Shot Blast Cleaning Machine.--Through the application of a special process for the internal cleaning of engine blocks, Ford Motor Company has practically ruled out the possibility of engine trouble developing due to inadequate block cleaning, Logan Miller, general manager, Rouge Division, said.
The process employs a new shot blast cleaning machine that is the first of its kind in the automotive industry. It guarantees additional protection against core sand remaining in the internal cylinder block water passages.
The new pressure blast machine supplements conventional equipment now in use to remove burnt core and molding sand and scale from interior and exterior surfaces of the motor block casting.
Ford ultimately plans to equip each of the production foundry's motor block cleaning systems with the new compressed air blast cabinets.
The installation provides the latest known means of insuring removal of core sand and foreign material left inside the block following casting.
Possibility of obstructions developing in water circulation, thereby creating faulty or broken cylinder blocks in cars during operation is minimized.
The new blasting technique works this way: Motor blocks to be blasted are brought by conveyor one at a time into the blast cabinet. Two work positioning arms, one for each side of the casting, register the block in correct position for applying the blast of shot. The blast is blown through sixteen nozzles under air pressure of 85 pounds per square inch.
The air-driven shot strikes hidden sand or scale, freeing it from the metal's surface. The loosened material then can be removed from the block's interior.
Surfaces of the water jacket, crevices and thin sectional openings are blasted clean--exposing bright virgin metal to the cooling water circulated from the radiator.
The material used in the blast process consists of iron or steel shot and grit. The air blast equipment operates automatically, the blast period being controlled by an automatic timer.
As a result of this efficient internal cleaning, water passages in the block are smooth and free from flow interferences and restllt in cooler operation of the engine, particularly at heavy loads.