Regular cleaning of machine tools should be an essential part of any maintenance plan. In practice, this means hours of tedious manual work, with the tooling machines at a standstill at the same time.
With the unique ph-cleantec process, on the other hand, the cooling lubricant of the machine tool is sucked in and heated, and the tooling machine can be cleaned effortlessly and in the shortest possible time with its own coolant. This saves substantial time and money.
Regular cleaning of machine tools should be an important part of any maintenance plan. However, cleaning activities also occur in the context of machine tool repairs and major overhauls or retrofits.
In practice, cleaning a machine tool is an unpleasant job. Small and medium-sized machine tools in particular have a compact design and combine a large number of functions in a very small space. This means difficult accessibility, a lot of time and effort, and a lot of dirt.
The machining cabin is usually easy to reach. The tool magazine and drive train with spindle, on the other hand, are difficult to access. But it is precisely these areas that should be cleaned properly and regularly, because adhesions caused by the coolant or oils or chips cause damage to the tool holders and the handling systems.
Cleaning with high pressure is out of the question, as the high pressures and amounts of water would lead to rinsing out the bearings, damage to hoses, cables and sensors, as well as rust formation. The use of rags and brushes, on the other hand, is only possible where one can reach and, in addition to insufficient cleaning, involves a considerable risk of injury.
In any case, cleaning by hand is very time-consuming and does not stand in proportion to the result. This applies both to machines that use cooling lubricants and to machines that work with cutting oil.
The low-pressure hot cleaning process combines a pressure of 3 bar to max. 14 bar with a high working temperature of up to 95°C.
The low pressure ensures that no damage or splash effects occur. The high temperatures, in turn, are ideal for loosening greasy and oily contaminants - i.e. cooling lubricant and cutting oil.
Easy handling is achieved by means of a lance which allows to access even hard-to-reach places effortlessly. The operator does not have to reach into the machine with his hands, so that injuries are excluded. The tools remain in the holder and are cleaned at the same time.
The time saved, that is working time and machine downtime, compared to manual cleaning is enormous. Even a tool magazine with 60 places can be cleaned in a few minutes. For the cleaning of a whole machine, our customers speak of 20 - 30 minutes instead of 3 - 4 hours.
The machine's own cooling lubricant is used as the medium. This means that the emulsion is not diluted and no foreign substances are introduced. The coolant can be filled into the tank of the hot cleaning device or sucked directly from the tank of the machine tool. Cutting oil can be filled into the tank of the hot cleaning device.
We recommend the following devices:
In combination with an on-top parts cleaning level (collector), ph-cleantec devices can also be used as mobile wash tables for parts cleaning.
Furthermore, it is possible to thermally sterilise (pasteurise) the cooling lubricant in bypass-mode. This reduces or even totally avoids the addition of biocides, i.e. fungicides and bactericides
The low-pressure hot cleaning process is perfectly suited for cleaning tool magazines and tools.
In applications in the field of precision and ultra-precision mechanics, heat exchangers and electric motors must be used to ensure that the bath temperature of the cooling lubricant is as constant as possible in order to ensure trouble-free operation even in summer or at high outside temperatures. Here, too, the low-pressure hot cleaning units offer an ideal solution.
When cleaning a machine tool, the tool magazine poses a special challenge: It is particularly dirty, very difficult to access and it is easy to injure oneself on the sharp tools. The tool magazine in particular should be cleaned properly and regularly, because adhesions due to coolant, oil or chips cause damage to the tool holders and the handling systems.
The tool magazine is usually cleaned manually with the help of rags and, if necessary, brake cleaner, with which heavy contamination may be sprayed.
This takes a lot of time and involves the risk of foreign substances being introduced into the coolant. In addition, there is a non-negligible risk of injury while cleaning.
The ph-cleantec devices are ideally suited for cleaning the machine tool including the tool magazine. The tool magazine is simply sprayed with hot cooling lubricant or cutting oil. The lances make it easy to reach even the furthest corners.
Machine tools must be thoroughly cleaned as part of major repairs, 5-year overhauls and retrofit measures. During retrofitting, the machines are often completely dismantled.
Even if a machine tool is completely dismantled, cleaning with high pressure is out of the question, as the high pressures would lead to damage. The usual alternative – the use of rags and brushes - often only works to a limited extent, involves the risk of injuries, is very time-consuming in any case and is usually not in proportion to the result.
The low pressure hot-cleaning technology is ideal for the repair of machine tools, as contamination and especially residues of coolant and cutting oil are easily dissolved at 95°C and are also easily removed at up to 7.5 or 14 bar. The lances can be used to reach and clean areas that are difficult to access, such as the drive system, the spindle or the tool magazine.
The method is therefore regularly recommended by service technicians of leading machine tool manufacturers.
In the field of retrofitting, the devices have proven themselves for decades. In most cases, the machine tools are lifted onto special tubs with forklift trucks or cranes, disassembled there and cleaned with the ph-cleantec devices. Large areas and entire machines can be cleaned with the lances.
Stubborn dirt can be cleaned with brushes, complex surfaces with cracks, grooves, blind holes etc. can be cleaned with the appropriate nozzles.
Entire machines are often cleaned with devices of the SRE family, individual parts in the parts cleaning level of the SR devices. Since the ph-cleantec units are mobile, they can be pulled directly to the respective machine tool and used there.
Thanks to the unique method - high temperatures and low pressure - the normally used and rather aggressive cleaning agents can often be dispensed with. This protects people and the environment and saves money.
Above all, the savings in working time compared to conventional methods are enormous, usually 80-90%. This alone means that the devices usually pay for themselves after only a few months.
With the help of the amortisation calculator, you can run the numbers for your company.
The demands placed on tools for tooling machines are extremely high. Among other things, they must be cleaned when they are subjected to a quality inspection or used in another machine tool. Tools that have spent a long time in the tool magazine without being used often have heavy contamination from dried cooling lubricant and chips.
Typically, tools are cleaned with a brush and cold wash tables. Washing machines are usually not suitable because the cutting geometry is very different and the milling heads are of different sizes. The tool grippers can normally only be cleaned in situ.
Tools can be ideally cleaned in the parts cleaning level of the devices of the SR family from ph-cleantec. With the help of brushes, even stubborn dirt can be cleaned easily. In the process, the brush dampens the splash-back effects.
Cleaning directly in the tool magazine is particularly easy: the tools can be sprayed directly in the magazine with the lance, including tool pick-up and tool gripper.
Due to the mobility of the ph-cleantec devices, the tools can be cleaned directly at the respective machine. Thanks to the unique method - high temperatures and low pressure - the otherwise required aggressive cleaning agents can usually be dispensed with. These can therefore not be introduced into the machine tool, and the devices work in a particularly environmentally and health-friendly way.
Above all, compared to conventional methods, usually 80-90% of working time is saved.
When manufacturing or using tools with internal cooling, the cooling channels must be properly cleaned. However, the accessibility of the narrow through holes is very difficult with conventional cleaning methods.
Typically, tools with internal cooling are cleaned with a brush on a cold wash table. Washing machines cannot normally be used because the cutting geometry is very different and the milling heads are of different sizes, also washing machines generally cannot reach the inner channels.
One side of the tools is fixed in a cutting ring fitting. On the opposite side, the gun of the low-pressure hot cleaner is connected. With a pressure of 3 to 7.5 bar and 95°C hot water (supplemented with alkaline cleaner if necessary), the cooling channels are efficiently flushed with a flushing volume of approx. 1.8 l/min.
In the case of dry milling, especially of steels, forgings and castings, there is no cooling lubricant to clean the tools. Therefore, heavy impurities form on the cutting edge geometry as well as on the insert seat, which have to be cleaned before the inserts can be changed.
Typically, the tools are cleaned with a brush on a cold wash table. Washing machines usually do not work because the cutting geometry is highly variable. In addition, the dry milling heads are of different sizes, especially in large-scale machining.
The tools can be ideally cleaned in the parts cleaning level of the devices of the SR family from ph-cleantec. With the help of the brush, even stubborn dirt can be cleaned easily and efficiently. At the same time, the brush further dampens the already minimal splash-back effects.
Due to the mobility of the ph-cleantec devices, the tools can be cleaned directly at the respective machine tool. Thanks to the unique method - high temperatures and low pressure - it is usually possible to dispense with the aggressive cleaners that would otherwise be needed. As a result, there is no risk of these cleaners contaminating the machine tool.
Compared to conventional methods, 80-90% of the working time is usually saved.
© 2024 ph-cleantec GmbH