I was approached by a maintenance manager at a plastic container manufacturing plant regarding oil quality. This specific company produces plastic containers and has several plants across the U.S. Each plant is responsible for the maintenance and operation of multiple injection molding machines, many of which are Husky Brand. We were asked to design a custom filtration system that would allow our customer to increase oil quality, minimize oil purchases and reduce time and costs associated with component failures.
The specific plant that was chosen to be the initial focus had nine injection molding machines. Upon my visit we inspected the machines and reviewed the most recent oil quality results. All but one machine showed an ISO cleanliness code of 16/14/10, which is higher than recommended. We were able to review the plant layout as well as the location and type of connections that our filtration system would connect to.
After concluding my initial site visit, I was able to establish the problem areas, the customer’s specific goals and a filtration system design that would provide the necessary solutions. In this particular case, we had to design a custom mobile system that could not only address multiple machines throughout a large plant, but one that was flexible enough to be frequently relocated to multiple plants across the country.
My system design engineer and I were able to put together a dual-stage filtration system with a variable frequency drive (VFD) and an inline particle counter to provide real-time oil quality data. The Dual-Stage design along with adequately sized filter elements resulted in exceptional contamination removal rates as well as high dirt holding capacity. The inline particle counter allows each technician to determine when target ISO cleanliness levels are met and relocate the Filtration System to the next machine.
Our filtration system has met and exceeded the expectations of our customer. Target oil cleanliness levels are being met in each machine and at all plants. Oil change-outs have been reduced, as well as the frequency of maintenance repairs. The utilization of our portable filtration system has also led to extended life of the pressure and return filters installed on the machines.
Another happy customer, another success!
— Todd @ PFP