Maximising Productivity Through Effective Metal Working Lubrication

On Feb 26, 2014 378

Whether a manufacturing company specialises in producing nuts and bolts, complex gear sets or high precision valves, keeping its equipment running efficiently is the key to profitability. Lubrication plays an integral role in reducing friction between critical rotating or moving machine tool components, which can translate into equipment durability and availability.

To help ensure that the machine tool runs smoothly, it is important to choose a combination of high-quality lubricants – slideway oils, water soluble cutting fluids and neat cutting oils.

Slideway Oils
Poorly formulated slideway oils may not separate readily from aqueous coolants. This can result in the formation of ‘tramp oil’ which can compromise the effectiveness of the coolant by shortening its effective life and adversely altering cutting performance. Tramp oil can also lead to bacterial growth resulting in foul odour, short service life and potential health and safety concerns.

To identify high performance slideway oil, maintenance professionals should seek out products with the following performance characteristics:

Outstanding frictional properties – which enable increased machine accuracy and reduced chatter and stick-slip
Exceptional coolant separability – which enhances the performance and life of water based metal working fluids

One product that meets these requirements is the Mobil Vactra Oil Numbered Series of slideway oils, which have a proven track record in service.

Water Soluble Cutting Fluids
To optimise productivity it is very important to choose technology-leading aqueous coolants. The highest performing coolants can provide reduced maintenance requirements by resisting biological attack which helps to extend batch life. Ease of maintenance needs to be balanced with good machining performance as well as protecting the machine tools and work pieces from corrosion and sticky deposits. In addition, the fluids should meet the latest Health and Safety regulations and be easy to monitor and maintain in service. Collectively, these properties will help deliver long service life, excellent cutting performance and reduced maintenance downtime.

The new Mobilcut series from ExxonMobil, comprising milky emulsions, high performance micro-emulsions and a fully synthetic grinding fluid, are cutting fluids designed to offer long service life, good operator acceptability and easy waste management. The high performance, long life semi-synthetic cutting fluids in particular have been designed to meet the wide variety of applications and operations found in medium to small sized machine shops where flexibility, inventory management and machine downtime are of paramount importance.

Neat Cutting Oils
Neat or straight cutting oils are used in applications which are beyond the typical performance profile of aqueous coolants, such as tapping and threading of high alloy steels. Properly formulated products can improve machining in high speed automated machining centres through outstanding cutting performance, reduced tool wear and enhanced surface finish. Maintenance professionals should seek products that:

Are light coloured to allow clear visibility of the workpiece
Have low misting characteristics to help workplace safety and product usage
Are chlorine free to support environmental concerns, while balancing with a high degree of lubricity and machining performance

Specially designed to meet the increasing demands of today’s sophisticated machining centres, tooling trends and health and safety regulations, the Mobilmet series of cutting oils and the new series of Mobilgrind grinding oils from ExxonMobil have been developed for applications where excellent surface finish, high precision machining and improved productivity are the primary objectives.

Maximising Productivity
As well as utilising high quality metal working fluids, manufacturing companies should also incorporate an oil and equipment monitoring programme in order to maximise productivity. Oil analysis is a series of tests that help determine the condition of internal parts and in-service lubricants. With this information the useful lives of both equipment and oil can be extended by identifying early warning signs such as contamination and wear, which can help minimise unscheduled maintenance.

For maintenance professionals that want to implement an effective oil analysis programme that can save both time and money, ExxonMobil offers its proprietary online Signum Oil Analysis programme. With a few keystrokes, users can manage all their oil analysis needs including:

Updating equipment registrations and selecting analysis options based on their equipment or maintenance needs
Tracking the status of samples at the lab
Directing actions based on analysis results and requesting sample kits
Sharing critical results with colleagues in a secure, password protected environment

By following the suggestions provided above, businesses can help enhance overall efficiency and maximise productivity.