Carbide Grinding Company: Concentrated Oil Mist Collector

CGC Carbide Grinding Company had an oil mist collection issue. Their small, individual system units, spread all around their modern manufacturing facility, were no longer a viable option for them. The system units were low and medium horsepower, messy to maintain, and were not collecting all the oil they needed to collect. Additionally, there were performance and maintenance issues associated with the oil equipment, and safety issues as well.

These safety issues included:

• Oil on the machines
• Oil on the walls, floors, and other slippery surfaces
• Oil on their operators’ safety glasses and skin

With the potential for employee health implications, and the risk of a new building addition being destroyed by oil if left alone (e.g. discoloring the facility, dirtying it up, ruining presentation and work environment), CGC Carbide Grinding Company knew they had to do something.

CGC Carbide Grinding Company’s oil is very highly concentrated and very dirty from the carbide. They knew their next solution had to be proven to handle the tenacious oil. They considered purchasing more individual units but ruled out this approach. Next, they looked at competitors’ offerings for oil mist collection, however, they were not satisfied with what was proposed.

Enter Hastings with the IVEC® Advanced ventilation system and Plymovent® MistEliminator mist collector. This is a large, multi-stage, high capacity system with an all-in-one collection point. In the coolant world, Hastings has sold many systems, but what was proposed was unique, which is detailed as follows:

IVEC ADVANCED

• 14 drops with automatic dampers ordered at onset
• 2 additional drops were added during installation, totaling 16 altogether
• “Current” sensors/inputs to open and close the dampers

PLYMOVENT MISTELIMINATOR

• 6 stages
• Modular collector
• Not commonly sold; specialized solution for CGC Carbide Grinding Company’s needs

The main benefit of this solution is in the workplace and environmental safety: two things that CGC Carbide Grinding Company takes seriously. Oil mist in the workplace has an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirement and CGC Carbide Grinding Company wanted to ensure that their new solution would a) be in compliance with regulations, and b) not put their employees at risk.

Hastings provided CGC Carbide Grinding Company with a 2-D layout drawing of the proposed solution during a presentation with the Company’s President and Owner, Kevin Cranker, noting that an automatic control system on this type of oil is unusual. The benefits of multi-stage equipment were also discussed, as well as the robust nature of the IVEC Advanced and Plymovent system and its ability to withstand the Company’s oil. Based on this meeting, and a discussion on the proposed system’s expandability and Hasting’s past experience in oil mist collection, CGC Carbide Grinding Company’s President put his trust and confidence in us.

CGC Carbide Grinding Company’s system just passed its one year mark and benefits were seen immediately. System efficiency is extremely high and is performing well ahead of expectations. It does not allow for penetration of contaminant through the filter system, which is a common problem. Facility cleanliness is maintained and will continue to be maintained, even though their manufacturing process is dirty, and employees are protected from air pollution and a challenged HVAC system.

Where CGC Carbide Grinding Company’s previous oil mist collection unit filters were on a regular preventive maintenance cycle, they report their new filters to have yet to be touched. In fact, the expected filter life for their new system is 2-4 years. This is a value-add for CGC Carbide Grinding Company to have their filters last this long.

As stated previously, CGC Carbide Grinding Company had many individual mist collection units all over their shop, and none of them were high horsepower. With their new central oil mist recovery system, oil is now managed at a single point through a central sump system. Oil is collected, dumped, then returned to the sump system for recycling and refiltering. The efficiency is greatly increased through the central system in terms of oil recovery, oil handling, and resource-saving, making it environmentally friendly and hands-off from an operator interaction and management perspective. There is remaining system capacity left and CGC Carbide Grinding Company could add additional drops and a more advanced control module later if they wanted

For more information on our highly concentrated & dirty oil mist collectors contact us today.