PLANT & PROCESS ENGINEERING FEATURE


COOLANT RECOVERY saves time and the environment


Renishaw is running a coolant saver system from Wogaard around the clock, recovering the neat oil coolant used on each of its CNC sliding headstock lathes and plans to extend its use


R


enishaw is one of the world's leading engineering and scientific technology


companies with an enviable reputation in precision measurement and healthcare equipment. The company supplies products and services used in applications as diverse as aero engine and wind turbine manufacture through to dentistry and brain surgery. At its Stonehouse machining facility the award-winning Wogaard Coolant Saver is running around-the-clock, recovering the neat oil coolant used on each of Renishaw’s CNC sliding headstock lathes. The majority of the company's R&D and


manufacturing is carried out in the UK. Until the expansion of its Miskin facility in South Wales in 2012 the Stonehouse, Gloucestershire facility was the company’s main machining operation in the UK. As part of the business risk management strategy the manufacturing sites mirror each other such that any catastrophes or natural disasters may disrupt but not halt production.


MILLED AND TURNED PARTS Milled and turned parts up to 500 mm3 are necessarily complex and run in batches of between three and 10s of thousands. A variety of machine tools are used to support the around-the-clock manufacturing operation with 25 machines in RAMTIC (Renishaw’s automated milling, turning and inspection centre) cells equipped with 25,000 rpm spindles for aluminium parts or 12,000 rpm spindles for difficult-to- machine materials such as stainless steel. An extremely efficient system, it takes


time consuming and has potential hazards associated with it,” says Davis. “We tested the Coolant Saver on the


just three of the 160 staff on site to run all these machines.


ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT As well as efficiency the company is always considering its environmental impact and a project that started on a Mazak Integrex i300 at the Miskin site has since been rolled out in Stonehouse. “The machine was running for 20 hours


and gathering water-miscible coolant in the base of the swarf bin so we fitted a Wogaard Coolant Saver and that solved the problem,” explains engineering group leader Jon Davis. “We then thought we could use this simple effective solution elsewhere in the factory.” His team’s focus fell on the Citizen


multi-axis CNC Swiss sliding headstock lathes Renishaw operates for its turned parts. Machining aluminium, brass or stainless steel, the lathes use a low viscosity neat oil coolant that was being dragged into the bins by the swarf. “Operators were replenishing the oil on a regular basis which is both expensive,


MEETING DEMAND FOR COMPLEX PROCESS CONTROL


Process control systems in almost every industry are becoming more complex; they are subject to greater scrutiny due in part to the demand for improved efficiency, regulatory compliance and higher levels of automation and plant integration. The need for bespoke or low volume system


design is growing as a result. Bürkert has addressed this challenge by developing the Systemhaus approach where regional technology solutions centres sit between the sales offices and larger- scale manufacturing facilities, solving problems and building innovative systems on-demand. “The market for small volume, specifically tasked


control systems is certainly growing and the operational environments in which this equipment is working are complex and governed by a considerable amount of legislation such as ATEX or food and pharmaceutical safety and cleanliness standards for example,” explains UK general manager Neil Saunders. “End users realise that transferring the responsibility of meeting these demands to a trusted supplier can reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies.


Bürkert Fluid Control Systems T: 01285 648720


/ FACTORYEQUIPMENT www.burkert.co.uk


Fitting of the Coolant Saver for each type required some engineering input


neat oil and it worked extremely well and now all the Citizen lathes have been upgraded with the units. As we have to exchange and empty the swarf bins frequently our engineering team devised a quick fit connection system so the Coolant Saver head remains fitted to the base of the bin with external stainless steel piping. The design allows it to be simply uncoupled from the Venturi unit on the machine’s coolant pump that generates the vacuum required to extract the coolant and return it to the machine tool’s sump.” While the engineering team at Stonehouse does not have exact savings in terms of the litres of neat oil saved, the positive impact of the Wogaard system is appreciated in several areas. “We have significantly reduced the time


wasted topping up the oil in the sump of the machines, negated the risk of neat oil being spilt or leaking onto the shop floor and saved our labourers’ time vacuuming out the oil from the skips,” says Davis.


ENGINEERING INPUT Although all the lathes are supplied by Citizen, the specifications differ to suit the parts produced. This means the fitting of the Coolant Saver for each type required some engineering input. Now they have all been completed the process has been documented so the Wogaard units can be fitted to the turning cells across Renishaw’s other manufacturing facilities. What of the machine tools with soluble


oil where the project started? “These machine tools are part of the


plan; we have already purchased the Wogaard units we just need to go round all the machines to fit them,” concludes Davis. “With around two skips per shift required for each machine we will follow a similar quick coupling design and already know the Coolant Saver to be a proven solution.”


Wogaard T: 07557 107892 www.wogaard.com


FACTORY EQUIPMENT | MAY 2016 25


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