Castrol’s Hysol XBB and Alusol XBB products do not rely on the use of boron or formaldehyde releasing agents or additional biocide and fungicide additive packs, but are still able to meet and exceed the lifetime expectations of the benchmark technology to date, the company claims.
Soluble oil coolants can suffer from bacterial growth and contamination, resulting in the fluid ‘going off’. This leads to pH depletion, unpleasant odours, unstable emulsion and poor performance. Additives and biocides have been the way to control this, but Castrol’s new cutting fluid technology maintains constant pH levels (9-9.5) and stable conditions for longer than other standard cutting fluids.
Adrian Brabazon, head of European marketing - industrial & commercial vehicles, says: “Our liquid engineers have reinvented the fundamentals of cutting fluid technology. By having greater control of the pH, the reliance upon short-lived biocides to control bacteria is significantly reduced or eliminated. This ultimately translates into significant improvements for controlling manufacturing costs, increasing productivity, protecting the quality of end products and meeting HSSE requirements.”
For use with ferrous alloys, Castrol Hysol SL 35 XBB is proven to maintain system performance and fluid life. It neutralises up to 24% more acidic material than standard cutting fluids and reduces overall fluid top-up volumes by up to 45%.
Castrol Alusol SL 51 XBB improves precision performance in aluminium machining. It neutralises up to 33% more acidic material than standard aluminium cutting fluids and reduces overall fluid top-up volumes by up to 30%, while ensuring maximum cutting precision. Both products re-optimise the fluid in use and significantly reduce or can eliminate the need for biocide additives.
Even at low concentrations, Castrol Hysol XBB and Alusol XBB products maintain machining performance and can help to protect against corrosion and staining. The excellent lubricating properties help prevent swarf build-up, assuring high quality surface finish and low scrappage rates, the company adds.
Castrol says that the new cutting fluid technology significantly improves factory environment and working conditions via a reduced need for pH level testing that lowers the potential for skin complaints, while a reduced need for biocide additives minimises the need to handle dangerous chemicals.
