Filtermist helps automotive subcontractor improve productivity

To prevent coolant mist from impacting the air quality in its workplace, Tooling 2000 Ltd installed on-machine mist extraction systems from Filtermist. In addition to COSHH-compliant clean air, the Birmingham-based subcontract manufacturer is also benefitting in other less obvious ways.

Founded in 1996, Tooling 2000 offers everything from product prototyping and development to five-axis laser cutting, CNC machining, precision tooling and presswork for marquee customers like Rolls-Royce, JLR, Aston Martin, Magna, Bentley and many others. With a complete suite of Hurco CNC machine tools on site, the company invested in Filtermist oil mist extraction to improve both air quality and productivity.

Senior Business Development Manager at Tooling 2000, Iain Bubb, says: “To eliminate airborne particulate in our facility we installed Filtermist systems. This technology enables us to remove atomised coolant from the atmosphere inside the work enclosure with immediate effect. It not only protects our workforce, which is of paramount importance, it also allows us to open the machine doors sooner for more uptime.”

With a marked increase in the number of machine shops employing high-speed machining and high-pressure coolant systems that deliver fluid to the cutting edge, airborne coolant mist is a significant and growing issue.

“Before having the Filtermist systems, we would have to leave the machine doors closed for an extended period, giving any atomised cutting fluid time to settle,” explains Bubb. “Filtermist technology completely clears the enclosure of mist, enabling us to gain time in our production process and help our bottom line.”

If the doors of the machine tools are opened immediately after a cutting cycle with no mist extraction in place, oil mist enters the air, creating an oily film on everything from the machines and the workstation to tools, the floor and anything else in the vicinity.

“With Filtermist, we’re keeping the inside of machines clean. It also helps to remove the swarf as it doesn’t stick to the tacky coolant that may be left on the machine bed.”

The machine-mounted Filtermist FX5002 draws oil into a perforated drum that rotates at high speed and causes the mist to coalesce. Centrifugal force pushes the oil into the outer casing of the FX5002 where it drains back to the machine tool for re-use or collection. Simultaneously, the clean air passes through a secondary high-efficiency after-filter to remove sub-micron particles that may have passed through the unit.

“When we specify our machine tool purchases, we ask for the Filtermist system to be installed on the machines before delivery,” says Bubb.

With the Filtermist FX5002 mist extraction systems fitted to its range of Hurco machine tools, Tooling 2000 finds maintenance of the technology easy to manage.

“We have a TPM [Total Productive Maintenance] system in place, so after a set amount of production time we change and clean the Filtermist filters with ease,” he says. “We take the welfare of our employees very seriously, so removing any ‘nasties’ from the environment is paramount. Productivity is also very important. With the Filtermist technology we get more uptime from our machines, which ultimately delivers better gives profitability.”