Hiler Industries,Walkerton, IN, contacted Roberts Sinto Corp. to find ways to improve the safety and productivity of its grinding and casting operations. Hiler produces shell mold castings at foundries in Kingsbury and La Porte, IN, and its cleaning division is in Walkerton.

David Frazier, Hiler’s plant manager at Walkerton, explains: “Dan Luck, v.p. of manufacturing for Hiler, ordered six 400 series Barinder grinders, three with indexes in 2003 and 2004. Compared to hand grinding of some castings, using the Barinders has increased our production levels by 30-50%.

“We use the Barinder 400s for a variety of casting sizes, ranging from about 1 lb up to 30 lb,” Frazier continued. “The machines clean brass and gray and ductile iron castings that we supply to automotive, agriculture, electrical, heavy-duty industrial, and air-conditioning manufacturers. Average cycle times for cleaning castings using the Barinders are 30 to 60 seconds for single parts. Some parts with multiple component fixtures can be cleaned at an average of 15 seconds per part, depending on the part complexity.”

The Barinder creates a safer, cleaner environment because grinding is completely enclosed, which reduces dust and eliminates the various problems associated with hand grinding.

“We use the grinder primarily for gate and flash removal, and we find the Barinder’s performance repeatable and very dependable,” Frazier concludes.