Jan 2020 - 22: Simple Solution Offers Significant Savings at Rolls Royce

Simple solution delivers significant savings at Rolls-Royce.

Twelve months ago, Freddy Products Ltd received a telephone call from an intern at Rolls-Royce plc based at Derby.

This enquiry was the first step to the development of the new Coolant Health Unit, or CHU filtration machine from the Pershore manufacturer.

Simon Hanmer, Managing Director at Freddy Products says“Initially, the intern asked about cleaning and recycling coolant.”

Rolls-Royce has a long-standing commitment to reduce the environmental impact of its products, services and manufacturing activities.

Part of this commitment includes a waste action plan that targets a 25% reduction of liquid and solid waste in the manufacturing process by 2025.
Referring to the enquiry, Simon says: “I knew the Rolls-Royce site and wondered if he was aware of all the Freddy machines on-site.

He didn’t, so the first thing to do was identify the production area and look at what they had, so we could explain how to use existing Freddy’s to better effect.”
“Like so many sites that have Freddy units, the equipment has been there for a long time and tends to be used for ‘suck and dump.’
Freddy’s are made to recycle, but many owners aren’t aware of what they can do because the knowledge hasn’t been handed down.

We must educate users and make them aware that Freddy’s will recycle coolant.

In many cases, Freddy units are used by on-site cleaning companies on behalf of the owner, so they don’t know how the unit is being utilised.

This was the case at Rolls- Royce Derby.”
“Once the intern understood the machines on-site, we set up visits to demonstrate how the product should be used, so that Chris Haynes, the Rolls Royce intern, could implement it into his on-site testing plan.

Through demos, we considered if there was a way to adapt an existing unit and make coolant cleaning more effective and faster.

With such vast machine tool sump sizes, this was the catalyst for Rolls-Royce to work with Freddy to develop the new CHU.”
Initially, Freddy took an existing Freddy Ecovac into the refurbishment program to pass as a new machine.

Simon says “There was no need to sell Rolls-Royce another machine when they already had a perfectly good machine.”

“We refurbished the Ecovac and added some extra features, so Rolls-Royce could use the machine as part of an ongoing development trial.

The trials soon transpired into how Freddy Products could be utilised better to enhance machine shop cleanliness at Rolls-Royce whilst approaching the subject of fluid control and contamination.

The ageing single filter vacuums could empty a machine sump into an IBC in a matter of minutes; yet a thorough machine clean, re-cycle and replenishment would take considerably longer.

Freddy acknowledged the large machine sumps at Rolls-Royce would require extensive and regular cleaning.

Likewise, Rolls-Royce recognised that it was continually disposing of a high level of cutting fluid that was not environmentally or cost beneficial to the business.

Furthermore, poor coolant quality had the opportunity to be detrimental to health and also the quality of components machined.

Working on these shared goals, the two companies set about developing the CHU.
The new CHU design incorporates an additional filter bag, an automation feature for unmanned use; and by working with the engineers at Rolls-Royce, a secondary outlet with a lance.

Working like a jet wash, this lance can be manually directed to pump recycled coolant into areas of the sump, at pressure, to loosen any fines or swarf resting in difficult to access areas.
Simon says “The big thing for us, really is the extra filtration that is credit to an additional basket that is placed at the top of the machine.

This allows us to speed up the operation; and by putting two different filters in the machine, it becomes twice as effective.

So, the first filter will remove the larger particles from coolant and the second filter will extract the finest of particles.

We can have filter units that range from 1000 microns down to a single micron.

Working with engineers and chemists at Rolls-Royce, the optimal solution was a 100micron filter to capture large chips and swarf with a secondary 25micron filter to extract fine particles and residue.”
“Very early on, we knew we were getting great results with the new CHU product.

Through tests on different machines within the Rolls-Royce facility, it was noticed that where coolant was being dumped and replaced, they could now recycle it and extend the life.

Thorough analysis of the coolant by both Rolls-Royce and the oil provider proved the new CHU should be deployed throughout more sites.”

THE IMMEDIATE GAINS
Referring to the savings at Rolls-Royce, Simon Hanmer says: “We've numerous examples of savings at Rolls-Royce.

A CHU machine delivered to Rolls-Royce on the 12th August, saved 24,000 litres of coolant in just four weeks of running.

That has been achieved by cleaning coolant and recycling it back to the machines; avoiding the financial and environmental cost of disposal.

That is quite profound.

That is 24 Intermediate Bulk Containers, or IBCs, when you think about it.

In terms of financial numbers, the oil that is not being taken off-site and replaced is equating to a £9000 saving in a short period of time.”
Looking at specific machine cleaning processes, the new Freddy CHU conducted seven cycles on a single 4-axis turning centre at Rolls-Royce and this removed more than 20kg of swarf from the machine sump.

Seven cycles were required to ensure virtually all waste was removed from the machine base.

On another turning centre, the new Freddy CHU removed 9kg of waste in just 20 minutes.

From the early trials, the Freddy CHU eliminated the need to change coolant on three machines with a combined sump capacity of 7,000litres.
In a grinding area at Rolls-Royce, a cylindrical grinder had 20kg of waste removed from the sump in just 90 minutes, with a second machine witnessing similar waste removal.

The deep cleaning of the two machines prevented another 3000litres of coolant from being disposed of – prolonging coolant life considerably.

In the grinding area, the Freddy CHU utilised a primary filter bag with a 100micron filtration and a secondary bag with 10micron filtration to remove fine particles.
Simon says “With two filters in the CHU, there is no need to filter and transfer fluid to an I-B-C and then pump it back to the machine tool.

The speed of the C-H-U allows customers to wheel the CHU up to the machine tool, drop in the hoses and automatically clean the machine sump. The C-H-U can automatically 100% filter and recycle 2500litres of coolant per hour.”
THE HIDDEN BENEFITS
Simon Hander says “During initial cleaning at Rolls-Royce, significant amounts of swarf and fines were removed from machine tools and this level of waste will reduce as the machines are regularly cleaned.

However, there are hidden benefits here that manufacturers often don’t realise.

For example, if a 1000litre capacity sump generates significant swarf ingress over time, this displaces the coolant and reduces the fluid capacity in the machine.

Lower coolant levels will gradually increase the temperature of the coolant, impacting machining performance.

Additionally, metal fines in the coolant can also put added stress on high-pressure coolant pumps and reduce fluid pressure and machine service life.

Even further downstream, manufacturers may be blasting high-pressure coolant at a part and cutting tool without realising the abrasive content in the fluid and its respective impact on tool life.”

Following the delivery of three initial CHU units to Rolls-Royce Derby in August, Freddy Products has since supplied another four machines to Rolls-Royce sites in Coventry, Washington and Germany with more machines being quoted.

Commenting upon the working relationship with Freddy Products, Machining Specialist at Rolls-Royce Derby, Ian Baker says: “The really simple, yet effective feature is the addition of a pre-filter that catches a lot of waste prior to secondary filtration.

This prevents the system from ‘blinding’ and allows the CHU to work continuously at the machine.”
“Globally, Rolls-Royce has a target to reduce solid and liquid waste by 25% by 2025, the Freddy CHU will certainly contribute to us reaching our target.

The possibility of rolling-out the Freddy CHU at other Rolls-Royce sites around the world is now being investigated.

In the period from August to Christmas 2019, the Freddy CHU has prevented 60,000 litres of fluid from going to waste at just one of our Derby sites.

That is a significant cost and fluid saving in a short period of time; and with the Freddy CHU now being used at other Rolls-Royce sites, this genuinely is a positive application from an environmental, health, cost and sustainability perspective.”