Smarter Faces For Automotive Instrument Maker Thanks To Ultrawave

Introduction

Caerbont Automotive Instruments, based in South Wales, is a specialist manufacturer of instruments such as speedometers, rev counters, fuel and temperature gauges. The company’s Smiths Instruments range features in niche car brands including Morgan, Caterham, Noble and Aston Martin.

The instruments are also regularly fitted to motorcycles, camper vans and in marine and industrial applications. Alongside modern ranges, heritage designs are produced for use in classic vehicles, with custom production to suit the needs of vehicle restorers.

Challenges

Many of the components that make up an instrument are prepared from metal pressings. And key parts, particularly the instrument face, need to be spray painted to a high standard of finish. Caerbont Automotive was using a water based cleaner, which sometimes led to poor paint finishes and quality control issues.

Solutions

The Ultrawave team visited Caerbont’s production facility to completely understand their processes. Sample pressings were taken for cleaning trials at the Ultrawave labs, ensuring that the right product could be recommended to meet the customer’s precise needs.

Caerbont Automotive installed two Ultrawave SDX160 ultrasonic cleaning systems, with ancillary pump and filtration. The pressed components are now cleaned using the new equipment, doing away with the need for the previous water based system. As a result, the components are more effectively degreased and cleaned, ensuring an improved spray paint adhesion and a better finish.

Managing director of Caerbont Automotive, Gavin Roberts commented: “We make a lot of pressings to create components for our instruments, and these need to be cleaned before spraying. As a result of Ultrawave equipment, we are now able to clean these more effectively and efficiently, resulting in better paint adhesion.”

Find out more about Ultrawave Ultrasonic Cleaning For Automotive Manufacturing here.