Beginning with the PermaClean coolant tank accessory that eliminates sludge, Jorgensen Conveyor and Filtration Solutions President Karl Kleppek highlighted key developments to the company’s full automated filtration system on display at the Jorgensen booth during IMTS 2024.
“The goal of our system is to make sure that the spindle on the machine tool is always running — the spindle is the money maker,” Kleppek said, explaining that the focus of the display is on 100% automation and eliminating the need for manual intervention by machine operators or maintenance personnel.
The system, Kleppek explained, helps ensure that shops can significantly reduce the time and expense associated with having their machine operators or maintenance personnel clean out sludge. The PermaClean coolant tank accessory seamlessly integrates into Jorgensen’s multi-step filtration system, he added, noting that coolant tanks equipped with PermaClean are said to be nearly maintenance free.
A typical PermaClean system includes an EcoFilter conveyor and additional fine filtra tion options. Jorgensen’s EcoFilter 80, which was included in the IMTS display, is a self-cleaning conveyor that enables filtration of fine chips down to 80 μm nominal, and is said to be the first economical non-drum style conveyor capable of filtering chips smaller than 100 μm, according to the company.
EcoFilter conveyors use a two-stage chip removal and filtration process that carries out large chips on a hinged steel belt. Fine chips flow with used coolant between the belt runs to a flowthrough EcoFilter cell where they are separated from coolant. After primary filtration through the EcoFilter conveyor, eductor nozzles keep coolant in motion, suspending chip particulates and preventing them from settling. Coolant is then pumped through a secondary filtration such as cyclonic, bag filters or gravity media.
The IMTS display was equipped with a hydrocyclone filter, which is an environmentally conscious option with no disposable filter media. Contaminated coolant enters the cyclonic filter at a high velocity that increases as it swirls downward inside the conical separating chamber. Centrifugal force throws solid contaminants against the walls of the chamber and forces it to the bottom. The solids are then discharged through a nozzle at the bottom of the cyclone filter.
The coolant, meanwhile, is redirected to an ultra-clean tank for reuse in the machine tool. PermaClean combined with cyclonic filtration has no consumables in the system, resulting in an environmentally friendly, nearly maintenance- free solution, Kleppek observed.
The filtration system displayed at IMTS also was equipped with a Will-Fill accessory that offers trouble-free care and monitoring of metalworking emulsion. The system combines automatic measuring, filling and conditioning and can alert operators via a Wi-Fi connection when attention is required. This wireless system ensures an ideal coolant solution is maintained without manual intervention.
Kleppek’s tour of the IMTS display concluded with Jorgensen’s chip processing technology, a briquetter that uses hydraulic pressure to condense metal chips while pushing out residual cutting fluid.
View the video for a highlight reel of the entire filtration system on display at IMTS.
Related Glossary Terms
- coolant
coolant
Fluid that reduces temperature buildup at the tool/workpiece interface during machining. Normally takes the form of a liquid such as soluble or chemical mixtures (semisynthetic, synthetic) but can be pressurized air or other gas. Because of water’s ability to absorb great quantities of heat, it is widely used as a coolant and vehicle for various cutting compounds, with the water-to-compound ratio varying with the machining task. See cutting fluid; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.
- cutting fluid
cutting fluid
Liquid used to improve workpiece machinability, enhance tool life, flush out chips and machining debris, and cool the workpiece and tool. Three basic types are: straight oils; soluble oils, which emulsify in water; and synthetic fluids, which are water-based chemical solutions having no oil. See coolant; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.
- emulsion
emulsion
Suspension of one liquid in another, such as oil in water.
- gang cutting ( milling)
gang cutting ( milling)
Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.
- metalworking
metalworking
Any manufacturing process in which metal is processed or machined such that the workpiece is given a new shape. Broadly defined, the term includes processes such as design and layout, heat-treating, material handling and inspection.
- milling
milling
Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.
- turning
turning
Workpiece is held in a chuck, mounted on a face plate or secured between centers and rotated while a cutting tool, normally a single-point tool, is fed into it along its periphery or across its end or face. Takes the form of straight turning (cutting along the periphery of the workpiece); taper turning (creating a taper); step turning (turning different-size diameters on the same work); chamfering (beveling an edge or shoulder); facing (cutting on an end); turning threads (usually external but can be internal); roughing (high-volume metal removal); and finishing (final light cuts). Performed on lathes, turning centers, chucking machines, automatic screw machines and similar machines.
