Vegetable-based oil increases tool life
An
Advanced Carbide Tooling product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Dec 10, 2003
Replacing conventional coolants with nontoxic Microlube has greatly improved working conditions and increased tool life at Dales Engineering Services at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
Replacing conventional coolants with nontoxic Microlube from Advanced Carbide Tooling has greatly improved working conditions and increased tool life at Dales Engineering Services at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
Concerned about fumes given off by the mineral-based lubricants previously used for drilling and tapping applications, the company, which specialises in short-run fabrication and machining contracts for the North Sea oil and gas industry, decided to investigate ACT's vegetable-based Microlube lubricant as an alternative.
After using the material in both aerosol and trigger-bottle form, the company decided the latter was more cost-effective and now uses Microlube XP for all drilling and tapping applications on a variety of manual lathes and horizontal boring machines.
The materials most commonly worked include carbon steel grades 50D, 4130, 709 M40T and 605 M36T as well as 316L and 17/4 PH grades stainless steels and duplex materials.
Following the positive results with the Microlube XP, Dales Engineering decided to use the material in conjunction with an automatic application system on a Sterling reciprocating band-saw which is used to cut bar and tube to length before machining.
Recycling the flood coolant previously used with the saw was often difficult, according to Billy Duncan, the company's Engineering Manager, and it frequently spilled on to the workshop floor, particularly when cutting tube.
The Microlube system installed automatically applies precisely measured droplets of lubricant to the cutting area at preset intervals, which can be adjusted to suit the application.
The lubricant is completely consumed by the cutting process, so there is no excess to collect.
The lubricant is held in a one-third litre capacity reservoir fitted to the side of the saw and generally lasts three to four weeks between refills, depending on saw usage.
Despite the small quantities of lubricant used, Duncan says saw blades are lasting longer than before.
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