Every manufacturing business wants to find ways to cut costs. Lowering operating costs gives you an overall greater profit margin on everything you make. When it comes to coolant, there’s obviously an expense attached to buying it in the first place. In that sense, you don’t want to waste what you have.

By the same token though, ineffective coolant and lubrication causes wear and tear on machinery. Considering the cost of new equipment or repairs, you obviously want to avoid unnecessary damage. So, here’s what you need to know about reducing costs with coolant filtration.

Why is coolant filtration important?

Coolant controls the temperature of machinery during operation, and is therefore a crucial part of any manufacturing process. So, as your machines are working, coolant keeps the system from overheating. But the problem arises when contaminants make their way into the coolant.

Any machinery that performs tasks like grinding, milling or cutting metals generates a degree of waste. It may be in the form of tiny metal particles invisible to the naked eye, but they can cause untold damage to the work performed and also glaze the grinding wheel. These ferrous particles, when introduced into your coolant, effectively coat the material being machined. This can damage the internal components in pumps and slides, and can also clog filters and compromise seals. Considering the cost of machinery repairs, this is something you definitely want to avoid.

Magnetic coolant filtration

One of the best methods to eradicate these ferrous particles is with magnetic coolant filtration. In simple terms, the fluid (in this case, coolant) passes through a strong magnetic field in the filter. This removes all metallic particles, sending the coolant back to work as it should and discharging the particles into a bin.

There are many reasons why businesses favour magnetic coolant filtration over other methods. For example, the Interfil Magnetic Drum Separator performs a wide variety of applications. It’s fully automated, so labour costs are non-existent. Even the removed particles are automatically discharged into a bin.

Advantages of magnetic coolant filtration

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, the quality of industrial coolant filtration is much higher in magnetic systems. This is because the magnetic field is capable of sub-micron filtration. Even the smallest particles are removed, which makes your coolant cleaner and more effective.

Secondly, magnetic coolant filtration significantly extends the lifespan of your equipment. When these fine particles get caught in your coolant, machinery suffers. Internal components are damaged and degraded, and this ultimately leads to more regular maintenance requirements. The particles compromise filters too, meaning these need to be replaced more often. So, considering the cost of replacement machinery components and the expense of too-frequent maintenance, it makes sense to use magnetic filtration.

Finally, magnetic coolant filtration systems cost next to nothing to run. They’re fully automated so you don’t need a member of your team operating the process. It’s an eco-friendly solution too, using no consumables. Cost-wise, you can save plenty of money by ensuring your coolant is clean and filtered properly.

How does magnetic coolant filtration compare with a centrifuge?

While they do a similar job, centrifuges remove not only ferrous particulate but also non-ferrous particles such as grinding grit or aluminum. The sub-micron filtration and lack of maintenance are both benefits from the magnetic separator and centrifuge. Ultimately, using either system to keep your coolant free of particles is the most cost-effective and easiest way to increase productivity and limit downtime.