Filter cleans up for sealing-ring manufacturer

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 14, 2003

The novel AutoMag filter uses powerful magnetism to improve the quality, efficiency and economic performance of machine shop manufacturing, grinding and finishing processes.

The novel AutoMag filter from Eclipse Magnetics uses powerful magnetism to improve the quality, efficiency and economic performance of machine shop manufacturing, grinding and finishing processes.

By automatically maintaining an exceptionally high quality of recirculating machine tool coolant, the AutoMag is already paying dividends at Cross Manufacturing (1938), the world's largest manufacturer of precision engineered sealing rings for turbochargers.

Here, an enhanced product surface finish resulting from improved grinding performance has been accompanied by a significant reduction in final inspection, rejections and scrap.

Further benefits, relating to the reduced use of disposable media such as paper filter rolls, cartridges and bags - with the associated inconveniences and expense of maintenance, replacement and ever increasing disposal penalties - enable the AutoMag to achieve improved performance with permanently reduced operating costs.

Payback can be calculated in months rather than years.

The fully automatic, self-purging filter effectively removes virtually every particle of magnetic debris - no matter how small - by a patented process in which no moving parts are in contact with the machine coolant.

The coolant enters the top of the unit at a flow rate of up to 10 litre/s and passes through the glass tube body, which is separated into upper and lower chambers by a baffle.

Running through both chambers are ten columns containing very strong rare earth magnetic "shuttles".

During normal operation, the shuttles are situated at the bottom of the columns, attracting the magnetic debris to accumulate around the outside of all ten columns in the lower chamber.

For automatic purging, the magnets are pneumatically forced to the top of the columns, in the upper chamber.

The accumulated debris, which is prevented from following the magnets by the baffle, falls off and is completely washed away by the flow through the unit.

An automatic valve system on the discharge pipe enables the purged liquid to be diverted to a holding tank for final treatment.

During purging the magnets continue to attract debris in the upper chamber and simply return to the lower chamber by gravity when the purging cycle is over.

To complete the filtration process, a mechanical backwashing filter, rated at approximately 35um, is recommended to capture any residual nonmagnetic particles.

All that is required to operate the AutoMag is a factory air supply and mains electricity to programme the purge sequence on adjustable time lapse.

The application at the turbocharger ring factory is currently removing up to ten kilograms of magnetic debris each day, although there is no limit to the size of plant that the technique can successfully improve.

More importantly, Cross says, the AutoMag provides the peace of mind that coolant quality is permanently and automatically maintained, removing the risks associated with conventional filtration methods, whereby a dirty coolant problem is often not recognised until after it has caused a costly problem on the production process that it is meant to protect.