Changes in Honing Oil Process Result in Major Savings at Maybar

By IFS-March 28, 2016
Changes in Honing Oil Process Result in Major Savings at Maybar

In early 2014 Mitch Bartczak contacted Industrial Fluid Systems (IFS) looking for help with their honing operation.  He had a couple of goals in mind. The first was to reduce, or possibly eliminate, down time caused by changing filters. The second was to extend the life of the hone’s filter from 2 days to 5 or 6 days. This would reduce the cost associated with buying filter elements and the disposal of spent filter elements.

After discussing the application in detail, IFS proposed a low-speed, bowl centrifuge as the best solution. It would remove particles as small as 2 microns, eliminate the requirement for additional filters and be set up to run as a side stream system, similar to a dialysis machine. Based on the cost of filter elements and the time required to change them, this seemed like an excellent solution.

An application feasibility study was the next step to establish how clean the oil would be after processing.  Mitch sent IFS two 5 gallon pails of contaminated hone oil and we ran a test in our low-speed bowl centrifuge.  After reviewing the results, the decision was made to proceed with the project.

The system IFS built runs independent of the hone and includes its own pumps, reservoir and controls. This is a major advantage because the system can continue to clean the oil even when the hone is not running resulting in very clean oil at the start of each shift. The centrifuge controls were engineered to communicate with the hone controls so that the oil level status and system alarms could be shared.

Processing is simple; oil is pumped from the bottom of the hone reservoir into the centrifuge. It is centrifuged and then discharged into the system’s reservoir. A pump draws clean oil from this reservoir and pumps it back to the hone. The centrifuge can be shut down and cleaned without shutting down the hone eliminating lost production time.

Maybar Manufacturing installed the system in May of 2014. It has become a key part of their honing process, providing benefits not forecast in the original feasibility study.  They did not actually reduce their filter usage, they eliminated them.  They reduced shutdown time, increased the hone stone life, and increased production while cutting 2 entire shifts.  In the first year alone the system saved the company roughly $60,000.

Thanks to Mitch Bartczak and Maybar Manufacturing we are able to share this application with other companies and engineers working hard to maximize fluid performance and minimize cost. Click here for a summary of those benefits and the related cost savings.

request a quote