In Part 1 of this series, we talked about the benefits of clean coolants for your manufacturing processes. Now we’re going to see how cleaning coolant fluids can affect other areas of your industrial budget. First, it drastically cuts down the number of rejects. Roller grinders are the final stage of quality control. They ensure your finished product is smooth, clean, and unblemished. If the product is tainted in any way, it has to be discarded.
As we mentioned in Part 1, blemishes include scratches, stains, and scorched surfaces. These are all a result of dirty coolant damaging the wheels, and can only be fixed by changing or dressing the roller wheel. This would need to happen eventually, because of standard wear and tear. However, by routinely cleaning your coolant, you expand the period between roller grinder dressing, which saves time, money, and wastage through product scrapping.
Time is money
Often, a manufacturing plant has a set quota, production schedules, and product deadlines. If the equipment has to be stopped for repair, those delays cost money – both in repair expenses and in lowered output due to lost production time. Using a filtration device like the self-cleaning IC-45 helps minimise stoppage time because the coolant is cleaned without stopping the rest of your manufacturing equipment.
Coolant works by absorbing excess heat from your machinery. This prevents the machine parts from overheating and warms up the coolant in the process. Coolants can be based on water, oil, gas, or alcohol, and all these substances evaporate when heated. Filtering your coolant lowers its temperatures to reduce evaporation, which means you won’t have to keep topping it up. It can keep cycling through the system with minimal wastage.
Environmental cost
Getting rid of coolant can sometimes cost more than buying a new batch. Coolant is occasionally toxic and corrosive, so you can’t just dump it anywhere. There are designated zones, and you need special tankers to carry the coolant. In this sense, stretching the coolant as far as it will go is essential, because it cuts down the number of coolant dumping trips. Filtration facilitates this.
Also, coolant can’t be disposed of in its raw form. It has to be treated to make it safe for the sewers or dumping grounds. Filtration and polymers reduces toxins to a legally acceptable level. Of course, once you pour out one batch of coolant, you have to buy a new batch, which is an additional expense. The more thoroughly you filter, the less you have to dump and buy.
Operator safety
Coolants have all kinds of contaminants, from grease and ground glass to chemical residue and bio-germs. When factory workers are exposed to this foreign matter, they might develop skin conditions like dermatitis. It’s thought the fine bits of metal and glass could break the skin, causing the rash and infection. Regular filtration keeps coolant cleaner, which protects the human labour force – and their exposed skin.
Clean coolant is also useful for extending the lifespan of heat exchangers and pumps because they can also be corroded, scratched, or damaged by abrasive bits floating in your coolant or cutting fluid. Generally, the expense of filtering coolant fluid may seem high, but the savings it facilitates will more than make up for the cost of your filtration centrifuge.
To learn more about coolant filtration techniques, call Interfil today on 02 9533 4433.
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