Mistakes to help prevent our customers from making these common and costly mistakes that lowers efficiency, throughput, and can create longer downtimes.”
This list of common mistakes is not meant to disparage, but to shed some light upon these common mistakes so they may be prevented! The whole Finch Manufacturing Team works with our customers to mitigate these risks and minimize their associated costs. This will be a two-part discussion due to the length of these comments. We will address the first three of these common mistakes here as part A and part B will outline on four through six.
- Lack of Spares
Many kiln or dryer components can last over a decade. As a result, the Finch Manufacturing team commonly sees facilities with no spares due to their long-life cycle and high cost as well as customers with multiple sites without a consolidated inventory list. It is common that spare motors, pinions, bearings, and even low-cost leaf seals and bolts are not stocked. For example a missing leaf seals can easily reduce efficiency resulting in heat and material loss.
If the worst happens, the lack of spares results in extended or unplanned downtime. A high-quality, forged trunnion requires 10 to 16 weeks, and a large thrust roller may require a casting and take over 20 weeks to fabricate. Consequently, lesser damaged components are installed, or customers pay much higher prices for lower quality parts made from off the shelf steel and expedited manufacturing times. This solution will get the kiln running, but low-quality parts possess a shorter life, pushing the problem down the line.
Finch Manufacturing works with customers to standardize your parts like trunnions, bearings, and other components to help address this issue. This reduces the variety and volume of components kept in stock, thus freeing up your capital. The proper spares will keep customers from settling on quickly available, low-quality options when disaster strikes. A common practice now for Finch’s customers is to order new trunnions and after these are installed send the older worn trunnions back to Finch Manufacturing for refurbishment to serve as spares which saves thousands of dollars. The Finch Manufacturing engineering team standardized a trunnion for nearly 12 different kilns for one of our customers. They now need to only stock a few spares and ship between sites saving $100,000s.
- Poor Maintenance
Many companies believe they perform proper maintenance. Often, when the Finch Manufacturing team start their review or inspection of the kiln, it is readily apparent that they are not performing the correct or Best Practice maintenance procedures. We frequently find systems aligned incorrectly and notice excess wear and tear on the trunnions and tires that shortens their life. Missing or damaged leaf seals is another common problem. Since leaf seals are inexpensive, replacing the missing ones gives you an excellent ROI since it also saves energy. Lack of or too much grease can take down the whole system by damaging the trunnions and tire. Trying to align the kiln without a Finch specialist may appear to save money, but usually this practice results in excess wear patterns in the trunnion, thrust roller and more importantly the tire.
Finch Manufacturing’s inspection programs look at a system’s total operation and advises on maintenance best practices. Finch Manufacturing provides programs that teach our customer’s team the do’s and don’ts. Regular alignments, grinding, or testing kiln shell thickness may seem expensive. These actions are inexpensive compared to unscheduled and costly downtime and extend your kiln’s operational life.
- Incorrect Lubrication
Our Finch engineers constantly see incorrect or unlubricated drive sprockets and gears. This is also a common problem with trunnion bearings. This may be hard to believe, but this critical maintenance issue increased greatly since COVID-19 and the constant turnover of maintenance personnel. This mistake can be very expensive since not properly lubricating your equipment causes excessive wear on the drive sprocket and gear teeth taking your kiln out of action. As mentioned, spare parts are critical and large sprockets are often missing from “the spares” due to their high cost. Most sprockets and gears are forged which is an expensive and long lead time component. In some cases, we can rebuild the teeth through welding, but that is time consuming and considered a short-term option. Building up a tooth with weld will not be nearly as accurate as a newly ‘hobbed’ gear and can cause further issues.
To solve this major issue, Finch Manufacturing recommends auto lubrication systems designed specifically for your kiln or dryer. These systems are relatively inexpensive compared to new sprockets and gears. The Finch manufacturing team will design an auto lubrication system that ensures that the proper amount of grease is sprayed on the specified areas of the sprockets and gears and at regular intervals to ensure optimal performance. You don’t have to deal with the ramifications of personnel spraying grease directly on to tire! Yes, we have seen this done!
Common Mistakes 4 through 6 will be addressed in Part B – Our next press release!
Finch Manufacturing & Technology, LLC would like the opportunity to discuss these common mistakes with your organization and how the Finch team will work with you to prevent your team from the impact of making these costly mistakes!
Finch Manufacturing & Technology, LLC serves a wide range of industries, including cement, metal recycling, asphalt, aggregate etc., offering unparalleled customer service and technical expertise across the United States. See our website at www. Finchmt.com for more information on capabilities and services.
Contact:
Finch Manufacturing & Technology, LLC
An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company
Office: (570) 655-2277
540 Montgomery Ave.
West Pittston, PA 18643
rzinnen@finchmt.com
www.finchmt.com
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