16.11.2022

Green tools protect resources

Minimum quantity lubrication with MAPAL

With the advent of machining with minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) nearly 30 years ago, the appeal of this technology was its potential cost savings. Today, protecting resources, energy efficiency and an improved carbon footprint take centre stage. The use of MQL is particularly appealing for new manufacturing lines, such as for e-mobility.

#Technology #Reaming&FineBoring #Milling #Drilling #产品
The picture shows a group of tools from MAPAL that are designed for minimum quantity lubrication.
  • The picture shows a group of tools from MAPAL that are designed for minimum quantity lubrication.
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    MAPAL bietet nahezu alle seiner Werkzeuge auch in Varianten für Minimalmengenschmierung an. ©MAPAL 

  • The diagram breaks down the cost blocks of machining production.
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    Machining operations with minimum quantity lubrication is a notable lever for protecting resources in production. © MAPAL 

  • The picture shows a MAPAL fine boring tool for machining stator bores of electric motors, which has been designed for MQL machining.
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    Fine boring tool for machining the stator bore with complex cooling channel guide optimised for MQL machining. © MAPAL 

To successfully implement MQL, all parts must be coordinated in the production process. The machine, MQL system, medium, workpiece material, clamping fixture, process sequence, extractor system, tool and clamping technology form one unit. MAPAL offers almost all its tools in versions for MQL too. The Aalen-based manufacturer marks tools and clamping tools suitable for this resource-saving use with a green label.

In these “green tools”, the MQL connections and cooling channels are modified in such a way that the MQL medium is transported to the cutting and guide elements of the tools in a constant and flow-oriented manner. The outlets are closer to the cutting point and have steeper outlet angles than in tools for wet machining. To assist with chip removal, chip spaces in tools suitable for MQL are twisted, polished and made larger where necessary.
 

Less lubricant means lower energy consumption

By definition, an MQL process occurs when the total oil consumption of all tools used in a machining process, calculated to the process hour, is no more than 50 ml/h. Individual processing steps can be achieved with much smaller quantities. This means, for instance, that a solid carbide drill requires an oil quantity of just 0.002 ml for a bore. Examples from mass series production show that the consistent use of MQL technology can reduce consumption of fluids containing oil by up to 98 percent. The pollution from cooling lubricants during manufacturing is thus also reduced, with the corresponding positive effects on the air and the working environment. In particular, fatty alcohols and synthetic esters are widely used as MQL oil. Both are classified as non-hazardous to water so that the environmental regulations for these oils are lower than for the normal water-miscible cooling lubricants.
The diagram breaks down the cost blocks of machining production.
Machining operations with minimum quantity lubrication is a notable lever for protecting resources in production.   © MAPAL

Tools for e-mobility

The picture shows a MAPAL fine boring tool for machining stator bores of electric motors, which has been designed for MQL machining.
Fine boring tool for machining the stator bore with complex cooling channel guide optimised for MQL machining.   © MAPAL

One example is the tool for machining the stator bore on an electric motor. Its large machining diameter requires a complex cooling channel guide in the tool and an MQL medium flow angle that can be adapted to the point of action. MAPAL created the appropriate cooling channel guide in the tool with the help of additive manufacturing, among other aspects. The 3D printing and adapted transfer elements inside the tool allow all cutting and guide elements to be equally well supplied with MQL. As the process involves working with very low quantities of oil and large length to diameter ratios, sealed transfer points as well as non-sagging and flow-optimised cooling channels in the tool body are particularly important. Additive manufacturing, which is also used for other MQL tools, additionally allows for adjusted diameters for compressed air. This in turn has a positive impact on the energy footprint thanks to lower air volume consumption.

MQL technology is constantly developing. New, high-quality device generations from MQL system manufacturers, combined with high-quality fluids, ensure increasingly fine aerosols and/or oil-air mixtures. Furthermore, harmonisation between the MQL system and individual tools is optimised in order to be able to provide a precisely dosed oil quantity that meets requirements for every application. Machining with minimum quantity lubrication makes an even bigger contribution to sustainability in manufacturing companies as a result.
 

Kathrin Rehor, PR Project Manager at MAPAL

Contact

Kathrin Rehor Public Relations Kathrin.Rehor@mapal.com Phone: +49 7361 585 3342

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