Featured Engineered to Order Heavy Equipment Solutions

A heavy equipment service provider sought to become a certified partner for Caterpillar’s Certified Rebuild Program by upgrading its surface preparation capabilities. To meet Caterpillar’s stringent standards, the provider required an automated blast cabinet capable of delivering uniform, specification-grade cleaning of small to mid-sized components. The system had to remove paint, corrosion, oil, and mill scale to restore critical parts—such as brackets, rods, housings, and supports—to OEM-approved surface conditions, ensuring they were ready for inspection, coating, or reassembly.
Clemco collaborated with the service provider’s operations and quality teams to design a system that aligned with Caterpillar’s certification criteria and production throughput targets. Key elements of the design process included:
- Evaluating component types and materials used in Cat rebuilds to determine optimal blast profiles
- Designing robotic blast nozzles for precision and consistency across varying part geometries
- Creating a programmable interface (HMI) with recipe selection for repeatable job settings
- Integrating media reclamation and dust control systems to maintain abrasive purity and process cleanliness
- Ensuring the system met documentation and traceability standards required for certified rebuild audits
Clemco delivered a fully automated, industrial-grade blast cabinet built for Caterpillar rebuild compliance, featuring:
- Multi-axis robotic blasting arms for hands-free, precision blasting of high-value components
- A recipe-driven HMI control panel for streamlined setup, traceability, and part-specific blast cycles
- A robust abrasive recovery and classification system to ensure consistent media quality and cost efficiency
- Ergonomic loading fixtures and staging tools to reduce manual handling and improve throughput
- Full integration with the service provider’s quality assurance workflow, ensuring alignment with Caterpillar’s rigorous surface prep and documentation requirements
The solution enabled the provider to offer Caterpillar Certified Rebuilds with confidence—improving efficiency, consistency, and quality while meeting the demands of a global heavy equipment brand.

Certified Rebuilds

Caterpillar needed a robust, high-performance automated blast room to remove paint, rust, and mill scale from large-scale earth-moving equipment components—including frames, buckets, and hydraulic structures—as part of their remanufacturing and refurbishment operations. The process had to be powerful enough to strip tough surface contaminants while protecting critical tolerances and maximizing throughput across high-mix part volumes.
Clemco partnered with Caterpillar’s remanufacturing and facility engineering teams to develop a custom-engineered blast room that could operate continuously and handle the extreme demands of industrial equipment restoration. The design process focused on:
- Sizing the room for large, irregular parts with overhead crane access and drive-through capability
- Integrating automated blast nozzle gantries and motion systems for consistent, programmable coverage
- Selecting high-performance abrasive media and recovery systems suitable for aggressive surface removal
- Ensuring airflow, dust collection, and visibility met OSHA standards and supported extended operator comfort and equipment longevity
- Designing the system with rugged reliability and minimal downtime in mind to meet Caterpillar’s operational goals
Clemco delivered a fully enclosed, automated blast room equipped for Caterpillar’s high-volume remanufacturing needs, featuring:
- Robotic or semi-automated blast nozzle motion systems to reduce manual labor and ensure even blasting across large surfaces
- A high-efficiency media recovery and classification system to maintain abrasive performance and lower operating costs
- Heavy-duty part handling systems (rails, trolleys, or crane integration) for safe and efficient movement of bulky components
- Advanced dust collection, air handling, and lighting systems for clean, safe, and productive blasting conditions
- On-site training and system validation support to ensure seamless startup and ongoing system performance
The result was a rugged, high-capacity blasting solution that enabled Caterpillar to restore large components to OEM standards, extend product lifecycles, reduce material waste, and maintain the performance and reliability that define the Caterpillar brand.

High Output Blast Room

Recipe-Driven
Parts Blasting

A heavy equipment service provider required a compact, high-efficiency automated blast cabinet to remove paint, rust, and mill scale from smaller parts—such as brackets, pins, bushings, and hydraulic components—used in the remanufacturing and repair of earth-moving equipment. The goal was to achieve uniform surface preparation to restore parts to OEM-like condition while increasing throughput, reducing manual labor, and maintaining consistent finish quality across various part types.
The Clemco engineering team collaborated with the service provider’s operations and maintenance leads to develop a solution tailored to the shop’s diverse part inventory and high-mix workflows. The design process included:
- Identifying critical surface prep goals such as coating adhesion, weld inspection readiness, and rust removal
- Selecting abrasive media and pressure profiles optimized for carbon steel and alloy components
- Engineering a robotic nozzle system with programmable paths for consistent, repeatable coverage
- Designing modular fixturing to accommodate a range of part sizes and geometries
- Implementing a user-friendly HMI interface for quick job selection and cycle control
Clemco delivered a rugged, automated blast cabinet purpose-built for high-volume small-part refurbishment, featuring:
- Programmable robotic blasting arms for targeted, consistent cleaning of complex part surfaces
- A touchscreen HMI control panel with job-specific recipes to streamline operator input and changeovers
- High-efficiency media reclaim and dust filtration systems to extend media life and maintain optimal visibility
- Quick-load fixtures and adjustable shelves or turntables to process multiple parts per cycle
- Durable, industrial-grade construction for continuous-duty operation in demanding service environments
The result was a compact, automation-enabled blasting system that significantly improved productivity, reduced rework, and ensured OEM-grade surface quality—supporting the service provider’s mission to restore equipment performance and extend asset lifespans.