MicroMag Boosts Tool Life by 50%

Established in 1989, Gripple is a globally recognised manufacturer, delivering innovative, value-added solutions to construction and agricultural markets. Employing over 800 people across 15 locations throughout the world, the company manufactures at four sites in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with additional sales hubs located in Chicago, Obernai, Warsaw, Toronto, New Delhi and Kobe.

Gripple is a 100% employee-owned company with a unique approach to business, characterised by investment in people, innovation and sustainable growth. One of its most iconic products, the Gripple wire joiner, is a device used to join and tension wire, to terminate and suspend wires and wire ropes, and also to support false ceilings, cable baskets and similar items.

As a global manufacturer, Gripple takes its responsibility to reduce impact on the planet very seriously. In recent years, the company has maximised energy efficiency, decreased electricity use, reduced landfill/incinerated waste, increased recycling, conserved its use of raw materials, and minimised packaging. Gripple’s commitment to ‘greener’ long term investment is also characterised by the recent renovation of its Riverside Works factory in Sheffield, UK, which features over 400 solar panels, the first river water heating system in the region, the world’s largest aquaponics green wall system in a factory and an evaporative cooling system.

The Challenge
Gripple uses a sliding head CNC machine as part of its manufacturing process in Sheffield. In order to satisfy its’ environmental commitments, Gripple was keen to maximise efficiency and reduce waste on the machine, which included exploring ways to prolong coolant life, and enable the coolant flow system to work as efficiently as possible.
However, a significant amount of swarf metal regularly built up in the bottom tank of the CNC machine, which needed to be cleaned on a regular basis. The cleaning process required the machining process to be stopped and manually cleaned out by operatives at Gripple, resulting in downtime and frequent exposure to the contaminated coolant. In addition, small swarf chippings were making their way into the coolant flow system and compromising tool life. Gripple was, therefore, looking for a way to improve this.

The Solution
A solution was found in the MicroMag magnetic filter from Eclipse Magnetics, which was fitted to Gripple’s sliding head CNC machine. Suitable for a variety of machining applications, the MicroMag magnetic filter allows contaminated coolant to enter the inlet port where it is dispersed by the unique tapered radial flow channels. The coolant then passes down the outside of the centrally mounted rare earth magnetic core which captures the contamination particles.

The geometry of the magnetic flux circuit means that contamination builds up in a controlled way, ensuring that the filter can never block, regardless of how much contamination is held. Channels remain open allowing the fluid to flow freely, with filtered fluid flowing through the return slots located in the upper section of the magnetic core, down through the centre, and then exiting through the outlet port. The MM10 installed on Gripple’s CNC machine has a max flow rate of 100 litres per minute and a capacity of 2kg.
The MicroMag has delivered many advantages to Gripple. The build-up of swarf material in the bottom tank of the CNC machine has been significantly reduced, and the machine and coolant flow system is working more efficiently due to the reduction in swarf circulating in the coolant.

Before the addition of the MicroMag, the bottom tank of the CNC machine needed to be cleaned approximately every month. There has been such a significant reduction in swarf collecting in the tank that it now needs to be cleaned out every 50 days. This has allowed Gripple to reduce the frequency of cleaning from 12 times per year to just over 7 times per year. In addition, the bottom tank used to take approximately 45 minutes to clean, and has since reduced to just 25 minutes. This equals a 44.4% reduction in downtime.
The tool change data is also impressive since the installation of the MicroMag. For example, on some tool locations, the number of components produced has increased by 50% before the tooling is required to be changed from 10,000 to 15,000 components.

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