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About Gehring
Christoph Willi Gehring founded his company in 1922 and built his first honing machine in 1935. He probably did not realise at the time that this “finer and more precise surface finishing of round bores” would one day make him the global market leader in this machine technology.
Today, basic honing machines and systems are manufactured in Naumburg and commissioned in Ostfildern near Stuttgart. A 24-metre-long system, for example, is located in neighbouring Bad Cannstatt and processes V6 engine blocks with a cycle time of just 32 seconds. Steel, stainless steel, aluminium and cast iron are processed to manufacture the high-precision components. The predominant processes are turning, milling, drilling and grinding.
Oemeta as a MWF partner
Without the honing machines from global market leader Gehring, the power density of today’s Formula 1 engines would be unthinkable. To ensure that the machines, equipped with their legendary dynamic tools, meet the tolerance specifications, Gehring’s component plant in Naumburg must operate with even greater precision. The aim of the initiative was to increase tool life, reduce complexity and improve health and environmental performance.
To achieve this, the company relied on Oemeta for the metalworking fluid used in machining. The result: tool life increased two-and-a-half-fold, complexity was drastically reduced, and both employees and the environment benefited as well. This is made possible by the intelligent use of the innovative two-component HYCUT system.
The specialised grinding technique used in honing places the highest demands on the metalworking fluid.
“95 per cent of our engines go to the automotive industry,” emphasises Gerhard Simon, “and that includes Formula 1 racing teams,” says the managing director of Gehring Naumburg GmbH & Co. KG. To ensure that these small 1.6-litre V6 engines with their high power density deliver the estimated 800–1,000 hp at 15,000 rpm, the cylinders must be honed to perfection, with an accuracy of half a micrometre. But honing plays a crucial role not only in Formula 1; this technology is now used in every internal combustion engine worldwide.
The special grinding technique used in honing with Gehring machines optimises combustion in the engine, reduces fuel consumption, improves cleanliness and ultimately ensures compliance with health regulations. It goes without saying that mechanical engineering must deliver equally high performance in this regard. To this end, those responsible have been using Oemeta’s multifunctional two-component MWF HYCUT since 2014. The local sales and service partner is HMH Mineralöle.
HYCUT
At the heart of the HYCUT system are ester-based oils. These offer superior lubrication performance and reduce tool wear. The products also exhibit excellent resistance to ageing. Furthermore, the high cleaning performance of the synthetic oils ensures that machines and components remain clean and delivers excellent material removal rates.
Reduction in the variety of MWF and advances in manufacturing technology
In addition to the high surface quality that Gehring prioritised, the aim was also to reduce the environmental impact and meet stringent health and safety requirements. Regular measurements, good on-site service and rapid response times were to become standard practice. The aim was also to move away from the rigid cycles whereby the individual containers on the machines were stubbornly refilled every nine months. And last but not least, Gehring also wanted to reduce the high disposal costs.
Extremely hard water, foreign oil and foaming with the previous product
Working closely together, QMB Lutz Geweniger, maintenance engineer Ralf Köppl, the Oemeta field service team (Torsten Schindler and Stephan Ebeling), and HMH area manager Peter Wachsmuth quickly achieved these objectives. However, there were challenges, such as the very hard water in Naumburg, with a hardness of 35 °dH and a chloride content of 60 mg/l. In addition, there were many MWF mixing stations with limited space, as well as issues with foreign oil and foaming with the previous product. Furthermore, the variety of MWF coolants needed to be reduced.
“In the past, everyone had their ‘own’ oilfor ‘their process and their machine ’. We didn’t want to deal with that complexity and all the special requirements anymore. We wanted to find a multifunctional oil that met all the requirements,” says Lutz Geweniger, who is responsible for health and safety at Gehring.
They were looking for the right metalworking fluid to meet technical, environmental and health requirements.
Stephan Ebeling and Torsten Schindler are familiar with such requirements and are able to respond to them, even though they know “that MWF is a highly complex issue in terms of technology, environmental management and health and safety.” With Oemeta’s own product, HYCUT, they immediately had a suitable multifunctional two-component MWF in mind. At the heart of the HYCUT system are ester-based oils that can be used as machining oil, MWF or hydraulic fluid; they are compatible with one another and can therefore, for example, eliminate the need for intermediate cleaning.
Adaptation to different process, material and lubrication requirements.
As a cutting and grinding oil, the water-miscible HYCUT offers extremely high lubricating performance, thereby significantly reducing tool wear. As it is manufactured from synthetic ester oils, it is highly resistant to ageing. This ensures long service life. Furthermore, its high cleaning performance keeps machines and components clean and, particularly during grinding, ensures exceptionally good material removal rates.
What makes HYCUT special as an emulsion is the ability to control the oil and additive separately. This ensures perfect adaptation to different process, material and lubrication performance requirements. Throughout the emulsion’s service life, the individual components can be topped up as required. Once the appropriate product had been identified, the task was to implement a centralised supply system, taking into account the requirements of the turning, drilling, milling and grinding processes.
Four mixing stations for four production processes.
Two 1,000-litre tanks have been installed in a central location, one for HYCUT ET 46 and one for the BX additive. In addition, piping, including hose reels and dispensing nozzles, has been installed leading to the MWF tanks. Dosing is carried out using Dosatron mixing units. Four stations are supplied via hose reels and dispensing nozzles and are allocated according to the machining process.
The concentration of the individual components is controlled here in the required dosage according to the machining operations. This ensures that every production process is supplied with the optimum mixture as machining oil or MWF.
For machining, just 3–4% HYCUT ET 46 and 3% Additive BX are sufficient; for grinding, 1–3% HYCUT and 3% Additive BX. With the previous product, concentrations of over 10% were required.
“One result was immediately noticeable,” reports Geweniger, “the air quality in the workshop improved very quickly, and the staff felt more comfortable.” Ebeling explains why: “Because of its droplet size, the ester-based HYCUT produces fewer aerosols.” Further improvements: the complexity caused by using multiple oils was eliminated; all machining processes produced better surface finishes; cutting performance increased; and the tools lasted longer. “Above all, however, the service life of the MWF improved,” reports Peter Wachsmuth from HMH, who initially carried out on-site control and maintenance. Through regular measurements and recording of key data, such as pH value, concentration and other parameters, Gehring was able to implement a situation-dependent MWF refill system.
The following improvements have been made:
- Improving indoor air quality
- Reducing complexity caused by the use of multiple oils
- Machining processes resulted in better surfaces
- Increased material removal rate
- Tools lasted longer
- Improved service life of the MWF
Lutz Geweniger from Gehring is pleased: “Instead of having to refill it every nine months, a single refill now lasts around two and a half years. We’re delighted with that.” This means less frequent disposal, which is good news not only for the environment but also for the controller. At the same time, HMH trained the Gehring staff so that they can now carry out maintenance and control independently. QR code-based software is set to make the work even easier in the near future.
The overall conclusion is therefore entirely positive. All objectives have been achieved. “This is also thanks to our chemists and application engineers in Uetersen, where Oemeta’s headquarters are located,” sums up Stephan Ebeling, “as they always manage to find the optimal solution for every on-site situation and every process.”
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