The challenge: Contamination particles in the lubrication oil were having a negative impact on product quality and creating a need for frequent oil changes at Zapp Precision Metals Sweden AB.
The solution: RecondOil’s integrated DST system was installed on the fine wire production line to keep the oil in circulation constantly clean.
The results: The company went from a 12-week oil change cycle to not having to change the oil at all during the last nine years.
Zapp Precision Metals Sweden AB, was experiencing a problem with microscopic particle contamination of the lubricating oil in their fine steel wire production line.
Fine steel wire is a high precision product, used in everything from automotive components to medical equipment. To achieve satisfactory product quality, high levels of oil cleanliness is required in the manufacturing process.
But over time, when oil is in use, the oil’s lubricating qualities deteriorate due to by microscopic particle contamination. The particles can also cause wear to machinery, and, in some cases, downgrade the quality of the final product.
Small particles with big consequences
The particles in the oil were having a serious impact on the final product quality at Zapp. They were extremely small, smaller than a micron, and no conventional oil cleansing techniques were capable of removing them.
Instead, to maintain high product quality, the company had to replace all their oil in the fine wire production line every 12 weeks. This generated high costs for oil purchases and for disposal of used oil. The company also faced revenue losses due to scrapped products and production downtime for oil changes.
Learn how SKF RecondOil helped minimize oil purchase costs, downtime, and environmental impact, while improving output and product quality at Zapp Metals Sweden AB.
Finding a long-term solution
It was clear that Zapp needed a change, and that an integrated solution was the only way to move forward. One that was capable of removing particles at even a micron level in order to be truly effective.
The company decided to install an integrated Double Separation Technology (DST) system from SKF RecondOil on the fine wire production line.
With the DST system installed, the lubricating oil could be continuously cleaned down to nano levels. Around 4-5% of the oil in circulation was pulled out of circulation and regenerated by the DST system at a time. And since the oil was regenerated at a higher rate than the contaminants built up, over time, this resulted in constantly super-clean oil in circulation in the application.
And the results were instant. The company went from a 12-week oil-change cycle, to not having to replace the oil at all. In fact, the same oil has been in circulation in the application for the last eight years. This has to date amounted to almost 40 avoided oil changes, saving the company all associated financial and environmental costs.
Zapp’s fine wire application currently has an uptime of around 99%, with consistent product quality. This means production can be maximized and product scrapping has been virtually eliminated.
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