Create a Custom Wire Basket for Washing Steel Tubes and Spindles

Marlin Steel manufactures custom wire baskets, along with many other custom wire products. One of our customers required a custom wire rack for the purpose of washing steel tubes and spindles. Based on the customer's unique requirements, we engineered a unique solution to optimize their flow and reduce their scrap - saving money in labor, chemicals and rework.

What Is the Opportunity?

Our customer needed a new basket to wash steel tubes and steel spindles, with various design and feature requirements. 

Some of the client’s existing design limitations the customer wanted improvements for included:

• The inability to separate each part of the wire basket for optimal washing
• The basket's dimensions were too large to fit multiple baskets in the washer
• Critical dimensions or constraints reached a maximum diameter of 660 mm, which should fit four square baskets

The customer also needed the following features included with their custom wire basket:

• Handles
• Vertical stacking
• 2" x 2" horizontal stacking
• A slight lift off the ground for oil drainage
• The ability to slide the basket across flat metal without lifting

Additionally, the custom wire basket needed to meet several wash and dry cycle requirements, including:

• The ability to hold up to 2115 soap and oils from CNC lathe residue left on parts
• Resistance to temperatures of around 150 to 200° F
• A chemical concentration of 5 to 10%
• A chemical pH of 9.6 to 9.8

What Is the Solution?

To meet our customer's unique requirements, we developed a completely customized solution. Our custom mesh wire basket solved the issues the customer was experiencing.

For example, our customer faced the problem of having each punched-out component touching each other in the basket. Because the components were too close in proximity to each other, they were harder to clean. By developing individual cavities in the basket and giving enough space for each component, it was easier to clean them.

As a result, our customer no longer needed to run as many wash cycles, reducing the use of detergent and chemicals along with the number of labor hours. This also allowed for faster ship dates due to the need for one wash as opposed to three, enabling the customer to get products out and shipped to clients much more quickly.

Marlin engineered all of the basket's cavities to facilitate this.

What Are the Final Results?

After completing the design and production of the custom wire basket, our customer got the results they wanted. They were very happy and pleased with this particular order and no longer needed to let anyone go to cut costs.

The introduction of the custom wire baskets led to more efficient cleaning, which subsequently led to a reduced need for quality inspectors. Meanwhile, the CFO was significantly happier because of the ability to increase the speed of cash conversion. 

Another advantage of working with us as their wire basket manufacturer was the ability to avoid buying a brand new machine or hiring anyone. In turn, the customer saved a lot of money while optimizing overall efficiency.

Custom Wire Baskets and More from Marlin Steel

20% of our team are degreed engineers - we are standing by to create an innovative basket to improve your flow and let you hit your deadlines fast with a custom wire basket or another custom wire product to their specifications. To learn more about what we can do for you and to get started on your next project, contact us today or request a quote.