Otec ECO-Maxi

Is there anyone on the list that is using an Otec ECO-Maxi? If yes,
what are you using it for, how is it being used, how well does it
work, and would it be useful for a college with about a hundred
students.

Thanks for any feedback

Dear All,

I have an ECO maxi for 2 years. I was the first in the Netherlands
to have this type of machine. There where some what we cal start up
problems. But the manufacturer has modified al changes, and I can
say the machine is now very good developed.

I use this machine for almost anything. It is a really space saver.
I became a fan of the magnetic finisher. This runs great on polishing
titanium tubing and earring. Also I use this machine for small
series of cast silver. By wet grinding in two steps and after that
dry polishing with walnut shell. It safes me a lot of time.

The machine is also fast, the process times are 3-5 times shorter
than with barrel polishing. But look at www.OTEC.de for more

If you need to now more please ask specific questions

Greetings
Martin Niemeijer
Ndesign
Cultuurwerkplaats R10
Rieteweg 10
8041 AK, Zwolle
The Netherlands
info@ndesign.nl ;www.ndesign.nl
Phone +31 (0) 38 7501258
Mobile phone +31 (0) 651831576

A little off topic here, but I have an Otec Eco Mini dry polisher, I
use it mainly for final touch up after polishing repairs and to clean
up shop stock. The only problem I have with it is that there seems
to be a static build up of the walnut shell which causes it to fly
out of the top of the machine during use, easily solved by putting a
lid on it, but now it has started to loose the shell through the
bottom of the machine, so much so that I have to have it standing in
a 10ltr tupperware box to catch the walnut shell as it falls through.
It is only just a year old, Has anyone else had any problems like
this?

All this aside the Eco mini is very good at what it does, and with
the timer function I can set it when I leave the workshop and the
jobs are finished the next morning with out the machine running all
night.

Neil KilBane,
Longford ,
Ireland

Hi Neil,

Regarding the static, do you recharge the walnut shell periodically
with a small amount of Otec Paste Polish? That will go a long way
toward eliminating the static as well as producing a superior shine
on your jewelry. (Just make sure you use a tiny amount, a little
paste polish goes a long way.)

Regarding the walnut shell coming out the bottom … I suspect the
rubber disk on the inside bottom of the bowl needs to be replaced.
That disk will wear as the disk finisher is used; the gap between
the disk and the side of the bowl will enlarge as the media wears
it. Then media can slip down under the disk and come out the
bottom. Replacing the disk is standard maintenance but something
that people often forget to do since it doesn’t need to be done
very often.

Last consideration if you have been replacing the disk regularly is
that the media may be worn. Pieces can get so small they slip
under even a brand new disk. In this case, the media simply needs
to be replaced.

Hope that helps. Let me know if it doesn’t, I’d be happy to help you
get the machine back up and running perfectly again. It’s a great
little machine.

Best Regards,
Elaine

Elaine Corwin
http://www.gesswein.com
Gesswein Co. Inc.
Tel: 1-800-544-2043 x287
also: 203-366-5400 x287
ecorwin@gesswein.com
@ElaineEC

Have just picked up this item hence delay in replying.

I have had an Otec Maxi for a couple of years. We process silver
items using the magnetic polisher and the wet system. The magnetic
polisher is great for cleaning up castings to a bright finish (not a
polished finish) in all those in accessible places.

We then grind them in fairly course media Cones and Bowties, in the
wet barrel to remove the edges and surface. (Half an hour to remove
casting burrs flashing and up to 3 hours to remove the cast
surface.) Finishing with some fine cones and pyramids to give a
smoother finish say 3 hours.- this process takes 12 hours in our
conventional tumbler. The castings are then tumbled in shot for an
hour to a reasonably good polish. We sometimes finish off top
surfaces with hand polishing.

The Otec reduces processing time considerably.

We have had problems with the wet barrel. The centre spindle rusted
and damaged the oil seals so that the water leaked through the
bearings wrecking them. A new spindle assembly had to be fitted at
great expense - =A3130 I think. We have just had to replace the wet
barrel rotating disc because it has worn at the edge letting media
and castings past and jamming it. Again an expensive bit to replace
at =A365 plus tax and delivery (total =A387)

One drawback is that when the Otec machine is that it can only do
one thing at once! We usually want to do two or three stages at once!

The big advantage is that we have cut our hand polishing times by
possibly 80%.

You can see some of our items on:-

The Napkin Hooks and Napkin Clips and Cornish Rings are all
processed in the Otec, with a bit of hand polishing at the end.

We have not really got to grips with the dry barrel yet since it
takes so much longer to produce results.

David Thorn