cleaning?

[Schu]

Yes yes its the young laddie again. With spring and summer coming up cleaning becomes more of an issue. How much cleaning to the machines should really be done in order to PREVENT breakdowns? Where should the cleaing be paid special attention too, and how much cleaing...weekly bi weekly monthly....We are a very busy center and dont get much time to shut down machines and clean them all day long....Any info would be great!

Schu-

[TheGMan143]

Re: cleaning?

Well... cleaning will do more to prevent nuisance trouble calls than breakdowns... one of the big advantages in the 'breakdowns' department is that while you're cleaning, you should be on the lookout for things that could cause a breakdown later on... things like bolts coming loose, cracks in components, worn/splitting belts, things like that.

For the cleaning end of things, give a lot of attention to the pin and ball handling areas... probably a good 50% or more of your 'stupid' trouble calls come from these areas... while you're doing do, inspect the assemblies for problems:

Distributor: Clean the belt so it's tacky enough to move pins, and make sure the pan in clean and free of gunk that could cause pins to stall when rolling off of it. Check the belt for wear/splitting at the running surface and at the lacers. Make sure that the nylon camwheel isn't warped or cracking, and that the followers are mounted securely.

Bin: Wipe all the dust off the guides and flat surfaces. Clean the pin holder surface of the shuttle (they should be clean and smooth to prevent pins dragging on them). Check for missing roller bearings on the #1 bin. Check the rubber pin guide mounts for cracks and breakage. Check the shuttle and pinholders for secure mounting and proper alignment. Check the bin stringers for cracks or 'breakout' at the pinholder mountings.

Pit: Wipe the carpet and sideplates down, clean the saddle/ball exit, and the ball lift belt. Check for cracks at the plows, broken sideplate fiber covers, and wear/fraying on the carpet. Check the cushion facing & rivets for wear, and check the plank, tubeweld, and blocks for wear, cracks, splintering, or breakage. Inspect the cushion shock/spring/plate for wear or breakage. Check the backend motor pan for signs of oil leakage. Check the wheel... make sure it's clean, smooth, and free of rust or oil drips. Check the pin retainers inside the wheel for secure mounting.

Table: get the dust out of it with a blower, a vacuum, or a damp cloth... dust and oil will mix and make a gunk that can cause cell binds. Clean the cell frames where the fingers slide on them. Inspect the table & X-frame for cracks or noticeable wear. Check the cells for secure mounting at the frames, and check all pivots for signs of being bent or worn. Wipe inner surfaces of the spotting cups (make sure pin handling surfaces are clean and smooth to keep pins from hanging up). Check for bent cups, cracks in the castings around the mounting u-bolts, and make sure everything is firmly mounted.

Front end: Wipe off old grease & oil drips (to prevent the gunk from falling on to the lane and getting carried into the machine or back to the bowler), inspect the sweep bar, rubber mounting blocks, nylon slides, and channel guards for cracking or fatigue. Check the motor/gbx pans for signs of oil leakage.

Motors/electrical: Use an air hose (make sure it has a water separator on it to keep from blowing condensed water into them) or blower (like a leaf blower or the exhaust of a shop-vac) to blow the dust out of the windings, and dust out the chassis.

Overall machine: Clean off oil drips and dust from the rear wheel cover and frame, distributor/crossframe, catwalks, and motor tops. The less dust laying around, the less gets sucked into motor windings and shaken into other assemblies. Wipe off excess grease/oil from the distributor pivots, distributor drive, & rear ball exit/paddle area. Clean & check the ball lift uptrack covers and dropsweep tracks for secure mounting and signs of wear, misalignment, or breakage. Check the wooden "toilet seats" where the track enters the underlane for centering and secure mounting.

Scoring (if applicable): Clean the cameras, sensor lenses, and emitters with "canned air" (don't use a compressor or blower, you might damage them). Check for proper alignment and secure electrical connections.

The biggest idea behind PM/Cleaning is to not only clean the machines, but to keep your eyes open for problems in the process. You don't have to down the whole center to do this stuff... take your slow times and do a few operations a day, on a couple of machines. Keep track of what was done and when. You will start to develop a rotating schedule that will get easier the more it's done, and will help you catch small problems before they become serious ones.

Good Luck!

[Mark_S]

Re: cleaning?

I thing Gman just about covered it there. We start at lane 1 and work up to lane 28 every time. Once we've finished we start again. The more you do it the easier it gets !

[ModelTech]

Re: cleaning?

Gman:



Once again, I am in awe of your attention to detail. What a great chief mechanic you must be. I'm hoping you don't mind if I make a book of all your tips (from the archives as well, I'm collecting it ALL). Our workshop books need to be updated, and the book of your 8270 tips will be one of our most valuable.

I promise not to sell it! [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

Doug

[Androooo]

Re: cleaning?

Yes, not bad for a part timer!! [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

Very well written out Gman. Tell me, did you actually write all that out, or do you have them saved in docs. and just copy and paste them when the topic comes up?? [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

[TheGMan143]

Re: cleaning?

Nope... I type 'em out from memory as needed... I started out as the 'low man' in the operation and worked my way up... most of these operations I've done so many times I'll be able to do them 2 years after I'm dead.

As for the typing... remember, my 'day job' was as a computer tech for a lot of years... on a good night, I can still hammer out 40-50+ wpm. [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

StuckInThePit: Feel free to copy the stuff... it's not private knowledge. Just don't give me credit for it... a lot of the stuff I know I learned from mechanics that were in the biz longer than I've been alive. The rest of it is just finding shortcuts to make life a little easier. Glad I can be of help...

[vinson]

Re: cleaning?

Way to go Gman, one thing I like to clean with is a California duster,red mop from the automotive store. Its treated but it sure cleans the bins nice witout cutting you hands up, any place there is just dust it works well.

[Don49er]

Re: cleaning?

Another thing you can do is get a piece of white cardboard(the kind coffee cups come in)cut a piece and put it under all your kicker assy and ball lift areas.Not only will this catch dirt but more importantly---metal and brass shavings will show up...showing you something is wearing and you can catch it before it gets too bad.

[TheGMan143]

Re: cleaning?

We do something similar to that... we recycle our old carpets:

we use strips of carpet belt that stretch from the tailplank to the back of the machines, and full-size pieces under the machine from front to back. "Lots easy" to clean under the machines, and to retrieve tools when the klutz mechanic drops 'em under the machine... [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]