Roe Machining Company
Johnston City, Illinois
Brent Engel
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Roe Machine is a machine shop that specializes in the construction of
steel racks for the automotive industry. These steel racks are manufactured
for a variety of automotive manufactures for a host of different uses.
The machine shop got its start in the industry of coalmine equipment repair,
rebuild, and construction. Roe machine consists of a mix of machinists,
welders and painters that work on projects that begin with raw material
and end with a finished product. The facility consists of three buildings
that house the operation.
The intern project was proposed to help the machine shop with some housekeeping
issues, hazardous waste reduction, and energy efficiency. These included
finding recycling sources for the material that is surrounding the facility,
locating an alternative coating for the solvent based coating used in
process, and investigating all aspects of energy consumption on-site.
Result:
- Housekeeping. The intern identified recycling options for scrap steel,
pallets, wood, plastic, tires, and computers. Steel recycling yielded
$7,800 from 260 tons of steel that were removed from the facility. Five
8’x20’ trailer loads of pallets and scrap wood and five
pickup truck loads of HPDE 2 plastics were taken to a local recycler.
Over 150 used tires were taken to a tire collection event for recycling.
Five obsolete computers and four old printers were recycled at a local
recycler. A listing of contacts has been developed for all of the recycling
services for future reference.
- Alternative Coatings. Water based coatings were tested and found
to be a feasible alternative for the solvent based coatings with an
annual savings of $1300. Additionally, powder coating was evaluated
and estimated to have equipment cost payback between 2.5 to 3.5 years.
Utilizing a powder coating system would have a projected annual savings
over $13900.
- Energy Efficiency. The intern added a water trap, regular maintenance
schedule, and reduced the operating air pressure of the compressed air
system by 10 psi to net an annual savings over $1800. A project to improve
lighting quality in the facility revealed that retro-fitting the T12
fluorescent bulbs with T8 fixtures would result in a yearly energy savings
over $500 with a payback period of 3 years.
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