Bielomatik MQL drives machining costs down

It is estimated that on large scale production sites cooling lubricant can make up nearly 20 per cent of the total manufacturing cost. The cost of purchasing, maintaining and disposing of cutting fluids is a significant factor when evaluating a machine's operating costs. A typical 'wet' machine may use 10 to 10,000 litres/hour of lubricant depending on application; while much is recycled overall losses can amount to between 3 and 15 litres/hour, due to natural wastage as aerosol spray into the atmosphere and adherence to swarf. With bielomatik MQL oil consumption can drop significantly to between 100 and 150 millilitres/hour. Apart from reducing the amount of lubricant used, any machine shop that switches to MQL benefits from much easier disposal of metal cuttings since they are virtually oil-free and machine performance is enhanced, particularly production time. Machining operations have been reduced by as much as 50 per cent without detriment to the quality of the finished component. Up-grading to the Bielomatik MQL system which delivers precise measured quantities of lubricant to the cutting tip offers tremendous beneficial financial gains. Also, in hard turning applications, achieving slower tool wear while maintaining cutting forces/power at reasonable levels, provided that the MQL parameters can be strategically tuned. Recognition of the financial and environmental benefits of MQL systems mean that nowadays new machine builds often come complete with MQL technology; it has invariably been more difficult and more costly to add to 'older' machines. The latest Single Channel MQL system from Bielomatik overcomes most of the difficulties, enabling existing machining operations to be converted to MQL and thus enjoy all the inherent benefits.