Coolant tank cleaning system helps improve uptime for Tier 1 supplier

Situation

As a Tier 1 machining and assembly provider for a variety of industries, Barth Industries operates 20 hours a day, five or more days a week. Equipment uptime is critical for the business, but coolant tank cleanouts were time-consuming, as excess fines from ductile and gray irons were causing a problem.

“Because we run such a variety of materials from iron to aluminum, we couldn’t go with a traditional magnetic solution,” said Rich Legan, president of the Cleveland-based company.

Resolution

Barth Industries installed an Auto Sludge Barrier from Mayfran Intl. in May 2019 and since has installed several more. This system, designed for steel, cast-iron, and ductile-iron applications, is engineered with a compact, portable magnetic separator that can be retrofitted into existing lines to remove ferrous chips and fines from the coolant tank. According to the manufacturer, it can extend the time between cleanings by up to six months and reduce coolant costs because it removes tramp oils automatically.

“We’re seeing better life out of our tooling and have used 30% less coolant,” said Legan.

The system also has helped the company reduce downtime for coolant tank cleanings. “In the past we cleaned our coolant tanks about every 60 days. The line where we installed our first Auto Sludge Barrier in May didn’t have its first full cleaning until November.”

Mayfran Intl. www.mayfran.com