Maximum cleanliness for precision sheets

A strict selection process and individual solutions enable a manufacturer of precision sheet metal to ensure technical cleanliness for a wide range of industries.

The Czech company Keytec Precision Components processes more than 10,000 tons of sheet metal every year. It is punched, pressed, bent, deburred, cleaned, welded, glued and sometimes preserved and assembled. Each individual manufacturing process requires know-how, as well as the best machines and systems. The growth of the Czech company is based on several pillars and regions, including the increasing demand from Japanese groups.

In addition to qualified employees, the high-quality technology is crucial for the high reliability and quality of the Czech plant. In order to always invest in the best possible solutions, all major purchases go through a strict procurement process. In the end, three providers are compared. The modern R2 vacuum cleaning systems from Pero AG from Königsbrunn near Augsburg also had to face this selection process in order to be awarded the contract in 2015 and 2020. Jan Mraz, who coordinated the selection of suppliers as the engineer responsible for the cleaning area, remembers: “The cleaning systems used in the past could no longer productively meet our requirements. In our experience, Pero is one of the top three in the industry. That's why the Königsbrunn-based company was in the final selection."

Three-stage selection process

Keytec produces around 500 different items that place a wide variety of demands on cleaning systems. Some need high technical cleanliness and freedom from grease with surface tensions of up to 40 Nm/m. Others must be preserved. Some are very filigree with a material thickness of only 0.3 mm and have complex structures, others are up to 8 mm thick and have large dimensions. Various materials are used - from mild steel to copper or zinc to a wide variety of aluminum alloys, which are then anodised or painted. Therefore, in addition to high reliability and high throughput, great flexibility is also important for the cleaning systems

Turning mastered in full vacuum

Since Keytec has been receiving an increasing number of orders with the highest purity requirements since 2020, it became clear relatively quickly that a special composition of modified alcohol was needed as the distillate in the new plant. This is how the sheet metal professionals achieve surface tensions of 40 Nm/m.

A particularly demanding order for high-end visible components used in the automotive industry presented the company with a particular challenge in 2020. Modified alcohol in the standardized high-tech Pero R2 plant alone did not lead to a satisfactory solution. These components are very sensitive and must therefore not be rotated in the cleaning room. According to Jakub Tuna, consultant at the Czech Pero sales company Imtos, this process is usually important: "By rotating in full vacuum, the systems ensure that the distillate cleans the workpieces at every nook and cranny." It was therefore important to meet these requirements for Pero to look for another solution: Since the cleaning tank is almost completely filled, it is possible to swivel the parts in space. Since specially designed baskets are also used, the components absorb the heat particularly well during the drying process. "With these adjustments, we have been meeting our customer's expectations one hundred percent ever since," says Mraz.

Preservation quick and easy

Since not all components are processed directly at Keytec, a grease-free surface is not always desired. Therefore, the components sometimes have to be protected against corrosion, i.e. preserved. This is also very easy to do with the Pero R2. Another reason for satisfaction for department head Jan Mraz: “No other system has performed as well in conservation as the R2. We always get the quality we need

Pero AG www.pero.ag