Uptime is the key at machining plants all around the world, and products that keep the lines moving are worth their weight in … iron.
One Eye Industries (OEI) has been supporting the uptime efforts of major machining companies all over the world for 10 years, and industry uptake is strong with leaders including IPSCO, Propak, Shell and Scami.
Propak
Propak offers engineering, fabrication and construction to the energy-processing industry worldwide. FilterMaster from OEI assists in keeping Propak fabrication on schedule, with FM 4000 scrubbers installed on radial arm drills.
“The cutting fluid used to become so contaminated with micron-sized metal shavings that the pump’s impeller would almost totally erode to nothing. The cutting fluid would stop and pumps would burn out,” said Harris Patterson, maintenance foreman at one of Propak’s Airdrie shops. “There has not been a drill shut down due to cutting fluid problems since we installed the scrubbers.”
Propak’s FM 4000s have been in place and running for more than a year now.
IPSCO
IPSCO operates steel and rolling mills at nine locations in Canada and the United States. As a low-cost North American steel producer with annual steelmaking capacity of 3.5 million tons, IPSCO’s production facilities cannot afford to be down.
OEI’s ADD-Vantage 9000 hydraulic filters and Y-Strainers equipped with magnetic filter rods protect hydraulic pumps on the steelmaker’s 8-foot, rolled steel shears. Magnetic filter rods installed on high- and low-pressure hydraulic lines keep the shears operating by significantly reducing pump and seal failures.
Shell Canada
The materials lab at Shell in Calgary is responsible for grinding precision parts during scheduled maintenance. However, it was unable to achieve the required finish on various parts. Metal shavings between 1 micron and 25 microns contaminated the polishing fluid, causing minute scratches and making the refinished surfaces too rough.
An FM 5000 scrubber and an FM 900 magnetic filter pad were attached to the oil reservoir on their lathe. The magnetic fields produced are strong enough to capture ferrous particles in the reservoir and prevent them from recirculating in the oil. Adding the scrubbers alone were enough to improve the polishing level to well above the acceptable standards.
Scami
Scami is an international group that manufactures machines for the ceramics, beverage, packaging, plastics and processing industries – all markets where the Italian company is recognized as a worldwide leader.
The photos below are of the FM 5000 scrubber after two days of operation on a 500-gallon cutting fluid sump (water and cutting oil mix). This machine delivers cutting fluid to a mammoth milling machine that works 30-ton cast-iron molds that go on the top of the finished ceramic tile presses that Scami produces.
The coolant jets on these milling machines were frequently plugging with metal, causing dies to overheat and premature wear of equipment causing work stoppages. Since installing OEI technology, the coolant jets have seen constant operation with no shutdowns. In addition, cutting fluids which used to be changed every two weeks due to ferrous contamination now last two months (four times longer). Testing is currently under way to extend cutting fluid life even further.
For more information, visit www.OneEyeIndustries.com or call 877-888-TRAP.
An FM 5000 magnetic scrubber rod after two days of operation on the 500-gallon cutting fluid (cutting oil & water mix) sump in Scami’s Italian factory. The “fur” on the rod is ferrous contamination between 1 micron and 50 microns.
