Coolant Filtration Technology Reduces Grinding Costs

Demanding grinding applications require powerful filtration systems that have a positive effect on the entire production process. The micro filtration specialist, Vomat, (Treuen,Germany) provides the metalworking industry with custom tailored filtration concepts ranging from small to large industrial systems.

Coolants used in tooling machines using wet cutting chip removal are usually subject to heavy contamination. Hydraulic oils, slideway oils and greases are introduced into the emulsion and prevent at a high enough concentration the all-important oxygen exchange.

In conjunction with floating and caked on solids this mixture provides the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and fungi which quickly decompose and render the coolant unusable. In addition, chips and other contaminants from the grinding process amplify this condition. Only continuous maintenance and filtration can significantly extend the life of the coolant.

Micro filtration is the key to significantly increase the life of grinding oils and have them remain in the system for many, many years.  Clean filtered coolants also help to increase the dimensional accuracy and surface quality of the manufactured products. Diligent fluid care will also decrease the otherwise necessary disposal costs of contaminated fluids.

Stephan Hecht of Oelheld U.S. Inc. (Elgin, IL), Vomat’s general agent, remarks, “To achieve filtration in the 3-5 micron range, many plant operators with conventional filtration equipment have to cope with high costs of filter media such as cellulose or paper. In addition, downtime and production line shutdowns can cost manufacturers of close tolerance products up to 25 percent of their total production costs. However, this is not a necessary evil, since Vomat now offers a way out of this dilemma with proven FA series filtration systems.”

Vomat full flow filtration technology guarantees fluid purity to NAS 7 (3-5 microns) over a long period of time. Moreover Vomat warrants filter media life for up to one year. Other advantages include:

•  No filter failure in case of water, slide or hydraulic oil contamination
•  Backwash cycle uses oil and not compressed air
•  Fully automatic control of energy consumption and filter capacity
•  A sludge disposal unit called “Sedimentator”  leaves only 5 percent residual oil in the sludge when machining carbide exclusively
•  Optimally proportioned amount of grinding oil in the system
•  No contamination of metal chips by filter media (as used in precoat filtration systems)
•  Highly accurate temperature control of grinding oil to ±0.2 K
•  Low operating costs
•  Compact design guarantees small footprint

These micro filtration systems can be used for carbide or HSS grinding or any mixture of the two processes. Vomat systems are available in different sizes: standard size > 120-420 L / min (size 1.60 m x 1 m) and up to 960 L / min (size 2.50 m x 1.40 mx 1 m).

Jens Strebelow, the production manager of Vomat, notes that “Vomat systems are designed for easy adaptability to customer specific requirements. With an array of optional add on equipment we can expand our systems to ever changing needs in terms of capacity or product quality. In addition we can design custom systems up to plant wide central systems with specific designed workflow integrated cooling and disposal systems.”

www.oelheld.com