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Case Study - Micromag Dielectric Fluid Protection
Case Study - AM6 Automag Skid Ultrasonic Testing
Automated clean filter, flow rates up to 10,000 litres per min.
Compact, high-performance machine tool filter, rapid return on investment.
Application Background The Automag Skid magnetic filtration system is a self-contained filtration and fluid recovery system. The fully automated industrial fluid filtration unit or coolant separator minimises fluid loss during cleaning and is ideal for 24/7 high volume single or multi-cell CNC machining or wash system applications. The combination of high-performance magnetic circuits and a patented dual flow system ensures almost 100% of ferrous waste is filtered leaving clean cutting, grinding fluids or wash solutions to return to process. The Challenge Due to the tight tolerances required by the off shore industry, it is imperative that the quality of the pipes is 100%. Product rejects can cost £1000 per piece and the consequences of a fault in the field can have huge compensation consequences. In order to ensure the highest levels of quality, the pipes are sent through a tempering, de-scaling, rounding, and straightening process. The last stage is an ultrasonic testing procedure to check for any faults such as cracks or wall thickness irregularities. During this process, water is pumped around the ultrasonic test area at 100 litres per minute. Water is an excellent sound wave conductor, therefore it improves the reliability of the readings and makes the process more efficient. However, contamination in the water was affecting the readings, causing slow cycle times due to re-scanning and the possibility of a good product being rejected. The Solution Eclipse provided Vallourec with a Double Automag AM6 magnetic filter. This filter is a fully automated unit ideal for 24/7 machining operations. With high contamination collection capacity and an ability to handle high flow rates, Automag is widely used on high volume production lines. In this case the customer opted for a Double Automag in order to have a fail-safe backup if required. The Automag was fitted during a system refurbishment which enabled the process to recycle water. It is fitted after a settlement tank and before a band filter, and extracts 0.56 kg of waste per day. Most of the particles are concentrated between 6 and 15 microns, and the added advantage is that some particles which previously slipped through (less than 4 microns down to sub-micron size) are now extracted. Since fitting the Automag, Vallourec’s maintenance downtime has dropped to zero. It also means that the company are able to use recycled water, which saves them £1000 a week.
Application Background The patented, compact Micromag magnetic filter can provide major cost, quality and environmental benefits to precision machining processes such as grinding, honing, lapping, drilling and EDM applications. With a high collection capacity relative to size it offers a fine particle collection performance with a low initial investment. The Challenge EDM machining can, and often does, come with significant problems, severely hampering the efficiency of the process. Dirty dielectric fluid is one of the most problematic factors facing manufacturers when using spark erosion as part of their manufacturing processes. Contaminated dielectric fluid can result in secondary sparking (re-spark), generating a high level of energy wastage. The Solution Bowers Group is committed to ensuring its practices offer the highest level of efficiency. Looking for the most effective solution to ensure the EDM process was working as cost-effectively as possible, the company sought the help of Eclipse Magnetics, installing a Micromag MM20 to help improve its filtration of dielectric fluid. Eclipse Magnetics has introduced its innovative magnetic technology to the EDM process to ensure the dielectric fluid is kept as clean and efficient as possible. The Micromag MM20 is a compact filter that allows fluid to pass around its centrally mounted Neodymium core, capturing even the finest ferrous particles.
Overview
Overview
Eclipse Product: Micromag MM20 Industry: Metrology Tools` Process Type:
Eclipse Product: AM6 Automag Skid Industry: Offshore Process Type: Ultrasonic Testing Location: Glasgow, UK
Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)
Location:
Bradford, UK
By using the Micromag in conjunction with its traditional cartridge filters, cost savings have also been achieved in relation to the cost of replacement cartridges, cutting usage by half and leading to an impressive 50% saving of over £2500 per annum. Combined, this amounts to an outstanding £142,500 annual cost savings, with a payback of the initial investment of the magnetic technology returned within just days of installation.
We are delighted with the Automag installation; it’s solved all the problems we were having previously with downtime and maintenance costs.
17% IMPROVEMENT MACHINING IN
Kenneth McRae, Principle Engineer Vallourec
50% SAVINGS OVER EACH YEAR
The reduction in machine downtime and consumable costs speak for themselves,
the Micromag has proven its worth; and then some, and we’re delighted with the results we have seen.
SAVING 100 HOURS PRODUCTIVITY IN EACH MONTH
Dean Lovett, Machine Shop Manager Bowers Group
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Eclipse Magnetics Work Smart with Magnets
Eclipse Magnetics Work Smart with Magnets
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