Introduction:
The FumeKiller® finds use across a variety of applications. One of these is as an oil mist collector and on multiple occasions, the FumeKiller® has proven its mettle as an effective and efficient filtration system. In this post, we dive into one such project where the FumeKiller® was successfully implemented as an oil mist collector.
The Challenge: Control of Oil Mist Generated from CNC Machining Process.
The customer, a well known and established player in the manufacturing industry was facing a common issue faced when using CNC machines – Oil Mist.
The customer’s process involved use of neat cutting oil and the mist generated from the machining process would escape into the shopfloor when the doors to the CNC machine was opened after completion of the process. This led to the following issues:
- Reduction in air quality within the shopfloor along with a possibility of oil mist settling within gaps of other machines and potentially cause critical systems failures.
- Released oil mist also meant loss of usable neat cutting oil which would accumulate over time.
Any solution provided to the customer would need to be designed with all the above problems in mind and effectively solve each issue.
The Solution: Single FumeKiller® model FK2000EPEM mounted close to the CNC machine.
While the primary problem of air pollution was straightforward, the secondary issues needed to be addressed as well. After a thorough study of the workspace, the solution we proposed was to mount a FumeKiller® model FK2000DPEM near the CNC machine. The unit would be mounted on a groutable pipe stand at height greater than the CNC machine itself and the extracted oil mist could be reclaimed from the FumeKiller® drain point. The advantages of this proposed solution were as follows:
- Mist Evacuation Methodology: The solution made use of the concept of evacuating the entire volume of air within the CNC machine within a certain time frame, usually 5 seconds, before the doors were opened after completion of the process. This way, the generated oil mist, which would also be evacuated out of the machine would not get released into the shopfloor.
- Dual Pass Filtration: For applications involving oil mist, the filtration system needs to be equipped with two separate filters positioned one after the other to ensure a higher efficiency of filtration. Using the dual-pass system, the filtration efficiency would go up from 95 – 97% to 98 – 99%, which would imply that the air released into the shopfloor after filtration would be even more clean.
- Collection of Filtered Oil: The FumeKiller® unit used electrostatic filter modules from which the oil particles would flow down as they accumulate. The filtered oil can then be reclaimed from the drain point provided on the unit itself and reused later.
Results and Impact:
The implementation of the FumeKiller® was a success which allowed for multiple benefits to our client:
Improvement in Air Quality: The complete volume of air within the CNC machines, which would include the generated oil mist, was being evacuated before the doors were opened and therefore, with no release of oil mist into the shopfloor, it resulted in a significant improvement in the air quality.
Operational Efficiency: The FumeKiller® model FK2000DPEM is a single oil mist collector unit that was equipped with a dual-pass filtration system, allowing for greater efficiency of filtration and therefore, even cleaner air being released into the shopfloor.
Cost Savings: Because the filtered oil could be collected and reused, the neat cutting oil for the process was more efficiently and economically used, which resulted in a direct reduction in operational costs.
Regulatory Compliance: The successful implementation of the FumeKiller® as an oil mist collector resulted in the customer meeting the required air quality standards within the shopfloor.
Conclusion:
This project is another example of the capability of the FumeKiller® and its effectiveness as an oil mist collector. With the variety of applications that the FumeKiller® is able to be implemented in, it is safe to say that it is probably one of the most effective air pollution control system available today. If you have a requirement for a fume extraction or oil mist collection system, get in touch with us today and we will work with you to design the best possible solution.
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