Great Lakes Steel in Ecorse Michigan needed to reduce the cost of carbon brushes for their electrogalvanizing line, which applies galvanizing plating on rolled steel. The line was originally built by a Japanese company, and includes 44 collector heads, each of which have 40 brush assemblies. The heads carry about 12,500 amps, which run through liquid at a high current. Great Lakes Steel had been purchasing its brushes from the Japanese company that had manufactured the equipment and was using 200 brushes each month. High shipping costs and delivery delays resulted in additional costs and production line down time. By using Helwig Carbon, Great Lakes Steel has reduced brush costs as well as maintenance, labor and downtime for changing brushes by 50%.
Helwig Carbon was asked to determine whether they could provide brushes for the collector heads that would increase productivity and lower costs. Helwig Carbon evaluated the copper and graphite content of the brushes to find an appropriate ratio that would allow optimum electrical conductivity through the copper and extended brush life with increased graphite.
With Helwig’s recommended mix of copper and graphite in the new brushes, Great Lakes Steel found that the brush life doubled, resulting in significantly lower costs. In addition, the delivery time decreased from 8-10 weeks from the Japanese manufacturer to a few business days with domestic deliveries from Helwig.
“Why buy your replacement parts from overseas when you can get them from a reliable source here in the U.S.?” said Mike Grabarkiewicz, electrical planner for Great Lakes Steel. “Helwig Carbon offers exceptional turnaround time, flexibility, design engineering, easy reordering and significant cost savings - in part costs, production efficiency and machinery dependability. Plus, I’m confident that Helwig Carbon will be around for years to come.”
Helwig Carbon Products, Inc. produces top quality carbon brushes, brush holders and mechanical carbons for thousands of customers all over the world. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.helwigcarbon.com or call them at 800-962-4851.