Filament Winding Spindle Modification Filament Winding Spindle Repair - Air purge spindle modifications cut downtime by 800%

To determine the cause of shortened spindle life, a team of Gilman engineers interviewed the manufacturer and conducted an exhaustive investigation of parts, processes and environmental conditions. The “customer- manufacturer” investigation team concluded the following: during the 30,000 RPM filament winding operation, fine dust-like particles of filament material were becoming airborne. Upon entering and contaminating the bearing chamber, these particles were creating friction and destroying the bearings. After isolating the cause, Gilman engineers offered a creative solution to increase spindle life: they modified the housing by drilling passageways to allow for low-pressure, clean, dry air to be pumped into the bearing case, pressurizing the area. The pressurized airflow forced the contaminants out of the bearing case, achieving a substantial increase in spindle life consistent with the customer’s original 24-month specification. With the contamination problem solved, the spindle was repaired. Finally, Gilman Spindle Service proposed a phased replacement program to ensure that the hundreds of spindles involvedin the filament winding process were modified on a systematic basis, sparing the costly inconvenience of shutting down production.