One of the biggest challenges for any machine shop is workshop air quality and the impact
coolant mist has on staff wellbeing. To prevent coolant mist from impacting the air quality in
the workplace, Tooling 2000 installed on-machine mist extraction systems from Filtermist.
In addition to COSHH-compliant clean air, the Birmingham-based automotive subcontract
manufacturer is also benefitting in other less obvious ways, as senior business development
manager at Tooling 2000, Iain Bubb, explains: “Filtermist systems firstly protects our
workforce, which is of paramount importance. However, they also allow us to open our
machine doors sooner, providing more machining uptime.”
 
If the doors of the machines are opened immediately after a cutting cycle without Filtermist
system in place, oil mist enters the air. This results in a film on the machines, tools, floor and
anything else in the vicinity, causing a health and safety concern.

“With Filtermist, we’re removing all airborne particulates from the machine tool
atmosphere, which not only keeps the inside of the machine clean, but also also helps to
remove the swarf as it does not stick to any tacky coolant residue on the machine bed.”
 
With the Filtermist FX5002 mist extraction systems fitted to its range of Hurco machining
centres, Tooling 2000 finds maintenance of the technology easy to manage.
“We have a TPM [Total Productive Maintenance] system in place so, after a set number of
production hours, we change and clean the Filtermist filters. Productivity is also very
important to us as it cascades down to the bottom line. With the Filtermist technology we
get more uptime from our machines, giving us better productivity and profitability.”
More information www.filtermist.co.uk

Steel window manufacturer Crittall has adopted the FX series of compact oil mist collection systems from Filtermist within the busy machining department of its production plant in Witham, Essex.

When making the transition to CNC machining from older punching and stamping technology, the company encountered the problem of coolant mist and fumes from the machine tools.

“We rapidly found that the factory was starting to mist up, making for an unpleasant workplace environment,” explains production director Darren Joyce. “Additionally, there was far too much coolant on our parts, which was creating even more fumes during downstream welding operations.”

He continues: “We wanted to revise the way we work with coolant and cutting fluid. One of the biggest challenges was moving away from the paper-type filters used on our type of machine tools. We needed to find something that would take the oil out of the air and deliver a cleaner working environment.”

Alluding to how the company started working with Filtermist, Joyce recalls: “We did a lot of investigation and spoke to several machine tool manufacturers, which brought us to Filtermist. Filtermist manufactures what is effectively a drum that centrifugally spins and removes oil from the air. We’ve now installed them in all of our CNC machining centres. Although the Filtermist FX5002 unit is successful in spinning oil out of the air, we’ve taken it a step further. With modification, we’re now recycling the oil and using it on our flood-based coolant machines, extending the service life of the oil.”

Crittall has gone from not knowing Filtermist to having 12 of its FX5002 units installed on its machining centres in less than a year.

More information www.filtermist.co.uk

A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) comprising three Makino A61nx horizontal four-axis machining centres is now in place at the Warwickshire factory of Danfoss UK. The machines are served by an AGV (automated guided vehicle) running on a linear track along a storage and retrieval system housing 32 machine pallets that are loaded and unloaded at two workstations. The company is a subsidiary of the global, Danish-owned manufacturer of mobile hydraulic and electro-hydraulic products, compressors and speed controls for electric motors.

Following its turnkey installation by NCMT, sole UK and Ireland agent for Makino, the FMS replaces stand-alone production centres used in the manufacture of prismatic components from steel and aluminium. The components are part of integrated manifolds for the mobile hydraulic industry.

The Makino machines offer a rigid, robust spindle capable of delivering both high speed and torque. Each HMC features a 313-tool magazine, minimising the need to replenish cutters between batch runs, despite the throughput of both high-mix and high-volume production. Danfoss can route any pallet with a fixtured component to any machine, limiting the amount of movement necessary and providing considerable flexibility and productivity. Machine utilisation is close to 100%, as there is always a part waiting for immediate presentation to one of the spindles.

The automated system allows the manufacturer to run the facility 24/5 and at weekends when necessary. Two operators manage the cell during each of two day shifts, followed by unattended operation from midnight until 06:00.

NCMT supplied applications engineering support throughout the project, ensuring the efficient transfer of programs from the previous machines to the new Makino models.

More information www.ncmt.co.uk