Industry
Programming automated tooling machine “ 112 I PC APRIL/MAY 2014
Polished crankshafts
Parts assembly
The famous water fountain display in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas is powered by a series of Maruyama produced pumps
these machines often wouldn’t start and I’d spend inordinate amounts of time and a growing frustration trying to get them going. Little did I know that Maruyama are also a
leading global pump manufacturer, something they became a market leader in soon after the Second World War. At the end of the war, they were left with a large stock of unused artillery shell cases in the factories, so they used the housings as pressure vessels to manufacture their pumps into forcibly activated flat valve system sprayers. From there, they developed the world’s lightest forced-valve high-speed power sprayer called ‘Hope’. In fact, the famous water fountain display
in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas is powered by a series of Maruyama produced pumps. Another interesting fact is that nearly 90% of the car wash pumps in the US are also powered by their pumps. The core business for Maruyama is pump technology and their systems are used in wide ranging industries, including landscape, sports and agriculture. In horticulture the development of ‘Cherry’, was the world’s first backpack power sprayer back in 1961. In 1979, the company started to install
automated systems and industrial robots to carry out the moulding, drilling and welding required on the various product ranges. Today, successive machines have automated tool changing and wear adjustment sensors, enabling tolerances to be measured to 10,000ths of an inch. The equipment is considered ‘worn-out’ if it doesn’t measure up, and is quickly replaced. The tooling equipment and robotics are made by, you probably guessed, Japanese giants such as Okuma and Hitachi. While automation means that parts are
precisely manufactured, human touch is still required for inspection, hand-finishing and, of course, assembly of the parts. In the last twenty-five years, the factory
has produced more than 5 million engines; now at a rate of nearly 350,000 per year. The entry into the market of their own
Dave Saltman and Jacques Shelton
brand 2-stroke machinery came quite late though, in fact, not until the mid-eighties, although Maruyama had been manufacturing some equipment for other
companies previously. The development of their cutting edge 2-stroke equipment has been rapid ever since, with their patented fuel efficient and noise reduced equipment meeting even the strict Californian emission control standards. For instance, the CER and Venom series 2-
stroke engines offer the revolutionary HERE (High Efficiency Recirculator Engine) technology. These engines comfortably meet or exceed current Tier3/Phase3 CARB and EPA engine regulations. The CER models use fewer components and a proven, less-costly single-venturi rotary carburettor. The most significant change though is internal; a pair of recirculator grooves across the exhaust face of the piston. This allows the engines to produce excellent power and torque characteristics with fuel economy as much as 50% lower than prior models. It should also be noted that Maruyama are
still producing their range as 2-stroke engines that consistently outperform their competitors who have had to move to 4- cycle equipment to keep within the new legal guidelines on emissions. This enables the equipment to remain lighter and more efficient than similar, competitive models. The reason for the high quality builds is
more widespread than just this, as already touched upon above; the entire manufacturing process is carried out within the factory complex, allowing quality control to function efficiently throughout the process. From the tooling of the crankshaft casing, the five step system of tooling, polishing, coating, chroming and re-polishing of the crank helps to produce an engine that has seamless joints and two piston ringed cylinders. When each machine leaves the production line, it offers the end user a durable and robust life of reliability, something that Maruyama US are so confident about that they offer a 5-year commercial warranty on the engines. My historic issues with 2-stroke machinery (usually purchased from the better known brands) were generally engine and carburettor led, although other bits would invariably fall apart as well. As a contractor, I would price in my 2-stroke machinery requirements based as annual consumable
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