In cooling lubricant dosing applications, the new Henkel Bonderite duaLCys process used in combination with the non-electric LDT Dosatron Proportional Dosing Pump has been shown to offer significant advantage to customers and increase energy efficiency of the process.
In the Metalworking industry, cooling lubricants are used to dissipate heat during drilling, milling, cutting, grinding and other machining processes. They are also used to flush chips away from the surface area of the workpiece and improve surface quality. The energy efficiency and sustainability are important considerations in selecting a fluid for this application and this has led to development of new cooling lubricants.
Henkel Bonderite duaLCys Process
With its development of the innovative two-component process Bonderite duaLCys, Henkel AG has set a new benchmark in the development of cooling lubricants. Synergies between cooling lubricant and cleaner are used to reduce costs, improve performance, save energy, reduce waste and improve working conditions.
In this new dual process, the cleaning bath is 100% recycled into the cooling lubricant. The process enables a type of pre-cleaning with low foaming at low cleaning temperatures in the tooling machine.
Martin Desinger, Business Development Manager for Cooling Lubricants at Henkel, commented, “Recycling the cleaning solution instead of disposing of it and using the synergies between the cleaner and the water-soluble cooling lubricant results in high lubrication performance, superior purity of the parts and excellent corrosion protection.”
For companies, the use of Bonderite duaLCys results in cost reductions of up to 40% due to more efficient use of coolant, water and energy consumption as well as reduced disposal volumes. To further increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of the tooling machine, Henkel AG recommends the use of the LDT Dosatron Proportional Pumps for dosing the cooling lubricants.
LDT Dosatron Proportional Pumps
LDT Dosiertechnik GmbH of Hamburg is a leading distributor in the supply of non-electric dosing pumps, offering its customers over 25 years of experience.
The Dosatron proportional dosing pump works with a volumetric hydraulic motor that provides continual injection of the liquid or soluble concentrate. It uses water pressure to operate and only requires connection to the water supply. The concentrate for dosing is drawn in independently from the water supply and is mixed with the drive water. The dosing quantity always stays proportional to the water throughput, as per the manually adjusted dosing rate, even if there are flow or pressure fluctuations in the water supply system. Furthermore, the metering accuracy of the pump is not affected by piping lengths which simplifies its installation. The proportional dosing system combines the functions of a water meter, dosing pump and mixer into a single unit with a design that does not allow for any dosing errors.
The dosing system is simple to operate and has low maintenance requirements. Its compact form gives flexible installation options including: mounting as a single metering device directly on the tooling machine; as a metering device on a mobile metering carriage together with a concentrate container, or mounting at a central location as a filling station. It is available in a selection of housing materials with a choice of seal elastomers to suit the application needs. ATEX certification is also available for use in potentially explosive atmospheres as well as FDA certification for food safety applications.
A Winning Partnership
LDT Dosiertechnik GmbH has created a special solution for Henkel to fully meet the requirements of the Bonderite duaLCys process. The use of the water-powered pump, which requires no electric supply or other utilities such as compressed air, offers customers further potential to reduce energy and installation costs. Mr. Desinger said, “Thanks to the excellent cooperation with LDT, we have succeeded in developing a tailor-made, ‘plug and play’ system, which meets all requirements of our customers and different packaging sizes. This is exactly the flexible, fool-proof solution we were looking for.”
For the Bonderite duaLCys process two proportional pumps are connected in series. Feed pumps are used to load cooling lubricant into the tooling machine. The LDT Dosatron dosing pumps are then used to re-sharpen the coolant mixture and re-fill the recycled solution.
The first proportional pump draws cleaning concentrate into the water stream and mixes it with the water. This water-cleaner solution is then passed through the second proportional pump which further mixes the solution while drawing in the cooling lubricant. The result is a well homogenized mixture which is supplied ready for use, volumetrically to the tooling machine to replenish evaporation losses and replace drawn-out lubricant.
Mr. Desinger added, “Previous dosing systems have not been able to reliably and correctly produce the low levels of subsequent quantities of our DuaLCys process. In addition, the use of different packaging sizes from the canister to the IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) must also be ensured. High reliability, long lifetime of the devices and exact dosage, according to the motto, “…. What I set comes out at the end of the tube…” were of utmost importance in our duaLCys process. Measurements with a diverse selection of customers have resulted in a deviation of +/- 0,05% from the set value – which is great!”
These innovative dosing devices can be integrated as individual units into existing systems at the customers’ premises. Alternatively, they can be supplied as plug and play packages in the form of complete, non-electric dosing cabinets.
Mr. Desinger went on to say, “Furthermore, the dosing devices are characterized by the fact that the pipeline system for the filling hose can be almost endlessly long, which drastically minimizes the required number of dosing devices. Thanks to its compact footprint, the whole system can also be designed as a mobile safety pan for two drums. Everything is quick and easy to assemble (“Plug & Play”) and all required screw and other connections are included. In addition, the package includes a timer to prevent overflow, return flow protection, water meter, flow limiter and filling gun. The dosing cabinet is also lockable to prevent unauthorised access or tampering.”
The benefits of combining the Bonderite duaLCys process and the LDT Dosatron Proportional Pumps are already being recognised in the marketplace.
Jens Voigt, Sales & Marketing of LDT Dosiertechnik GmbH commented, “In addition to individual proportional pumps, the compact dosing cabinets are increasingly being requested and sold beyond the borders of Europe. In January 2017 the first dosing units for Henkel India were delivered and we await further inquiries from domestic and abroad. Our extensive warehouse, located in our new company building, means we can usually meet even rapid delivery expectations of our customers.”
Mr. Desinger concluded, “Henkel, as a global company with globally active customers, has found a sales partner in LDT Dosiertechnik that can deliver our common idea to our customers worldwide in the right timescales. Having a partner that is straightforward to deal with, reliable and very responsive is very important to us. In addition, the price-performance ratio fits – which is 100% to our customers benefit. We are looking forward to providing the steadily growing duaLCys with high-quality and reliable dosing systems, especially as the LDT proportional pumps further support the sustainability concept of our duaLCys process. ”
Conclusion
The combination of the Bonderite duaLCys process with LDT Dosatron Proportional Dosing Pumps offers machine tool operators a great deal of benefits. In addition to cost reductions and quality improvements provided by the new two-component process from Henkel, energy savings are achieved from the use of the current-free dosing devices. Overall, the system offers reliable, repeatable performance that will help improve plant availability, lower operational costs and, with less waste, improve the sustainability of machining processes.
Bonderite is a registered trademark of Henkel and/or its affiliates in Germany and elsewhere.
