“This product is its own best advertising." We got 3 times the tool life out of our hobs after filling our machine with NU Cut Plus (Soy- Based Cutting Oil) from Sterling Tool. Before adding NuCut Plus, we had to change stations on our hobs twice a day. Now, we change stations every other day. Consequently, we are sharpening and recoating hobs less often, saving us time and money. Production has significantly increased due to the lack of downtime and I can confidently run my other shifts without worrying that they will run out of good hobs. I would recommend this high performance cutting oil to anyone.
Amazing results from a renewable resource that is grown in the USA!
Ted Grutza
Majeski Machine
Another reason to Go Green
Performance Biolubes Lubricants
Product: NuCutPlus Cutting Oil
Process: GearShaper / Tool Sharpening
Savings: $24,000.00
Background
Theworld’s leading international manufacturer of agricultural,construction, forestry, and lawnand turf care equipment was seeking ways to improve productivity, reduce costand improve the environmental sustainability of their operations.
Situation
The Company desired toreduce the maintenance cost of cutting tools, specifically the High Speed Helical Shaper Cutter. The operation wasusing Henkel Circlene FG20 petroleum-based metalworking fluid. It required 60 minutes to re-sharpen thedull tool at a cost of $34.80 per tool.
Solution Recharged the systemwith NuCut Plus Cutting Oil.
Benefits NuCut Plus dramaticallyextended tool life.
The number ofpieces cut between tool changes increased from 29 to 44 pieces, a 52% increase. NuCut Plus reduced grinding timefrom 60 minutes to 35 minutes, a 25 minute reduction. This represented a savings of 42%. NuCut Plus improved the toolperformance because the tool held its cutting edge, performed better, reducedsharpening error and improved finish.
NuCut Plus is Soy-Based so thecompany was able to use a product manufactured from a renewable resource. It is biodegradable so it is friendly to theenvironment.
Your company can see these same cost reductions by using this Bio-Based Technology.Give us a call.
Toll Free 1-866-929-7200
Bio-Based Metal Cutting Fluid
Product Bio-CoolXXL Plus Water Soluble Coolant
Process FinishTurning
Application
Machining the face of acarbon steel automotive part with a .7 (metric) micro-finish requirement.
Background
A first tier automotivesupplier was having trouble maintaining a .7 micro-finish on a finish turningoperation. Tools were being changedwhen surface finish deteriorated after about 60 parts. Feed rates were held to .0055 per revolutionto maintain finish.
Situation
Customer needed toimprove tool life while keeping finish within tolerances. They had tested various cutting tools andsettled on a Tungaloy wiper style insert to obtain the best surface finish.
Solution
Customer added fivegallons of Performance Biolubes’ Bio-Cool XXL Plus coolant concentrate to thecurrent semi-synthetic coolant in their 100 gallon sump.
Benefits
Finish improved to a 3.5micro-finish. Tool life increased to130 parts per edge. After these results were solidified, the PerformanceBiolubes Representative suggested that the customer increase their feedrate. With XXL Plus, the customer wasable to increase feed rate from .0055 per rev. to .014 per rev.
Your company can see these same cost reductions by using this Bio-Based Technology.Give us a call.248-524-0100
Cost Savings
Insert cost is $7.42 each with 6cutting edges. At $1.24 per edge, toolcost per part was $.021 for 60 parts and is now $.009 per part for 130 parts. The customer manufactured theseparts on two machines with an $80 burden rate per machine. Together, the two machines produced 3000 partsper day in sixteen hours. The totalburden cost was .853 per part.
Therewere 50 five minute tool changes.
After adding Bio-Cool XXL, tool changes werereduced to 23 per day, a reduction of 2.25 hours in tool change time. The increase in feed rate reducedmachining time by 10 seconds per part times 3000 parts per day totals areduction of 8.3 hours in machining time.Total cost reduction usingBio-Cool XXL Plus is .293 per part. Theannual cost savings is $219,750.
Thisdoes not include the reduction in scrap parts, reworks or reduction in costs ofreduced quality control and administration efforts.
Another Success
Story
Product NuCut Plus Cutting/Grinding Oil
Application Form Grinding heated treated
high carbon steel with CBN plated wheels
Background Manufacturer of proprietary power
transmission parts struggled with heat checking in hardened parts after
grinding forms with CBN plated grinding wheels.
Situation Customer has ground forms
in heat treated high carbon steel parts for many years. A typical plated grinding wheel ground 2000
parts before it required stripping and re-plating. he quality control department has
identified small cracks in parts after the grinding process, causing increased
scrap, lost production time, increased inspection, and additional
administrative efforts. The grinding
fluid used was a Blaser petroleum-based oil.
Solution Customer replaced their
petroleum-based grinding oil with Performance
Biolubes’ NuCut Plus Bio-based Cutting/Grinding Oil. Benefits When grinding with NuCut Plus, the grinding process no longer
causes the customers parts to crack.
This is due of reduced heat from improved lubrication of the grinding
wheel. Also, this improved lubrication
allows the CBN plated grinding wheels to last over 6000 parts before requiring
re-plating. The customer is able to
increase feed rates while reducing smoke produced by the grinding process.
Your
company can see these same cost reductions by using this Bio-Based
Technology. Give us
a call.248-524-0100
Cost Savings Grinding wheel expense is reduced
$60,000 annually. Reduced quality
control efforts save approximately $30,000.
Reduced production time saves $200,000 per year.
These
savings total $290,000 per year.
Additional
savings comes from reduced scrap and administrative time. Other Benefits
Performance
Biolubes’ NuCut Plus Cutting/Grinding Oil is a truly “Green”
product, made from USA
grown seed crops. There are no known
cases of dermatitis from this product, and most users say that they have
eliminated dry skin cracking that occurred when working with petroleum-based
coolants. The vapors from NuCut Plus
are not hazardous. Disposal is not
hazmat unless the used product contains other hazmat classified materials such
as heavy metals from machining.
Bio-Based Metal Cutting Fluid
Product Bio-CoolXXL Plus Water Soluble Coolant
Application Heavy wall carbon steel tube cutoff on a Modern Cutoff Machine.
Background Second tier supplier to alarge bearing manufacturer has a contract to cutoff 85,000 pieces per week of a carbon steel tube running 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. They selected a Modern Cutoff machine andtooled it with Ingersoll blade style indexable carbide cutoff tools.
Situation Customer tested varioustools and determined that they could achieve 700 parts per edge consistentlywith an eleven second cycle time. Customer asked his distributor representative if there was anything elsethey could do to improve tool life or cycle time.
Solution Customer added 2-1/2gallons of Performance Biolubes’ Bio-Cool XXL Plus coolant concentrate to thecurrent semi-synthetic coolant in their 50 gallon sump to see if the biobasedproduct would help with tool life.
Benefits The customer stated thathe knew immediately that his tool life would improve because the surface finishin the cut area was much better and that usually translates to better toollife. As it turned out, their tool lifeimproved dramatically. The customernow gets more than 1400 parts per tool, a 100 percent improvement.
Your company can see these same cost reductions by using this Bio-Based Technology. Give us a call.248-524-0100 Cost Savings Insert cost is $16.20 each with 2cutting edges. At $8.10 per edge, toolcost per part was $.023 for 700 parts and is now $.0115 per part for 1400parts. Tool cost savings is $24,589 peryear. With an eleven second cycle time,tool changes were every two hours and took five minutes each. Performance Biolubes coolant reduced toolchanges by one half. With an $80 per hour burden rate, the savingsfrom reduced tool change time was $14,000 annually. Total annual savings from usingPerformance Biolubes coolant is $38,589.
Other Benefits Performance Biolubes’ Bio-Coolcoolant is a truly “Green” product, made from USAgrown seed crops. There are no knowncases of dermatitis from this product, and most users say that they haveeliminated dry skin cracking that occurred when working with petroleum-basedcoolants. The vapors from Bio-Cool arenot hazardous. Disposal is not hazmatunless the used product contains other hazmat classified materials such as heavy metals from machining.
Miller Products Company, a manufacturer of screwmachineproductsand turnedparts located in Osceola, Iowa, began testing soy neat oil in Spring 2006. The company is a leading manufacturer of trailer pins with worldwide distribution. Bill Frosch, Plant Engineer, was interested in trying soy metal working fluids because he felt that it is important to close the loop as a supplier to agribusiness. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the soy product’s performance was superior to petroleum straight oil.
Miller Products realized a 20-30% increase in productivity and cut retooling costs in half by switching to soy metal working fluid.
Miller Products machining capacities range in size from 1/4" to 3-1/2" diameter bar stock. Miller Products features multiple spindle, CNC and single spindle screw Machines with complete secondary operations including in-house zinc plating, centerless grinding and vertical CNC. Contract screw machine products are available in long and short runs. Stock items include: lock pins, hitch pins, snap lock pins & bent pins. Founded in 1936, Miller Products has been a reliable employer and a good community steward. The company was interested in the positive environmental image as an immeasurable benefit of pollution prevention. The company has been ISO9000 certified for many years and was interested in capitalizing on an increasingly precious public relations commodity: green street credit.
Small Business Placement Description Soy metal working fluid replaced straight petroleum oil in several test machines. As the test period proceeded, additional machine stations were converted to soy oil. The shop has a central reservoir system so the test machines were isolated to ensure that no soy neat oil was mixed into the central system and no petroleum make up oil was added to the test stations. The machines were single and multi-spindle stations. An immediate increase in tool life (or reduction in retooling) was identified. The product placed was Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing, Inc. UNI-Cut™, a universal cutting,way,and hydraulic fluid. Formulated with the best- optimized USA-grown natural seed oils and select additives, it surpasses the lubricity and performance of conventional metalworking fluids.1 As the test period continued, the machine feed rates were increased at each station. A minimum increase in feed of 20% was verified with some machines increased to 30% higher productivity than when using petroleum oils. Overall an average of 25% increase in feed rate (productivity) was realized. Additionally, a noticeable reduction in the number of retooling events for each station was documented. Previously, using petroleum neat oil, each spindle had to be retooled twice per day for about 15 minutes of downtime. Using soy oil the frequency was cut in half, resulting in only one retooling event per day. This reduction in retooling further increased productivity as well as cut the cost of retooling by 50%, potentially saving over $66,000 per year.
Performance Biolubes is the leading provider of bio-based lubricants and greases in the United States. These products are based on exclusive biotech-based technology, formulated with renewable, biodegradable USA-grown vegetable oils. These lubricants, greases, and metalworking fluids are environmentally friendly and meet or exceed industry standards.
The reduction in retooling cut the cost of retooling by 50%, saving over $66,000 per year.
Following the test period, Miller Products Company decided to make a full conversion to soy oil based on the a 20-30% increase in productivity and 50% reduction in retooling costs. The cost for complete shop conversion was $23,000. The petroleum oil could have been consumed but the plant manager was anxious to complete the conversion to soy to realize the increased productivity and reduced tooling costs as soon as possible.
Technology Description (P2 Application) Metal working fluids basically come in two types: water-soluble coolants and neat (straight) oil. Neat oil is required for difficult processes that require the highest level of lubricity. Neat oil is the most expensive metal working fluid due to the high volume of product used. Therefore, is only used in shops only when specialty work requires it. The use of soy oil for metalworking began as an alternative to conventional products (petroleum-based, synthetics and semi-synthetics). Soy oil, like many other ag-based oils, exhibits superior lubricity in many industrial applications. Additionally, many companies are interested in biodegradable products, especially those developed from renewable resources that help agribusiness.
Specifically, soy oils have the following advantages over conventional products:
1) produce less smoke and mist for reduced inhalation problems 2) contain no chlorine or sulfur 3) reduce or eliminate dermatitis issues 4) reduce retooling costs 5) increase productivity (or feed) rates.
Several steps are necessary to convert metal ores into useful metal products. These steps are conducted by businesses in the metal working industries; specifically classified by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes 3400-3499.2 The fabricated metal industry shapes products from stock material through one or more machining processes. Metals may be shaped by using heat-treating or cold pressure methods. Cold pressure methods shape the work piece by applying direct physical pressure to cold metal. Shaping operations include shearing (e.g. punching), forming (e.g. spinning or drawing), and machining processes. Machining operations require the use of machining tools to refine the shape of the work piece by removing small amounts of material. Examples of machining processes include drilling, milling, turning, planning, sawing and grinding. Machining processes use various products in the processes such as cutting fluids, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cooling or quench oils, and possibly cleaning solutions.
Machining involves high-pressure, metal on metal moving contacts between tool and work piece. To reduce the heat and friction caused by these operations, metal working fluids (MWFs) are circulated over the work surfaces.
These fluids are used to:
- Control and reduce the temperature of tools and work surfaces; - Reduce friction and vibration by acting as a lubricant; - Wash away chips and metal debris; - Improve the quality of the machined surface; and - Inhibit corrosion and rust on newly exposed surfaces. (Environmental Benefits) Neat oils contain additives to improve performance and inhibit rust and corrosion. Traditionally, petroleum products contain wetting agents to increase lubricity as well as extreme pressure additives such as sulfur and chlorine.3 These additives enhance the anti-welding properties and improve lubrication. However, neat oils have poor heat dissipating properties and therefore, increase fire risk. They may also create smoke in the shop that results in a poor work environment. Petroleum oils can cause folliculitis and oil acne by blocking skin or hair follicles. 4 Soybean oil has a higher molecular weight and flash point when compared to petroleum oil. These properties help soy oil bond well with metals serving as an effective friction reducer (lubricant). They also decrease heating, minimizing smoke and mist problems by not burning off at high temperature points such as the tool-to-part contact point. Soy oil also include reduction or elimination of dermatitis due to its compatibility with natural skin oils and the lack of harsh chemical additives.
The reduced wear on tools and machinery is an environmental benefit by enhancing the longevity of these durable goods.
One of the most obvious environmental benefits of soy is that it’s a biodegradable product that comes from a renewable resource. Regulatory Using straight oils for machining in this shop eliminated spent metalworking fluids as a waste stream since all of the product (whether soy or petroleum) is consumed in the process. During the conversion from petroleum-based MWFs to the ELM soy product, used oil was generated. The used metalworking fluid was recycled by a local used oil marketer under the Used Oil Management Standards (40CFR279). Disposal is not usually an issue with the neat oil in this shop. The central reservoir system is equipped with a centrifuge that removes the metal fines and continually recycles the oil. The soy oil is being used in the same recovery system without any modification. The metal fines are recycled. Outcomes Pollutant Reduction Outcomes Every industrial process has inputs and outputs. Material that is not incorporated into the finished product eventually becomes a waste. Implementing pollution prevention can increase industrial efficiency and potentially decrease costs.
Hazardous material reduced in pounds per year: 5,000 pounds per year The shop’s increase in productivity by an average of 25% equates to a reduction in material usage of 5,000 pounds per year. Environmental & Health Outcomes The health and safety benefits of soy MWFs include reduced dermatitis issues and reduced smoke that causes inhalation problems. Soy oil’s superior adhesion properties also reduce safety concerns by not creating slippery work surfaces. Substitution of a petroleum product with a biodegradable product manufactured from a renewable resource that benefitsagribusiness has many known environmental benefits. “Businesses can improve the work environment for their employees by using biochemicals and thus reduce health and safety risks. Plant matter-derived chemicals are typically lower in toxicity, flammability and corrosivity than their petrochemical counterparts.”5 Economic Outcomes Increased productivity and reduced retooling costs are the most significant economic benefit of this pollution prevention application. The cost benefit analysis provided here is an extrapolation for an entire production year based on the data collected during the test period. The shop rate was based on an average rate for the industry. This shop preferred not to publish an exact shop rate as their rates vary.
The cost calculator developed to estimate the benefits of switching to soy oil is available at http://www.iwrc.org/netsb/.
Cost of Petroleum Product................. $6.49 per gallon Cost of Soy Product.... .. $11.53 per gallon Average shop hourly .......... $75.00 System capacity.................. 1500 gallons Annual make up................ 1000 gallons
Cost of Petroleum MWF annually at $6.49 per gallon........ $16,225.00
In-house sharpening of high-speed circular form tools was conducted twice per day for about 15 minutes for each spindle (40) on 252 production days per year. 0.25 hours X $75 shop rate X 40 spindles X 252 days = $132,300
Retooling cost annually with petroleum..................... $132,300.00
Annual cost of using petroleum at baseline production rate....... $148,525.00
Cost of Soy MWF annually at $11.53 per gallon...... $28,825.00
Retooling cost annually with Soy (doubled the life of the tools).... $66,150.00 Annual cost of using soy............................... $94,975.00 Annual savings of using soy MWF................... $53,550.00
Estimated increased productivity by 25%................ $1,058,400.00
Projected total cost savings & estimated increase in productivity........ $1,111,950.00
American Grown Renewable Resource
“This product is its own best advertising." 
Another Success
Story
GO GREEN!