Hydraulics shines in touchless car wash
Automatic car-wash systems used to be built with engineering taking a back seat to price. But as car-wash owners realized the profit potential in higher quality and productivity, they began to demand more up-time, faster wash cycles, and cleaner cars.
That led car-wash manufacturer D&S Manufacturing Inc. to team with fluid-power distributor John Henry Foster Co. (JHF) and redesign the hydraulics controlling the wash-and-rinse process. The goal of these St. Louis-based companies, according to Dave Benedict, D&S CEO, was to use higher-quality components that would improve performance while holding the line on price.
IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH 1The D&S 5000 is a high-pressure brushless car wash. A hydraulically controlled gantry passes over vehicles to automatically wash, rinse, and apply polishes and protectants.
A two-station Series D03 manifold controls hydraulics on the Super 5000 car wash.