Wind-generation equipment manufacturer Katana Industries Inc. recently added a third facility in Columbus, NE, joining a pair of existing plants it operates in Washington State.

The size and volume of the Nebraska plant’s fabrications required Katana to add two more surface-preparation systems in the Spring of 2008. Manufacturing 80- and 90-meter steel tubular wind towers requires a host of equipment, including surface-preparation systems. After the steel plate arrives at the plant, it is cut to size and shape on a plasma table. Then, the steel pieces are cleaned before they are welded or formed together.

Wheelabrator machine installed at Katana Industries in Columbus, Neb., for air-blast cleaning 10-ft. steel plate.

They chose a Wheelabrator 10-foot plate machine and an airless blast system that uses steel-shot abrasive to achieve a “near white blast finish,” according to Wheelabrator.

“Without the Wheelabrator airless blast system we at Katana, would not have the ability to see defects in our material prior to putting a number of man-hours into forming and welding our product,” said the Columbus plant manager Phil Norton.

After being transferred to the plate roll machine to form into a section, the sections undergo a welding process. The welded sections are then assembled to maximum shipping size and welded together. Next, these assemblies are taken to the air-blast room and placed on carts for rotation and blasting using steel grit abrasive.  The ring seams and joints are blasted and the rest of the assemblies are sweep-blasted. Finally, the blasted assemblies are moved on rails into the paint room for the coating application.

The system can handle both non-metallic and metallic abrasives, ranging in weight from 50 to 300 lbs. per cubic foot in.  Depending on the application, this capacity can range from 1 to 4 cubic feet of abrasive per minute over the length of the separator.  This allows a range of applications from precise finishing of delicate surfaces to the removal of difficult rust and heat-treat scale.

The air-blast room is described as a “full recovery” chamber, with a floor covered by steel grating, so cleaning up the abrasive is virtually necessary. And, Wheelabrator explains that its “Abrasive on Demand” system offers superior control of the grit or shot processing for surface preparation.

“The airless machine also helps keep our facility, equipment, and employees’ clean with all the dirt and scale being removed in the beginning of our process.  The air-blast room is also an essential part of our process for the required critical surface preparation prior to painting and the operation has had very little down-time,” added Norton.

Katana Industries Inc. has been able to improve the productivity of its fabricating operation, simplify maintenance, and reduce its material handling requirements. With a two-shift schedule and a maximum of six operators, they have made the most of their new air-blast room.