Automobile Manufacturer

Facility: Major Automobile Manufacturer in OH
Affected Operations: Broaching of helical ring gears for automatic transmissions

Historical Problems:

Maintenance in this facility was interested in improving production and manufacturing costs on this broaching operation.  Due to the extremely high purchase cost of the tooling and its limited number of sharpening operations, the goal was to increase the pieces per grind on the broach bar and minimize downtime on the machine due to stuck grippers.  A consultant was acquired to investigate and advise. Following some investigative work, a report was submitted to process and manufacturing engineering covering various changes and areas of action.  The culprits listed were, sulfur depletion in the oil, inadequate oil pressure to clear chips from the cutting edges below the part, and excessive dirt in the oil. By utilizing what the consultant believed to be a very effective method for polish filtration of broaching oils.  The report recommended Magnetic Filtration and named Flow-Con as a recommended manufacturer.

Target points to be achieved with improved filtration included:

• Improved fluid clarity to increase piece parts per grind
• Reduced opportunity for particulate build up within grippers causing chronic gripper lock up.
• Minimize downtime
• Reduced maintenance demands and expenditures

Corrective Action:

Flow Pro Products designed Magnetic Filtration that has tripled the number of pieces per grind through vastly improved clarity levels in oil.  Downtime due to sticking grippers has been entirely eliminated.

Removal of magnetic chips and fine particulate has been required.  In each application, significant fluid clarity has been achieved by magnetic filtration with phenomenal results and without the need for costly disposable media.

One of the more interesting examples of magnetic filtration concepts being applied to improve existing equipment performance is illustrated by the ease with which magnetic filters can be retrofitted to eliminate expensive replacements of damaged or blinded wedge-wire drums.  Not only does this option provide tremendous  time and cost savings, it also drastically improves filtration performance.  The customer reports that filter bags are now being changed monthly with significantly cleaner oil for their process.