At GrindingHub in Stuttgart, filtration specialist Vomat from Treuen presented solutions for how tool manufacturers can achieve high quality, sustainability and cost-effectiveness with optimally filtered cooling lubricants. In addition to energy-efficient, resource-saving coolant filtration technology, Vomat also presented an air conditioning system for entire production halls: The Vomat LBG air treatment unit not only guarantees 100 percent air exchange, but also uses surplus residual energy from production and peripheral systems to heat a production hall in winter or cool it in summer in an energy-efficient manner.

In tool grinding, lubricoolants are both a cost factor and an important quality-determining parameter. This is because the cleaner grinding oils are filtered, the less the grinding wheels are affected by dirt particles, for example, and the grinding result, such as the surface quality, is significantly better. The tool manufacturer also saves money. This is because the longer the cleaned coolant can remain in the system, the less coolant is required, storage and recycling costs are reduced and the grinding wheels no longer need to be changed or dressed as often.

Steffen Strobel, Technical Sales Manager at Vomat: "That sounds easier than it is. High-performance technology is required to keep coolant of NAS 7 quality (3-5 µm) at a certain temperature in the system for an economically long time. This is exactly what Vomat provides to the metalworking industry." In Stuttgart, Vomat exhibited the FA 240 and FA 960 filter systems as well as the ZFA 1200 central filter system and the STU 780 with a special magnetic belt for filtration when grinding HSS tools, for example. Vomat filtration systems are ideal for filtering ultra-fine particles from grinding oils. Important features include full-flow filtration with 100% separation of dirty and clean oil, on-demand filtration and backwashing of the high-performance precoat filters and high-precision temperature accuracy in the range of ±0.2 K. On the standard platform of the FA machine series 120 to 960, individually tailored concepts - from small systems to large industrial filtration solutions - can be offered thanks to a wide range of optional add-on modules.

Fully automatic dosing, mixing, maintenance and protection of water-miscible cooling lubricants

The MDS system for dosing, mixing and maintaining water-miscible cooling lubricants was also met with great interest. Steffen Strobel: "Water-miscible cooling lubricants represent a cost-optimized alternative to their non-water-soluble counterparts in many grinding operations in the metalworking industry. To ensure that the emulsions and solutions remain in the system for a long time, precise dosing and mixing is crucial. In addition, it must be ensured that process-destabilizing contaminants are identified and removed at an early stage during use. Until now, this was often a manual inspection and additional task that the machine operator constantly carried out during the sanding process." MDS provides a remedy. The Vomat system is made up of various modules, ensures the correct dosing and mixing of water and concentrate fully automatically before and during use, detects contaminants during the process and extracts them. A special distribution unit also allows the connection of several grinding machines.

LBG air conditioning system for entire production halls

In times of exploding energy and raw material costs, solutions that significantly reduce production costs are in high demand in the metalworking industry. In Stuttgart, Vomat presented not only energy-efficient, resource-saving coolant filtration technology, but also an air conditioning system for entire production halls: The Vomat LBG air treatment unit not only guarantees 100 percent air exchange, but also uses surplus residual energy from production and peripheral systems to heat a production hall energy-efficiently in winter or cool it in summer.

Steffen Strobel: "Air conditioning technology is a special topic in connection with coolant cooling. Based on this expertise, our engineers developed a new air conditioning unit that converts excess energy from production and peripheral machines, such as grinding machines, oil extraction systems, machine pumps, etc., and can then heat or cool the production hall via the air conditioning ducts with an accuracy of +/-1°C."

The full air conditioning system consists of a central exhaust air extraction system and a fresh air supply unit. On the one hand, this ensures 100% air exchange with optimum air distribution in the production area without recirculated air. Secondly, the system is designed in such a way that exhaust air heat and any residual energy in heat pump operation can be used for both heating and cooling. There is also the option of regulating the humidity or dehumidifying the air in the rooms to be air-conditioned. Vomat manufactures customized solutions ranging from standard solutions to special complete solutions.