Grinding Machine Protected from Metal Swarf

Lakos Separator Protects Grinding Machine from Metal Swarf

Searching for a more effective means of filtration in order to protect their grinding machine from metal swarf, a Sperry Vickers metal-working plant in Omaha, Nebraska replaced their cartridge filters with a Lakos Separator. The result: annual savings of over $7,000. Before the installation of the Lakos Separator, frequent cartridge failure allowed excessive swarf to enter the system, continually adhering to the metal components of the grinding machine. “The swarf would set up like cement and before we could use the grinding machine, we’d have to use an air hammer to chip it off,” said Al Wiles, Industrial Engineer for Sperry Vickers.

Occurring as often as twice a month, chipping off the swarf was a two-day process that cost between $300 and $400 each time. “We were practically desperate until we heard about the separator,” said Wiles. In this coolant recirculating system, the Lakos In-Line Separator functions as a polishing filter. Coolant is first passed through a drag-out tank for removal of larger solids and is then pumped to the Lakos Separator which takes out the remaining swarf before discharging to a holding tank for eventual re-use in the system.

Unlike the cartridge filters, which had to be repeatedly changed, the only maintenance required for the Lakos Separator is the occasional manual purging of collected solids. Wiles also says that the continual monitoring of the system, once necessary with the cartridges, has now been eliminated with the use of Lakos Separators. “The only thing we monitor now is the strength of the coolant,” Wiles said. “Lakos Separators really do the job.”