I'm guessing they chose the absolute lowest bid for manufacturing. It's my experience, "you get what you pay for", applies more often than not.

All manufactures try to remove the leaving from their machining operations. Some do a better job then others. In case of most motors most manufactures have a short run in period after which the oil is to be changed. This oil change is to catch and remove debris that was left. As far as the carburetor and pump these can be a collection point for debris left behind by the manufactures of the devices connected to them. Our debris created during assembly. An example would pieces of threads broken of during the attachment of fittings.

Hello sese_norville

Please advise source country of the Pressure Washers.

That may assist in a more complete answer.

Kind Regards....

the pressure washer is sourced from Germany, and the manufacturer sources their engine from Japan.

A quick attention getter is to reject the items for the reasons stated, contact Manufacturer to arrange return shipment for cause.

However i notice that on inspecting new units, there are metal filings present in carburetors, pump housings and in one example; the crankcase. Is this typical of manufactured items?

Define "I notice"

is it by naked eye or touch etc..please advise product line and distribution network????

Please ask your O.E.M suppliers to wash the components like crankcases,carburetors,pump housings etc in industrial washing machines before assembling the pressure washers. Otherwise such garbage can create havoc.

Good morning sese norville.

What is your company's specification for these parts? Is there a caption on the part drawing or purchase order deascribing acceptable limits?

You do not define particle size, nor quantity, I'm presuming sufficent size and quantity to be easily available to the uinaided human eye. As others have pointed out some of the debris in the crankcase may indeed be a result of assembly.

However, there is certainly a small amount of metallic fines adhered to metallic machined parts entrained in the cutting oil/rust preventive unless the specification stated a washing requirement.

Larger "shavings" may in fact be burrs that were left on threads or at cut edges and which are mechanically displaced, separating off the parts during assembly. A fact finding inspection on incoming parts to quantify burrs will help you determine the level of this problem.

As others have mentioned/implied, purchasing agents that focus solely on lowest price can bring all sorts of new challenges for the folks in assembly, inspection, and ultimately the customers to deal with. You can't control purchasing agents, but By Golly You can write a clear specification that forbids what it is that you don't want, or requires a process path that will eliminate the issue...

Of course, then your PA might have to purchase from a company with higher quality and actually pay a FAIR PRICE, and thus have to satisfy themselves with a "normal profit." instead of one based on bait and switch quality ( You can trust our brand, but we reserve the right to buy crap and tell you its all good!).

milo

milo

Apart from the apparent QA/QC issue, you need to remove these, correct? If ferrous, they should be magnetic, and can be removed with a magnetic probe. If non-ferrous, you'll need a bit of creativity. And another trip here for suggestions...

As a machine re-builder I have opened up many cans of worms due to sloppy manufacturing standards. I don't consider it typical

any particles left will degrade bearings, rings ,bushings ,seals ,o-rings, etc. effect longevity or performance. Never buy a car built on a Monday was the joke in the 60's.

to remove debris in new products allot of shops still use air.... bad idea.It moves the junk around to other areas you cant see. don't they have a parts washing line?

there you hang the parts so that the debris always is washed out,works well in most paint lines.

after assembly different story

1. flooding with water or mineral spirits a good choice but the first tool of choice is the vacuum cleaner. combination of these will work but use an air vacuum not electric

2. magnet on ferrous chips

When I worked in manufacturing the rule is to get the right people involved that don't have a reason to cover their shortcomings. Set standards and enforce them. Get the workers to understand how important it is to ther future jobs. Quality control needs to document.

Good answer.

I have also given this some thought and I do feel that the company concerned should be informed, shown photos taken and asked what their stand is on the problem and how about sending an engineer out for a week to go through the stock and purge all the items displaying metal debris.

Those items with drebis, the serial numbers must be noted and the relevant people on the factory floor must be trained to make sure that this does not happen. As usually, a company must know who built what!!! If they do not know this information, that could mean your company should start looking for a new supplier.....and fast!!

I could go on at length about quality control, but I do feel that it is a subject on its own (most of us here have probably been involved in this area from time to time) and that the company concerned should be themselves concerned and start to take some action to stop this asap.....

If there are any language problems, I could mitigate if required, though with a German company that should not be necessary, unless you need to talk directly to the shop floor for any reason, then you will need someone skilled in Technical German....email me if you need help in any way via CR4 email....

I had a batch of shavings inside the workings of a few pallets of gear boxes received. After much push/pull you know the drill the conclusion was the gear boxes had been stored near a metal working machine while the store room was being expanded and that's how the shavings got inside.