Cleaning coolant lubricants
Coolant lubricant is an important part of industrial production with CNC machine tools. The coolant lubricant cools and lubricates the machining task, thereby enabling cost-efficient and reliable production. However, when the coolant lubricant is introduced directly into the machining gap to provide maximum cooling it becomes contaminated. Machining residues such as metal chips, grinding dust and tool abrasion collect in the coolant lubricant. These machining residues in the coolant lubricant damage the coolant lubricant system aggregates (such as pumps, valves, coolers or nozzles) by means of abrasive wear or clogging. Besides this, contaminated coolant lubricant may also lead to the desired machining result, such as high surface quality, not being achieved.
To free the coolant lubricant from these contaminants and attain the necessary purity, coolant lubricant filtration systems are used. If an efficient filtration system is employed in production, this reduces wear on the system components and extends the service life of the coolant lubricant. coolant lubricant filtration also has a positive effect on the reliability of the machining task. A correctly dimensioned coolant lubricant filtration system is essential for ensuring seamless production with consistent machining quality, low coolant lubricant system component wear and low production failure rate.
Challenges of coolant lubricant cleaning
The filtration of coolant lubricants brings its owns challenges with it. The most important demand placed on the filtration system is ensuring that the required volume flow is made available at the required degree of purity. The purity of a coolant lubricant is defined using NAS 1638 or ISO 4406. The difficulty with coolant lubricant filtration is guaranteeing the required purity in spite of fluctuating dirt loads, different volume flows and clogging caused by the filter material.
To fulfil these goals, the correct dimensioning of the filtration system is a basic prerequisite right from the planning stage of the production line. It is also essential to regularly monitor the cleaning performance of the lubrication filtration system in running operation.
Options for cleaning coolant lubricants
A number of different processes are available for cleaning coolant lubricants. The required coolant lubricant purity and the required volume flow (l/min) are decisive in selecting a filtration method. Some common filtration processes are briefly outlined in the following:
Costs for coolant lubricant cleaning
Coolant lubricant maintenance is costly, as a number of steps are necessary in various systems in order to prepare the coolant lubricant for reuse. Besides the procurement of the lubrication filtration system, the biggest cost factors are broken down in the following:
Summary
Coolant lubricant filtration is an indispensable part of the lubrication system for maintaining coolant lubricant supply in the required purity and at the required volume flow. Various processes are available for filtration of the coolant lubricant. These must be selected and dimensioned based on the existing production requirements. coolant lubricant filtration incurs a considerable share of coolant lubricant-related costs, as energy and filter aids are consumed.
Benefit from our knowledge
Is coolant lubricant filtration still a “black box” for you, or are you already encountering problems in your production facility? We can help you! As an experienced coolant lubricant system service provider, Grindaix GmbH brings know-how from numerous successful optimization projects to the table.
Feel free to contact us – our specialists would be happy to advise you on coolant lubricant processing!
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