Fine Filtration: The Missing Link to Tool Manufacturing

Modern cutting tools that meet the growing demands for tolerance, performance and efficiency must have optimal production conditions to be produced economically. A look behind the scenes in the new German production facility of tool manufacturer Jongen Werkzeugtechnik GmbH (Willich, Germany) reveals the technical complexity involved in manufacturing inserts and solid carbide end mills with consistent high quality. This is accomplished by employing modern grinding and measuring technology, along with fine filtration systems from Vomat GmbH (Treuen, Germany).

Jongen was founded in 1974 and currently employs 290 people with innovative ideas and high quality cutting tools that have created a worldwide name in the metalworking and plastics processing industries with their UNI-MILL milling tools, which recently introduced 428 series tools for aluminum machining in moldmaking as well as the new FP T 09 tangential tool for milling corners and planes. “We are on a focused and healthy expansion path,” notes Günter Hofmann, the managing director and head of design and development at Jongen. “Based on very good economic results, we always strive to improve our production technology on the cutting edge so that we can respond to market needs in a very short time.”

In addition to their four existing production halls, the company recently brought a new 15,000 sq ft (1,400 sq m) production facility into service that provides further options for expanding capacity. The new building incorporates state-of-the-art environmental and workplace technology. Power is provided by two block power heating plants that supply not only electricity, but also ensure heating and cooling of the halls via heat exchangers.

“Temperature variations are the greatest enemies for reproducible tool quality,” explains Hofmann. “This means our entire production environment, from manufacturing to testing and packaging, is temperature controlled. We also strive to entirely control our value chain, so we rely on a high level of vertical integration that allows us to influence all relevant quality parameters in-house. For example, we manufacture our own carbide and coat in our own coating machines. For utmost quality, only the most modern grinding and measuring technology is used. As part of this production philosophy, the production hall was fitted with an advanced fine filtration system that is a key element for economical and high-quality tool production.”

Vomat, a specialist for fine filtration systems, built the high performance filtration systems that incorporate compact design with a small footprint while still packing all the needed technical advantages for their respective requirements. “Our high expectations, combined with our special production needs, were setting the bar very high,” states Hofmann. “They were the only ones to guarantee the feasibility of the filtration concept we desired. Their systems provide, among other technical advantages, a small footprint, superior filtration, accurate cooling, as well as energy and recycling solutions that were adapted to our needs. All this supported the crucial arguments that go with them.”

Vomat installed ZFA 3600 and ZFA 2400 central systems at Jongen. One system provides clean oil for the insert production unit and the other for the tool cutting department. The ZFA 2400 has a capacity of approximately 24,000 liters of cooling lubricant and is housed in a separate room connected to 14 grinding machines. “Because every little inconsistency in the manufacturing process of cutting tools may have serious consequences for the end result, optimal production conditions are essential to achieve consistent, repeatable quality,” says Lars Adler, the production manager at Vomat. “They previously used many small stand-alone filtration units that were installed in the immediate vicinity to their grinding machines, throwing off a lot of heat. Now the heat stays outside the building and the gain of space is phenomenal.”

Low-maintenance technology ensures energy-efficient full-flow filtration, ensuring that clean and dirty oil is separated 100 percent. High performance pre-coat filters are designed to extract even the tiniest particles. This allows the filters to maintain NAS 7 quality for a long time, combined with unmatched service life. Another advantage is the energy efficient on-demand filtration and backflush operation that is only activated depending on the contamination level of each filter element. Overall, this ensures a continuous clean oil supply that allows filter elements and grinding oil to remain in the system for a long time.

Apart from the ground breaking design used in the systems, another benefit is the high control accuracy and precise temperature control. The grinding oil temperature will be maintained in a range of ± 0.1 K. This is an important prerequisite for reliable quality production. “Our technology ensures that almost no heat is introduced into the medium so none of the grinding machines axes will expand or contract,” added Adler. “Even small nuances in expansion or contraction could lead to variations in quality, particularly in smaller sized tools. ”

Pre-coat filtration systems don’t require any filtration aids that usually render the contaminated sludge as non-sellable. The recycling process is fully automatic. The sludge is deposited into a drum ready to be collected by a recycling company of your choice. All the systems are PLC controlled and can be serviced and monitored remotely, via Wi-Fi. “We have implemented a future-oriented and powerful tool production plan under clean, quiet, and environmentally conscious conditions that enables us to continuously grow and fulfill the requirements of our customers,” stated Hofmann.

Jongen Werkzeugtechnik GmbH, Siemensring 11 47877 Willich, Germany, +49 (0) 2154-9285-2900, Fax: +49 (0) 2154-9285-9-2900, www.jongen-unimill.com.

Vomat GmbH, Herlasgrüner Straße 99 08233 Treuen, Germany, +49 (0) 160-4499-990, www.vomat.de.