Oil Mist Collector Helps Waterloo Machine Shop Perform Fly Cutting Machining. When Benmur Precision Tooling stepped up their machining operation to fly cut larger products for a client in the tech sector, oil mist quickly became an issue. They came to this oil mist collector manufacturer for an industry-leading air purification system at an affordable price.
Established in 2008, Benmur Precision Tooling is a specialty machining shop located in Waterloo, Ontario – the “Silicon Valley North” of Canada. Benmur uses 5-axis CBC milling like the Kitamura 4xD to produce components, housings, hardware assemblies, and many other products. They work for clients across southern Ontario in industries like nuclear, automotive, food manufacturing, lasers or optical systems, and digital projection. Notable clients include Nikon, North + Google, and the University of Waterloo. Benmur serves this industry with machining techniques like lathe turning, injection mold making, grinding, polishing, waterjet cutting, anodizing and coating, mig and tig welding, and of course multi-axis machining.
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The Challenge
When Benmur Precision Tooling was commissioned by a company in the local tech sector to produce a larger specialized part, they got straight to work with a machining program that required fly cutting. Fly cutting is a machining technique in which a single point cutter is used on a mill, often to produce a surface finish when a face mill can’t get the job done at the right cost or scale. Its larger diameter means that you can get a great finish for your product in a single pass. This was the main driver for Benmur selecting fly cutting as the technique for their client, as the products Benmur had to machine were fairly large. Unfortunately for Benmur due to the scale of the production and the technique involved, the buildup of oil mist as a byproduct of machining became too much. Oil mist built up in the machine and was released into the shop, leading to work disruptions 3 to 4 times a day as staff tried to deal with the oil mist. It became clear that if Benmur wanted to produce large parts requested by its clients, the problem had to be addressed –both for operational efficiency, quality, and health and safety. Benmur did not have an oil mist collector but knew that they could not continue to operate in a shop with machines overrun by oil and coolant mists.
The Solution
When Benmur Precision Tooling needed an oil mist collector, they came to Aeroex as the mist collector manufacturer who could meet their needs with an affordable, made-in-Canada solution that would fit right into their shop. Aeroex examined Benmur’s needs to understand what type of pollutants they were experiencing, what sources of pollutants had to be controlled, the size of the operation, the volume of the building, the types of machines they had, and what ventilation was in place. This was compared against the suite of oil mist collector products Aeroex offers to select the best model with the best value for Benmur. After consultation, Aeroex recommended the Mist-Fit 550 oil mist collector, an option that was compact yet high performing, affordable, and ideal for high-pressure coolant and oil applications.
The Mist-Fit is an Aeroex oil mist collector that eliminates mist, smoke, and fine particles caused by machining. It eliminates oil mist through four consecutive stages of filtration, each providing a layer of operational efficiency. The first two elements eliminate up to 95% of mist by disrupting the flow, quickly causing droplets to condense and drain out of the filter stages back to the sump of your system. With much of the oil mist already eliminated, the third-stage fiber bed can work in optimal conditions to capture small, sub-micron-sized particles (0.3 um) with 95% efficiency. The depth loading fiber bed has a significant thickness, meaning it has a very long useful life and high removal efficiency thanks to the amount of filter media – not to mention lower oil mist concentrations after the first two stages. This is in stark contrast to competitors who often use thin filters without primary filtration, resulting in frequent clogging, maintenance, and filter replacements. If your system is releasing the smallest smoke and fume particles, an optional HEPA filter is staged after the fiber bed to finish the job. To learn more about the design features of the model Benmur selected on Aeroex’s recommendation check out the product page. The information contained within demonstrates the design features of the solution and the efficiency it offers the end-user.
The Results
After a quick and easy installation (approximately one hour to mount the new unit), Benmur immediately noticed the improved operations of the shop and the virtual elimination of the oil mist that had become a big issue during their previous fly cutting. As time went on, they also discovered the low maintenance and operating costs of the Mist-Fit, one of the key benefits they cited in their debrief with Aeroex about their experience with the Mist-Fit. As shown in the breakdown of the Mist-Fit design (above), the Mist-Fit oil mist collector was specifically designed to deliver on performance without the frequent maintenance commonly associated with other models. The result was Benmur Precision Tooling continuing to operate in their Waterloo shop for their many tech sector clients.
Apply the Case Study to Your Needs
Those interested in the Benmur Precision Tooling case study should know that challenges with oil mist during machining are not unique to them. You may be experiencing newfound challenges for the first time as you branch out into new techniques, products, and service volumes, for example, if you are starting to incorporate high-pressure coolants. Like Benmur Precision Tooling, you will find that there are solutions available to you and experts ready to help you navigate your need for an oil mist collector. If you think this is you and you’re ready to get started, contact Aeroex today.
