As a supplier of mass finishing and shot blasting equipment as well as consumables and service, Rosler understands the need for multi-faceted operations and the corresponding flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and innovation required to be successful.
B+S Metallbearbeitung GmbH (B+S), a job shop based in Southern Germany, also provides various surface finishing services. Its multi-faceted mass finishing operations include deburring and polishing as well as shot blasting, part cleaning, and packaging.
B+S handles a broad range of work pieces with different shapes, made of different materials, requiring different finishes, and coming from all kinds of industries. To create a streamlined and one-stop supplier, B+S chose to work with Rosler for its surface finishing equipment and consumables.
The Situation
The beginning of B+S dates back to 1959 and its founding by Herbert Bickel as a mechanical surface treatment job shop. Mustafa Sahin joined the company in 1991, purchased a 50% share of the company in 2004, and became its general manager in 2007.
Upon entering his leadership role, Sahin quickly recognized the need to replace outdated equipment with modern machinery in an effort to remain competitive and run the business successfully.
To strengthen the company’s competitive position in the market, he also decided to expand the service portfolio with additional finishing operations. An important aspect of this expansion strategy was to process the customer’s work pieces safely and consistently and to use high-quality equipment that could be operated around the clock.
The Solution
“I talked with different suppliers of mass finishing equipment. Among them was a Rosler employee,” Sahin said. “I was impressed by the broad Rosler equipment range and its excellent engineering of high-performance machines, which can be utilized for all kinds of finishing tasks.
“Another important consideration was that Rosler produces all its mass finishing consumables in-house. This means that equipment, media, and compounds can be perfectly adapted to our requirements and that I can resort anytime to the experience and know-how of the Rosler test lab.
“Above all, the relationship with our colleagues from Rosler is excellent,” he said.
In 2008, Sahin decided to purchase a linear, continuous flow mass finishing vibrator model R 425/6600 DA, that was technically adapted to the company’s requirements.
“I assumed that the quality of the shot blast equipment was comparable to the excellent quality of the mass finishing machinery,” Sahin said. “Through intensive consultations and the deep knowledge about shot blasting we could gain through our discussions with the Rosler experts, we determined that a continuous flow shot blast machine was the right product for us.”
In subsequent years, the company purchased two additional continuous flow machines, 14 rotary vibrators, and 3 centrifugal disc finishing machines, all from Rosler Germany in Untermerzbach.
The Advantages
A major characteristic of the shot blasting process is that the equipment is subject to considerable wear. Therefore, good technical service with short turnaround times were key factors in Sahin’s decision to purchase Rosler equipment.
Beyond the machinery itself, Rosler’s ability to provide good technical service and short turnaround times were key factors in extending B+S’ service package with the help of Rosler’s shot blasting equipment.
“As a job shop, we cannot afford long wait times for a service engineer and spare parts,” Sahin said.
Since successfully adding shot blasting services, B+S has purchased an additional six shot blasting machines from Rosler.
“Generally, shot blast equipment is subject to significant wear. Therefore, depending on how intensively they are used, we are selling our shot blast machines after 3-5 years as used equipment,” Sahin said. “This allows us to always be technologically up-to-date and to offer our customers the best possible results at competitive prices.”
One of the updated technology offerings at B+S is the Wire Mesh Belt Machine (shown in the main image above). This shot blasting machine is well suited for all-round, complete, and continuous blasting treatment of flat as well as voluminous and very complex components. It is ideal for a job shop that handles a variety of products.
The shot blasting technology in use at B+S also allows for versatile finishing operations of the aluminum, steel, stainless steel, magnesium, copper, brass, and plastic components.
The most common shot blasting processes include:
- Surface cleaning to descale work pieces after forging, casting, or heat treatment. This process usually creates a rougher surface.
- Surface texturing as preparation for coating to allow for better adhesion of the coating material.
- Cosmetic blasting and texturing to place a very fine, matte, anti-glare finish on the work pieces.
- Preliminary surface smoothing of additively manufactured (3D printed) parts. While shot blasting normally makes a surface rougher, 3D printed parts have a very rough initial surface. Shot blasting provides a smoothing effect on these work pieces and is often used in preparation for mass finishing.
- Shot peening to induce compressive stress in a work piece’s surface, making it more resistant to general wear and corrosion stress cracking.
These comprehensive services appeal to the job shop’s wide client assortment including car manufacturers and automotive suppliers, machinery building companies, furniture manufacturers, medical engineering companies, foundries, and stamping companies.
The Expansion
With the work piece cleanliness requirements becoming more demanding, the company took advantage of another opportunity to expand its service portfolio.
“In numerous conversations with our customers, we learned that many companies wanted to outsource the cleaning of their work pieces and that they were looking for a reliable job shop for this service,” he said. “We found that work piece cleaning was an excellent opportunity to expand our surface treatment activities.”
After comprehensive research and thorough market analysis, B+S chose a water-based cleaning system from Rosler. The work piece cleaning operations take place in conjunction with mass finishing, shot blasting, and packaging. Cleaning services are also offered separately and have become one of the company’s core competencies.
Since Rosler was already familiar with B+S’ existing processes, the integration of cleaning technology was easily achieved.
“Our success in the field of mechanical surface treatment depends on the right equipment, the best consumables, and knowledgeable partners who can inform us about the latest developments and provide a comprehensive knowledge transfer,” Sahin said. “We get all this from a single source with Rosler.”
The Rosler Way
Decades of experience and the ability to design, service, and maintain machines as well as provide the consumables and accessories required to get the finish you require make Rosler a well-rounded, single source for surface finishing expertise. Contact us to discuss your mass finishing and shot blasting needs.