Transmission parts maker cleans up its act

Ease and efficiency are important factors in running a smooth manufacturing operation. As Metaldyne Corp., a Michigan-based manufacturer of driveline and transmission products discovered, oil skimming could improve the company’s already smooth-running manufacturing processes.

Metaldyne’s driveline and transmission group operates Hatebur AMP 30, AMP 50 and AMP 70 fully automated, horizontal hot-forming machines at their Royal Oak, Mich., facility.

These machines produce high quality, near net components. From bar stock to precision forgings, the Hatebur machines can produce up to 120 parts per minute. Hot-rolled bars enter at one end of the machine, which heats, feeds, cuts off, forms and pierces forgings along the conveyor in a single pass.

As part of the forging process, Metaldyne uses water to wash the ends of the hot-rolled bars and to cool the dyes. Meanwhile, oil is used to lubricate the forging equipment.

Throughout the process, the excess water and oil are collected in a pit below the Hatebur machines. 

Why skim?
Ideally, Metaldyne wanted to reuse the water and salvage the oil, while improving its manufacturing process as a whole. The company recognized that the oil could not be salvaged without first removing the water. The water would diminish the effectiveness of the oil and lead to machine damage if it was reused to lubricate the equipment.

Thorough skimming would allow workers to reuse this oil, which saves money and benefits the environment. By skimming the oil from the water, the company might be able to improve their manufacturing process by creating a cleaner system.

Metaldyne determined the benefits were worth researching and invested in an oil skimming solution. The company initially installed a floating oil skimmer/separator system, which pumped oil into an above-ground separator.

Unfortunately, the company quickly learned the system was high-maintenance and unreliable because it did not always remove the excess oil from the water. 

“The system required a lot of maintenance because the separator kept clogging up,” said Ken LaBruyere, project planning manager for Metaldyne Royal Oak – Hatebur Operations. “Our employees had to manually clean out the separator, which was causing a lot of separator downtime.”

Another option
LaBruyere investigated a variety of oil skimming systems and discovered the Model 6V oil skimmer from Oil Skimmers Inc. of Cleveland. Oil Skimmers’ flexible floating polyethylene collector tube attracts oil instead of water. 

The closed-loop tube snakes over and around debris to reach contaminants in the water. Oil adheres to the outside of the tube as it is slowly drawn across the surface and into the oil skimmer. The tube is continuously drawn up into the oil skimmer and through the scrapers that remove the oil. Then, the tube returns to the water surface to collect more oil.

The Model 6V oil recovery system works unattended 24/7, removing as much as 100 gallons of waste oil per hour and decants it into a drum. The recovered oil is nearly water-free.

Metaldyne Royal Oak – Hatebur Operations selected nine oil skimmers for their facilities, which they incorporated along with a unique, specially designed mounting system, at the base of its Hatebur machines for simple oil recovery.

Lower maintenance, reliable solution
Metaldyne improved its operations and nearly eliminated downtime with its new oil skimmer. Virtually any in-plant oil contamination problem can be controlled, so Metaldyne could easily remove the excess oil from the cooling water.

The key to reusing the oil is to separate it before environmental elements minimize its value.

“We have utilized the Model 6V oil skimmers to separate oil from several different process fluids with good results,” said LaBruyere.

Improved manufacturing process with lasting results
Another benefit of incorporating oil skimmers into the manufacturing process is the ability to extend the life of the equipment.

For manufacturers who recycle the water used in the cooling process, it is critical to remove all of the oil before reusing the water. If the oil is not completely removed, contaminants in the water could shorten the life of the tool.

“The Model 6V oil skimmers have run flawlessly,” said LaBruyere. “They require minimal maintenance and remove more oil than other units we’ve utilized in the past.”

Metaldyne plans to add one unit per month until all of the company’s Hatebur machines are equipped with oil skimmers.

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