The line runs in cycles of seconds. The cleaning has to keep up.

Continuous Cleaning Systems

In series production, cleaning is not a process of its own but a step between two others. It has to follow the cycle of the line — not the other way round. (On the market also called a pass-through washer.)

Request a system design

What it is built for

The machine type for continuous flow

That shifts the question: not how thoroughly cleaning can be done in the shortest possible time, but how the component gets through the system at all without interrupting the flow. At cycles on the order of 20 to 30 seconds, no batch process holds up any more — it takes continuous material flow, and that calls for a range of parts that is fixed at the system planning stage. That does not mean identical parts: which variants can run over one system together is decided by the system design.

High production volumes
Continuous material flow instead of batch.
Short cycle times
On the order of seconds, not minutes — roughly 20 to 30 seconds.
Integration into production lines
Successive zones instead of one chamber, designed for a defined range of parts.

From that follows the continuous cleaning system: successive zones instead of one chamber. The parts do not wait — they flow. We design the system for your cycle time, not the other way round. A chamber cleaning system works in the range of several minutes per cycle — this order of magnitude usually already tells which machine type fits.

Typical workpieces

Aluminum die casting and steel parts in series

Aluminum die-cast parts and steel parts in series. Typical contamination: oil, emulsion, chips, dust.

A continuous cleaning system is designed for a defined range of parts — that does not mean identical parts. Whether several variants can run over one system together is decided by the system design: workpiece fixture and part positioning, the process stations, the nozzle and process design, program and cycle strategy. A workpiece carrier can be deliberately designed so that it takes several variants. If, on the other hand, your range of parts changes constantly and unpredictably, you are better off economically with the chamber cleaning system — and that is what we tell you in the conversation, too.

Configuration and operating principle

The design of the zones decides the result

Because the treatment time per part is short, the design of the zones decides the result — not a longer dwell time. This is exactly where the actual engineering work on this machine type lies.

Outlet side of a continuous cleaning system: two blue strip curtains close the tunnel openings, in front of them the components run out on mesh belts; on top of the system sit side channel blowers and the exhaust air ducting — Inlet and outlet of a compact continuous cleaning system: the components pass through on the belt, the strip curtains keep the process medium in the tunnel.

Long side of a continuous cleaning system on a base frame: a row of lockable maintenance hatches along the entire length, above them two blue blowers with piping, on the left the belt inlet — The same machine type from the long side. The maintenance hatches run along the entire length — what looks like a tunnel from the outside is divided into zones inside.

Media routing on the long side of a parts cleaning system: two riser pipes carry green labels reading “Spülen I” and “Spülen II” (rinsing I and II), the horizontal pipe below is marked “Frischwasser” (fresh water); in between shut-off valves, a pressure gauge and the locking levers of the maintenance hatches — Labeled media routing on the long side of the system. Anyone standing at the system sees without a circuit diagram which line supplies which stage.

Multi-chamber cleaning line running the length of the hall: treatment chambers in a row with maintenance hatches, above them piping and side channel blowers, in front of them filter housings, pumps and the control cabinet — A line across the length of the hall: the more zones the task calls for, the longer the system becomes. We set the cycle time via the machine length, not via a longer dwell time in the bath — that is the difference from the chamber cleaning system.

01CleaningSpread over successive zones.
02RinsingAs a zone of its own in the tunnel.
03DryingRecirculated air, infrared or vacuum drying.
04Second rinsingje nach AuslegungDepending on the requirement.
05Second drying, air blow-off or vacuum dryingje nach AuslegungAdditional zone for high requirements.

Transport runs via a chain whose return is guided inside the tunnel — the system is therefore shorter and the return stays enclosed. The transport speed is variable, the zones are built as several stations in succession.

We set the cycle time via the machine length, not via the dwell time in the bath. That way the system adapts to the upstream and downstream machines — the manufacturing process is neither interrupted nor delayed. That is the actual lever of this machine type: the system follows your line, not your line the system.

The system works largely without exhaust air; a soundproof enclosure is part of the technical scope.

Configurations

Besides the straight continuous section, special configurations as O-type or U-type are possible — useful when loading and unloading are to be at the same place, or when the hall layout does not allow a straight section. To increase throughput, multi-lane variants are possible.

Optional subassemblies

01
Drying
Vacuum drying, infrared drying or recirculated air.
02
Conveying principle
Inline, overhead or O-type conveying.
03
High-pressure cleaning
As an additional station.
04
Cycle operation
Instead of continuous flow.
05
Media maintenance
Water treatment system, oil separator, centrifuge, evaporator.
06
Automation
Loading and unloading solutions.

For maintenance and repair: the nozzle bars are fixed and adjusted via a nozzle clip system — they can be readjusted and replaced without disassembly.

What we design for you

There is no standard continuous cleaning system

What we clarify before design engineering — only once that is settled do we decide on the method, filtration technology, drying and water treatment.

Your component
Geometry, complexity, size, blind holes and through-holes, material.
The contamination
Type, amount, required residual contamination values.
Your production
Cycle time and throughput, machine length, number and sequence of zones, configuration (straight, O-type or U-type, single- or multi-lane), conveying principle, drying section, line connection, whether deburring is additionally needed.
Water and media
Chemistry specifications, passivation, water quality, treatment, circuits and recovery.

Automation and line connection

Process and connection from the same contact

The continuous cleaning system is the machine type that is most often part of a larger chain — and we supply the chain with it. We plan and integrate the material flow and conveying — roller conveyors, chain and belt conveyors, workpiece carrier systems, special conveying — and the material flow concept behind it: line integration, buffer sections, transfer stations, cycle coordination.

Automation & Robotics

Where the limits are

When another machine type is the better fit

The continuous-flow principle and the rotary indexing principle both achieve short cycles, but for different reasons: the rotary indexing system gains its time because loading and unloading run in parallel with processing. The continuous cleaning system gains it through the continuous flow. With complex geometries and many blind holes, pure spraying reaches its limits — then we examine immersion or flooding processes.

01
Chamber cleaning system
For small to medium production volumes, a changing range of parts, or when several minutes per cycle are permissible.
02
Rotary indexing cleaning system
For a defined production process without line connection.
03
Immersion cleaning system
When the component has to be fully immersed.
04
Water jet deburring
When burrs additionally have to be removed.

Chamber Cleaning Systems Rotary Indexing Cleaning Systems Immersion Cleaning Systems Water Jet Deburring

Scope of supply

Vertical integration and digital lifecycle

Vertical integration Digital system lifecycle

Questions and answers

Frequently asked questions about the continuous cleaning system

What is a continuous cleaning system?

A system that guides workpieces continuously or in cycles through washing, rinsing and drying zones. Transport runs via a chain whose return is guided inside the tunnel — the system is therefore shorter. Its argument is throughput: high production volumes with a defined range of parts, cycles on the order of seconds. It is intended for integration into an existing line, not for batch operation.

Can different components be cleaned on a continuous cleaning system?

Depending on the system design, yes — but not arbitrarily. How many different components can be processed on one system cannot be pinned down to a single number. What is decisive are the features the components have in common and the possibilities of designing workpiece carriers, grippers, programs, process parameters and, where necessary, tool or fixture changes accordingly. Added to that are part geometry, workpiece fixture and positioning, the process stations, the nozzle and process design as well as program and cycle strategy. Depending on the project, further means come into question: several fixture positions, differently designed workpiece carriers, adapted nozzle and process positions, a program and recipe selection of its own, an adapted transport and cycle strategy, and where necessary part recognition or changeover options. None of these functions is automatically built into every system — they are means of the project-specific system design. Which components can run over one system together is therefore something we already define at the system planning stage.

Which conveying principles are possible?

Inline, overhead or O-type conveying. The conveying principle is a design factor, not a fixed property of the machine type — it follows from the component, the cycle time and the line the system goes into. On the same level lie the number and sequence of zones, the drying section and the question of whether the system runs continuously or in cycle operation.

Can a continuous cleaning system be integrated into an existing line?

Yes — the continuous cleaning system is the machine type that is most often part of a larger chain, and we supply the chain with it. We plan and integrate the material flow and conveying — roller conveyors, chain and belt conveyors, workpiece carrier systems, special conveying — and the material flow concept behind it: line integration, buffer sections, transfer stations, cycle coordination.

Applications

Components on which this system design is decided

9 worked-out tasks name the continuous cleaning system as a possible concept. What tips the balance in each of them is on its own page.

Each case sets out the design factors, the possible system concepts and the methods in detail — here you only find what it is about.

Cylinder head

The spray jet hits what it sees — and what it does not see only becomes visible in the residual contamination verification.

Gearbox housing

Internal channels and bore intersections decide the method on the gearbox housing: spraying creates a spray shadow, not every surface can be reached. The more complex the geometry, the sooner immersion and flooding come into question instead of spraying.

Hydraulic manifold

A hydraulic manifold is not only installed, it carries flow — what stays in the channel stays in the system.

Valve block

Blind holes and branching channels are exactly the places a spray jet does not reach: it hits what it sees.

Also with a continuous cleaning system as a possible concept: CrankshaftAluminum die-cast partHigh technical cleanlinessMultiple part variantsMulti-stage cleaning process

None of these cases inevitably leads to the continuous cleaning system. Which concept it becomes arises from the interplay of the design factors — the machine type is the result of the system design, not its starting point.

All applications

Direct contact

AddressITR GmbH powered by Zippel
Hauptstraße 31
93186 Pettendorf
Pettendorf bei Regensburg

Phone+49 (0) 9409-777 3598
Fax +49 (0) 9409-777 3607

Emailinfo@itr-anlagenbau.com

Technically responsible for this page: Fikret Önal — Managing Director

High production volumes

Short cycle times

Integration into production lines

Configurations

Optional subassemblies

Drying

Conveying principle

High-pressure cleaning

Cycle operation

Media maintenance

Automation

Your component

The contamination

Your production

Water and media

Chamber cleaning system

Rotary indexing cleaning system

Immersion cleaning system

Water jet deburring