I recently worked with our Peruvian Distributor to help one of their customers solve an issue they were having with material recovery after a polishing operation. The company manufactures security locks for doors. During the manufacturing, one of the processes involves polishing the parts to a nice finish to ensure proper fit and provide a nice appearance for the finished product. Coolant is used to keep the temperature down during the polishing process. This coolant is then contaminated with leftover bronze debris that the company recycles.
The problem was that the process to filter the leftover bronze from the coolant was done by hand. This process, taking almost one hour to complete, was too time consuming and they were not able to recover 100% of the material. In looking for a better way to perform this process, they came across the EXAIR Chip Trapper.
The Chip Trapper was able to allow them to empty the entire coolant sump in less than 90 seconds. The bronze material contained within the coolant was trapped by the 5 micron filter bag inside of the drum, while the coolant passed through. They could then pump the clean coolant back into the drum and recycle the bronze trapped in the filter bag. Not only were they able to dramatically reduce the time it took to complete the process, but it also resulted in a much more effective method of reclaiming the material. No longer were they stuck with an inferior process and more time could be freed up to be spent on production.
Using either a standard or High Lift Reversible Drum Vac to provide the vacuum source, the Chip Trapper is capable of filling or emptying a 55 gallon drum in less than two minutes. It is able to pick up both the liquid coolant as well as any chips or shavings that are suspended in the coolant. The liquid is forced through a filter bag inside of the drum which contains any solid materials while allowing the coolant to filter out into the drum. Switching the knob on the Reversible Drum Vac and the directional flow valve to empty will allow the clean coolant to be pumped back out of the drum and reused.
After implementing the Chip Trapper in our own shop, we were able to increase the life of the coolant by 6x. In addition to the increased coolant life, a process that used to take up to 2 hours per machine now takes less than 10 minutes. The Chip Trapper quickly and easily pays for itself.
The Chip Trapper is available in either 30, 55, and 110 gallon systems. It’ll also come with (2) 5 micron filter bags, other filter bags are also available ranging from 1 micron up to 200 micron filtration. Using a simple detergent, the filter bags can be washed out, cleaned, and reused multiple times. With no motors or impellers to clog or wear out, as well as no electricity requirement or shock hazard, the Chip Trapper comes with our standard 5-year Built to Last Warranty. Do yourself (and your machine operators) a favor and get a Chip Trapper on order today. They’re in stock, ready to ship and start saving you time and money!
Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD