Imagine walking into a factory. A huge brick building, several stories high, with large open spaces inside containing rows of manufacturing equipment. What do you think of when you think of industry? Machines clanging? Conveyor belts moving? Sparks flying? The wonderful smell of machine oil as parts move together? Men in goggles and safety helmets pulling levers and watching gauges?
What about… baskets? Yes, stainless steel baskets. A variety of industries use custom wire baskets for all sorts of purposes: dipping products into chemicals to be treated, holding items to be cleaned, sorting small parts where they can be organized easily. These baskets are versatile enough to be used throughout industry, in manufacturing anything from monstrous machines to surgical scalpels.
In fact, Three M Tool, a company based in York, PA, makes custom wire baskets suited to whatever needs an industry has, with over 50 years of experience. Manufacturers across the nation purchase these, choosing from a variety of materials, finishes, and sizes. Then Three M custom builds the basket to send to the manufacturer. CAD technology ensures accurate design for production.
Several companies that make medical and pharmaceutical equipment use these baskets. So amidst all the messy, oily, greasiness of industry, these baskets can also be used for very clean work. Ultrasonic cleaning, a high-tech, very method of cleaning minute particles from parts, is often used for medical equipment. Parts are placed in a basket or canister, which is then placed in a tank containing a chemical. An ultrasonic wave creates tiny bubbles in the chemical; these bubbles clean the parts so they’re sparkling and shiny and ready to be used.
But industry does also have the messy, oily, greasy side. Manufacturers of heavy equipment can use these baskets to keep similar parts together and out of the way of dripping grease. Some baskets are specially made for dipping into a chemical such as a degreaser to remove scum from parts. Three M baskets can be built tough of high grade stainless steel wire mesh, resistant to corrosion, able to withstand strong chemicals. Special finishes, such as nylon or teflon powder, protect parts from abrasion.
Such world-renowned companies as Michelin and Caterpillar use wire baskets made by Three M. If you walk into the monstrous factory of a large-scale manufacturing industry, you will probably find baskets of some sort being used for many different purposes. Amid the vehicle frames moving down the assembly line, the welding sparks flying, everything else you see, look around. Mounted on the wall, hanging from a crane for dipping, sliding into a tank of a chemical solution for cleaning, whatever the use, these baskets turn up being used in many ways and definitely come in handy.
If you think your company could benefit from custom-designed wire baskets (and there are so many uses for them), visit Three M Tool’s website. They offer an idea catalog with suggestions for use, descriptions of materials and finishes used, and pictures of some of their products.
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