Month: October 2013

Routing aluminium can be tricky at the best of times, however if the routing cutter lubrication system is engineered correctly, then it is a breeze as can be seen by watching this video.

The Unist system employed here delivers 15 ml of Coolube 2210 per hour and directs it precisely onto the routing cutter.

In short, the benefits of Unist Coolube® with MQL are:

  1. Significantly increases blade and tool life.
  2. A cost effective conversion for all machine types.
  3. No waste – kind to the environment and no wasting money either
  4. More economical in the long run – using Coolube® preserves machine parts for longer and prevents rusting
  5. Clean – no more messy slip hazards from excess coolant oozing down machines and walk ways
  6. The MQL system dispenses precisely the amount of Coolube® needed. No more, and no less.
  7. Better for machine operators – no more dermatitis caused by skin contact with coolants.
  8. Coolube does not oxidise or go sticky.

Nowadays, many manufacturers are under pressure to “go green”. Unist Coolube® is one of the most advanced metalworking fluids available today. Implementing Minimum Quantity Lubrication (M.Q.L.), a no-waste dispensing system, with Unist Coolube® is an easy step to limit the environmental footprint of your manufacturing operation.

MQL is the process of applying minute amounts of high-quality metalworking fluid lubricant directly to the cutting tool or work piece interface instead of using traditional flood coolants. It minimises your environmental impact by significantly reducing fluid usage and eliminating the need for coolant treatment and disposal.

These benefits are multiplied further when using 100% biodegradable Coolube® lubricants, *that is*, metalworking fluids which are formulated from renewable plant-based oils. When considering these facts, along with the performance benefits of Coolube® and MQL, it becomes obvious that this is the most advanced and responsible answer to running metal cutting and metal forming equipment.

Using the right lubricant is very important in MQL applications. The perfect lubricant will adhere to the surface of the tool and provide a thin, low friction barrier between the cutting tool and work piece. Studies have shown that Coolube® has superior properties, which make it an ideal lubricant.
Coolube’s® polar properties create a strong consistent bond between Coolube® and metallic surfaces. This creates an even, strong, and durable layer of lubrication. Coolube® reduces friction 50% better than typical mineral oils preventing heat build-up and resulting in longer tool life and a superior cut finish.

At Unist, we’ve been manufacturing green products long before the hype. Since 1957 to be exact.
With our recent USDA BioPreferred Program certification, everyone can see just how green our lubricant products are. These are the same non-toxic, environmentally friendly, green products we’ve been touting for years.
Nothing has changed but the USDA’s certification of our bio-based content through independent laboratory testing.

Unist Coolube® 2210 and 2210EP are both USDA BioPreferred products and are tested and certified biobased products. Coolube® 2210 is certified biobased with a renewable, biobased content of 93%. Coolube® 2210EP is a certified lubricant with a biobased content of 92%.This reinforces what we’ve know about Coolube all along:
it’s made from natural and renewable plant-based materials.

They’re still the same great lubricants that thousands of metalworkers have come to love and rely on
for improved cut quality and tool life. They just have new USDA feathers in their caps!

Filed under: Routing

The world market is flooded with many kinds of metal working fluids. It has both trusted and suspicious brands. Working well with such fluids is easy if you follow simple guidelines. For instance, there are many companies that manufacture different classes of such fluids. Availability of cutting fluids does not imply quality or safety of these products.

In the first place, working with these fluids has health issues. Research shows that they are potential sources of respiratory, skin, and cancer-related health issues. This implies that you have to observe high standards of safety in the workshop.

In addition, your trusted supplier could have an impact on the quality outcomes of your finished pieces. Suppliers rely on metal cutting technology to deliver the best fluids to their clients. Getting such fluids from reliable suppliers should be your main concern.

Working well with any metal cutting fluid demands that you must be conversant with different types of fluids for metal cutting. The market offers straight oil, synthetic fluid, semi-synthetic fluid, and soluble oil fluids. While all of these oils can work wonders, each class has its inherent drawbacks.

However, a fluid that works well should be easy to collect, treat and dispose after use. Disposal problems are unique to certain classes of such fluids, for instance mineral based fluids for cutting metals have been used for a long time by many companies. Nevertheless they are known to cause problems during their collection, treatment, and eventual disposal.

Despite such drawbacks, metal cutting continues to serve humanity with amazing innovations, therefore the answer lies in the metal cutting technology. This has seen the emergence and widespread use of vegetable based cutting fluids, which have two major advantages. First they are non-hazardous and secondly they are cost-effective.

Metal working fluids are cleverly manufactured to serve your metal working needs. Make sure you select your supplier carefully and follow the safety regulations while using such fluids in order to get the best results

Filed under: Articles.

Metal working fluids (MFFs) refer to a collection of oils, together with other liquids used as coolants or lubricants when working with metal cutting processes. When milling, machining, or grinding metal work pieces, friction and heat develops between the cutting tool and the metal work piece, therefore you need certain oils and fluids in order to reduce heat and friction.

Smoke and burning are some of the indicators of high friction between the cutting tool and your metal work piece. Burning leads to poor quality of the  finished work piece.

The market offers four basic classes of fluids for metal cutting tasks.  The first class comprises of fluids known as straight, neat, or cutting oils. They are made of marine, vegetable, synthetic, mineral, or animal oils. By employing appropriate technology, modern types of oils in this class are highly refined to reduce poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons content.

Soluble oil is the second category of fluids for metal working. They comprise of 30 to 85% highly refined petroleum oils, In addition, they have emulsifiers that help in the dispersal of the oil in the water.

Synthetic fluids are different from other oils that comprise this group. They lack petroleum oils but utilize constituents that are similar to detergents in addition to additives for wetting the metal work piece.

The fourth class in this category consists of semi-synthetic fluids. While synthetic fluids do not contain any petroleum oils, this class has 5 to 30% highly refined petroleum oils. Other additives and water constitute 30 to 50% of these fluids.

Note that straight or neat oils do not require any amount of water for dilution, however, they may include other additives to improve their functionality, for best results always use metalworking fluids each time you are cutting metal.

Filed under: Articles.

While any metal cutting fluid is good for work pieces, it may pose serious health concerns to your body. This happens when you come into contact, inhale or ingest the fluid. The risk depends on various factors such as personal hygiene and equipment maintenance.

The severity of the health concern caused by the fluids depends on five vital factors. They are:

  1. The type of fluid you use
  2. The amount and nature of contamination in the fluid
  3. Exposure
  4. Duration
  5. Frequency.

Contaminated fluid can cause health problems following three modes. In the first place, all fluids used in metal working are irritants to your skin; irritation depends on other health conditions such as your history of eczema and dermatitis. Users who suffered from eczema in their childhood have increased risk of developing dermatitis, any existing conditions can be worsened by possible damage from fine metallic particles from machining. Secondly, fluids used in cutting metal can cause respiratory complications to users. Work-related bronchitis, breathing difficulties, asthma, and respiratory tract irritations are the most commonly reported cases; any existing condition can be aggravated with further exposure to aerosol, mist, or vapour.

There is no evidence related to specific fluid components that cause respiratory complications, however, the severity of the problem depends on workshop factors such as ventilation, enclosure characteristics of the machine, and the cutting speeds.

The third health problem involves development of certain types of cancers. Such fluids have been known to cause scrotum, bladder, larynx, skin, pancreas, and oesophagus. On the contrary, studies that associate these cancers to cutting oils have shown inconsistencies, while new formulations of such fluids emerge with new technology, it is difficult to pin a specific type of fluid to a particular type of cancer. Knowledge of the health concerns associated with any cutting fluid is imperative to your safety and the environment. Always follow safety guidelines and stay safe while using these marvellous fluids.

Filed under: Articles.

This moderately sized drill can be retrofitted onto medium to heavy duty style machines. It has an 8HP (@ 100% duty cycle!) BT-40 tool interface and up to 4000rpm. The machine will take up to 28mm diameter drills. Using latest tooling technology, this drill is designed to rapid drill holes in an unprecedented amount of time, thereby increasing your productivity. The drill head is fitted with a Unist Tornado system which delivers 10ml/hour of Coolube 2210 metal cutting oil, through the spindle and then through the tool to deliver “Near Dry Drilling”.

In short, the benefits of Unist Coolube® with MQL are:

  1. Significantly increases blade and tool life.
  2. A cost effective conversion for all machine types.
  3. No waste – kind to the environment and no wasting money either
  4. More economical in the long run – using Coolube® preserves machine parts for longer and prevents rusting
  5. Clean – no more messy slip hazards from excess coolant oozing down machines and walk ways
  6. The MQL system dispenses precisely the amount of Coolube® needed. No more, and no less.
  7. Better for machine operators – no more dermatitis caused by skin contact with coolants.
  8. Coolube does not oxidise or go sticky.

Nowadays, many manufacturers are under pressure to “go green”. Unist Coolube® is one of the most advanced metalworking fluids available today. Implementing Minimum Quantity Lubrication (M.Q.L.), a no-waste dispensing system, with Unist Coolube® is an easy step to limit the environmental footprint of your manufacturing operation.

MQL is the process of applying minute amounts of high-quality metalworking fluid lubricant directly to the cutting tool or work piece interface instead of using traditional flood coolants. It minimises your environmental impact by significantly reducing fluid usage and eliminating the need for coolant treatment and disposal.

These benefits are multiplied further when using 100% biodegradable Coolube® lubricants, *that is*, metalworking fluids which are formulated from renewable plant-based oils. When considering these facts, along with the performance benefits of Coolube® and MQL, it becomes obvious that this is the most advanced and responsible answer to running metal cutting and metal forming equipment.

Using the right lubricant is very important in MQL applications. The perfect lubricant will adhere to the surface of the tool and provide a thin, low friction barrier between the cutting tool and work piece. Studies have shown that Coolube® has superior properties, which make it an ideal lubricant.

Coolube’s® polar properties create a strong consistent bond between Coolube® and metallic surfaces. This creates an even, strong, and durable layer of lubrication. Coolube® reduces friction 50% better than typical mineral oils preventing heat build-up and resulting in longer tool life and a superior cut finish.

At Unist, we’ve been manufacturing green products long before the hype. Since 1957 to be exact.

With our recent USDA BioPreferred Program certification, everyone can see just how green our lubricant products are. These are the same non-toxic, environmentally friendly, green products we’ve been touting for years.

Nothing has changed but the USDA’s certification of our bio-based content through independent laboratory testing.

Unist Coolube® 2210 and 2210EP are both USDA BioPreferred products and are tested and certified biobased products. Coolube® 2210 is certified biobased with a renewable, biobased content of 93%. Coolube® 2210EP is a certified lubricant with a biobased content of 92%.This reinforces what we’ve know about Coolube all along: it’s made from natural and renewable plant-based materials.

They’re still the same great lubricants that thousands of metalworkers have come to love and rely on for improved cut quality and tool life. They just have new USDA feathers in their caps!

There are many benefits to be gained by employing the Unist “Near Dry Routing” mist system. Check out the top ten benefits of using Coolube.

Filed under: Drilling, Steel Fabrication