Sentrimax supplies and machines parts for legacy Sharples decanter and tricanter centrifuges serving Baltimore and Washington DC-area plants, rebuilding bowls, scrolls, gearbox components, bushings and seals at its Kitchener, Ontario facility to meet or exceed OEM specifications, then balancing the rotating assembly before it returns to service.
Parts Support for an Aging Regional Fleet
Sharples decanters and tricanters have been running in Mid-Atlantic municipal,
industrial and port-related facilities for decades, and a meaningful share of that fleet
around Baltimore and Washington DC is old enough that Sentrimax’s Kitchener, Ontario
facility – 2300 Shirley Dr, Unit 3, Kitchener, ON N2B 3Y2, 877-741-0118 – handles the
Mid-Atlantic corridor as part of its regular parts and repair workload. Sentrimax does not
operate a facility in Baltimore or Washington DC. It is an independent MRO provider founded
in 2002 and is not authorized, certified or partnered by Sharples or any other centrifuge
manufacturer; the brand name here describes equipment serviced, not an affiliation.
Why Sharples Parts Get Harder to Source Over Time
Sharples has changed ownership and product lines multiple times over its long history,
and older bowl, scroll and gearbox designs are not always carried forward with full parts
support by whichever entity currently holds the brand. A plant running a Sharples unit that
has been in service for twenty or thirty years may find that a specific bushing, tile set or
scroll section is simply not available through normal OEM parts channels anymore, regardless
of how sound the rest of the machine is. That gap is exactly where an independent shop with
its own machining capability becomes useful – the alternative to sourcing an obsolete part is
building one to the original tolerance.
| Component | Common issue on legacy Sharples units | How Sentrimax addresses it |
|---|---|---|
| Bowl and scroll assembly | Wear or damage with no OEM replacement readily available | Precision measurement and reverse-engineered replacement machined to meet or exceed OEM spec |
| Gearbox internals | Planetary or CYCLO gearbox wear from decades of service | Gearbox rebuild using Sentrimax’s in-house gearbox repair capability |
| Bushings and seals | Original part numbers discontinued | Machined or sourced equivalents fit to the actual measured bore |
| Control panel and drive | Original controls obsolete or unreliable | PLC/HMI upgrade and VFD replacement alongside mechanical rebuild |
What the Machine Shop Actually Does
- Measures the worn or damaged component against its original design tolerance
- Designs a new or reverse-engineered replacement where the original is unavailable
- Mills, lathe-turns and precision-grinds the replacement to meet or exceed OEM
specification - Applies hardfacing or HVOF coatings where abrasive or corrosive wear is the dominant
failure mode - Dynamically balances the reassembled rotating assembly to ISO G 0.5
Every job also includes a fit evaluation, a detailed inspection report and a full test run
before the unit ships – the baseline standard on any Sentrimax repair, not an optional
add-on requested separately from a parts order.
Rebuilding the Rotating Assembly Instead of Replacing the Machine
For a Sharples unit where the housing, drive and major castings are still sound, rebuilding
the rotating assembly with reverse-engineered parts is usually a more sensible path than
retiring the machine outright over one obsolete component. Sentrimax’s engineering services
and machine shop exist largely to support that decision: keeping a mechanically sound, if
old, centrifuge in productive service rather than treating parts scarcity as a reason to
replace equipment that has not actually reached the end of its working life.
Gearbox Rebuilds Alongside Bowl and Scroll Work
Legacy Sharples units commonly run planetary or CYCLO gearbox configurations, and gearbox
wear after decades of service is at least as common a reason for downtime as rotating
assembly wear. Sentrimax repairs planetary two- and three-stage gearboxes and CYCLO
gearboxes as well as hydraulic backdrives, and treats a gearbox inspection as a standard part
of any teardown rather than something that needs to be separately diagnosed and requested
before the unit is opened up.
Inspection Through Delivery
- Receiving and inspection. The unit is documented, disassembled and
steam-cleaned for a 75-point technician inspection, with an oil sample sent for third-party
analysis. - Quotation package. Inspection findings, scope of work, required parts,
photos, pricing and an estimated delivery time are prepared for approval. - Réparation. Approved parts are machined to meet or exceed OEM tolerance, and
the rotating assembly is reassembled and balanced to ISO G 0.5. - Test run and delivery. A full performance test run precedes shipment
through Sentrimax’s broker network, with a detailed report of parts, labor and analyses
completed.
Stop the machine if
Vibration increases noticeably, a bearing
runs hotter than its normal range, or the gearbox produces a new grinding or whining sound.
Continuing to run an aging Sharples unit through these symptoms risks converting a
parts-and-balance repair into a full rotating assembly rebuild.
Industries Running Legacy Sharples Equipment in the Region
The Baltimore and Washington DC corridor’s legacy Sharples population spans several
industries rather than a single one. Municipal water and wastewater plants use Sharples
decanters for sludge dewatering and biosolid management. Port-adjacent industrial facilities
around Baltimore run centrifuges for environmental services work, including contaminated
soil treatment and industrial effluent processing. Chemical and general manufacturing sites
in the broader region use Sharples equipment for process solids separation. A unit’s exact
duty history matters when Sentrimax scopes a repair, since a machine that has spent decades
on municipal biosolids shows different wear patterns than one that has been separating
industrial process chemicals, even if both carry the same Sharples model designation.
Building a Parts Relationship Instead of a One-Time Order
Facilities running more than one legacy Sharples unit benefit from treating parts
sourcing as an ongoing relationship with the Kitchener facility rather than a series of
disconnected emergency orders. Sending inspection photos and wear data from each unit over
time lets Sentrimax flag components that are approaching the end of their service life before
they fail, and it means a spare parts kit for a specific model can be staged ahead of a
planned maintenance window rather than machined reactively after a failure has already taken
a unit offline. That approach also builds a documented history for each machine, useful when
deciding whether continued investment in an aging Sharples unit still makes sense.
Where an aging Sharples unit no longer makes economic sense to keep rebuilding, Sentrimax
also sells new and refurbished centrifuges and ancillary equipment, including gearboxes and
electrical components, so a facility can compare a rebuild quote directly against a
replacement option using the same inspection data.
Balancing After a Parts Replacement
Replacing a bowl, scroll section or other rotating component changes the mass
distribution of the assembly even when the new part is machined to the same nominal
dimensions as the original. A rotating assembly that goes back into service without being
rebalanced will run rougher than before the repair, undermining much of the benefit of
replacing the worn part. Sentrimax balances every rebuilt rotating assembly to ISO G 0.5 on a
three-plane balancing setup before it ships, regardless of whether the job started as a
single parts order or a full inspection.
Full Repair, Not Just a Parts Counter
This page focuses on parts availability specifically, but the same Kitchener facility
handles complete Sharples inspections and rebuilds, not only individual component orders. For
the broader Sharples repair scope, see the
Sharples centrifuge repair hub. For the general
decanter and tricanter rebuild process that applies once a machine is opened up, see
réparation de centrifugeuse décanteuse, and for a fuller
picture of current wear-part categories across all brands Sentrimax services, see
pièces de centrifugeuse. Coverage across the rest of North
America, including the Mansfield and Edmonton facilities, is detailed on
centrifuge service areas.
Keeping a Sharples Unit Running During a Rebuild
Rental centrifuges are available for plants that cannot idle a process while a Sharples
unit is being inspected, repaired or rebuilt. Arranging that coverage at the same time a
machine is scheduled for shipment is generally more practical than requesting it after a
process has already lost its centrifuge capacity.
Get Parts or a Full Inspection Quoted
Sending the model, serial number and any legible nameplate information, along with
photographs of the worn or damaged component, lets the Kitchener facility scope whether a
parts order alone will resolve the issue or whether the unit should come in for a complete
inspection. English, French and Spanish-speaking representatives can help coordinate
shipment logistics for the Mid-Atlantic corridor.
What a Nameplate Cannot Tell You
A Sharples nameplate identifies the model and, if it is still legible after decades of
service, a serial number – but it does not tell a plant how much wear has actually
accumulated on the bowl, scroll or gearbox internals. Two units with identical nameplates can
need very different parts depending on their individual service history, which is why
Sentrimax measures precision fits during the actual teardown rather than quoting parts from
the model number alone. That measurement step is also what catches wear that has not yet
produced an obvious symptom, which matters for a machine that has already been in service
long enough that the original manufacturer’s own service records may no longer exist.
Foire aux questions
Does Sentrimax have a facility in Baltimore or Washington DC?
No. Sentrimax's Kitchener, Ontario facility handles the Mid-Atlantic corridor as part of its regular workload, and equipment ships there and back through Sentrimax's dedicated broker network.
Is Sentrimax authorized or certified by Sharples?
No. Sentrimax is an independent MRO provider and is not authorized, certified or partnered by Sharples or any other centrifuge manufacturer. The Sharples name here describes the equipment serviced, not an affiliation.
Can Sentrimax replace a Sharples part that is no longer available from the manufacturer?
Often, yes. Sentrimax's machine shop measures the worn or damaged component and can design a new or reverse-engineered replacement, machined to meet or exceed original specifications, when the OEM part is discontinued.
Do you rebuild the gearbox as well as the bowl and scroll?
Yes. Sentrimax repairs planetary two- and three-stage gearboxes and CYCLO gearboxes, common on legacy Sharples units, and treats a gearbox inspection as a standard part of every teardown.
Is it worth rebuilding an old Sharples unit instead of replacing it?
Often, yes, if the housing, drive and major castings are still sound. Sentrimax's inspection report documents actual condition so that decision is based on measured findings rather than the machine's age alone.
Can we get a rental centrifuge while our Sharples unit is being rebuilt?
Yes. Sentrimax offers rental centrifuges to keep a process running during a repair, overhaul or period of peak demand, which is worth arranging before the unit ships rather than after.
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Envoyez-nous les détails de la machine et nous vous ferons parvenir un devis et une description du périmètre d'inspection.