Electrostatic hydraulic oil filter reduces hydraulic faults
A total of twelve paint pumps are used on a painting line for large-format sheet metal parts. The paint pumps are driven by hydraulic motors. The hydraulic motors are fed with a total of 3500 liters of HLP 46 hydraulic oil from a central hydraulic system.
The problem
Due to the high capacity utilization of the system, a planned oil change could not be carried out. Approximately 24 hours of downtime are required to change the hydraulic oil, including tank cleaning and other maintenance work. Due to the increasing contamination of the hydraulic oil, the hydraulic motors broke down. In some cases, a hydraulic motor was defective every week. To minimize downtime, the hydraulic motors were no longer connected to the hydraulic system permanently, but with quick-release couplings. The cost of overhauling a hydraulic motor was around €500.
In order to reduce the high running costs for the repair, the plant operator was looking for a suitable method to either change the oil during production or to treat the oil so that the hydraulic motors could operate again without any problems.
Solution: EFC hydraulic oil filter from FRIESS
During ongoing production, a FRIESS EFC electrostatic oil cleaning system model D16 was connected to the hydraulic tank. The hydraulic oil was intensively cleaned electrostatically for a total of approx. 6 weeks without interrupting the production process. In the first week after connecting the EFC hydraulic oil filter system, another hydraulic motor failed and had to be overhauled. During the subsequent cleaning period with EFR hydraulic oil filtration, no further hydraulic motor failed.
Result
The oil analysis showed that the dirt content in the hydraulic oil was reduced by over 90 %. As varnish and microparticles were also removed from the oil using electrostatics, all other measured values for the hydraulic oil were also within the specified tolerances by the system manufacturer for new oil.
- Once the cleaning was complete, the entire system with 12 hydraulic motors was able to be operated for 12 months without any problems.
- Only after 12 months was a repeat cleaning carried out as a preventative measure due to the slightly increasing particle content.
- Since then, no further failures have become known.
- Cleaning the hydraulic oil has saved repair costs of over €20,000 per year.
- At the same time, the costs for the originally planned oil change of over €10,000 plus working time and loss of production could be saved.