acs Cleans Up at Saw Blade Manufacturer
21 May 2010
When Luton based Whitehill Spindle Tools Ltd noted an increasing concentration of dust and coolant mist from its machine tools, the company employed media filtration systems from acs.
The densely populated machine shop required dust and fume extraction equipment to protect staff health. As Whitehill, Managing Director, Mr David Hudson recalls: “We needed a solution for dust from our belt linisher. Upon reviewing the market, acs delivered the best fit solution with its downdraught bench and bespoke guarding system. Another attraction was selecting a British manufacturer with UK support network.”
Whitehill then installed an acs AC1 dust extraction unit on its Jones & Shipman surface grinder.
In 2008 the company acquired a high speed Mazak Variaxis 500-5X. Machining at speed prevented the operator opening the machine doors with the coolant mist and hot fumes. The solution was an acs OMF2500 free standing media filtration unit with individual enclosed filters to serve each machine. As Mr Hudson continues: “We resolved the issue on three machines by linking the OMF2500 to the Variaxis plus the two Cincinnati Arrows machining centres. The OMF had an immediate impact on productivity by enabling operators to access the work envelope immediately. Minutes in lost production could be reclaimed on three machines.”
The success of the OMF 2500 soon noted the arrival of a smaller OMF1000 unit that was attached to a Cincinnati Hawk turning centre. Whitehill then fitted a 1700dpv electrostatic air cleaner to its Schneeberger Sirius grinding centre. The Schneeberger employs high pressure oil which previously caused an issue with machine access; it also lost oil into the atmosphere leaving a film on everything in close proximity. The 1700dpv cleaned up the work environment, reduced downtime and enabled the machine to maintain oil levels.
In February 2010, the company acquired its latest machine tool, a Doosan Puma MX2100ST with an OMF1000. As Mr Hudson concludes: “We are extremely pleased with the acs systems in place. acs has a solution to fit any machine tool we buy. Each unit is easy to install and maintain and above all, they have improved our environment measurably. The service and back-up is second to none.”