Fan designed to keep machine tools free of swarf

Available exclusively from Thame Engineering, the Lang Clean.Tec fan provides an efficient and cost-effective solution to this housekeeping problem.

Available in three diameters 160, 260 and 330 mm, the fan provides efficient and simple cleaning and can be retrofitted to any enclosed horizontal or vertical machining centre. Manufactured from a robust glass fibre compound with a steel centre core, the fan’s wear resistant glass fibre wings are held closed by tension springs and opened by the rotation of the machine tool’s spindle.

A 20 mm diameter shank allows the fan to be mounted in a toolholder and loaded into the machine’s automated tool storage system. Designed for smaller machining centres and for the local cleaning of pocketed or slotted components, the 160 mm diameter fan operates between 6,000 and 12,000 rpm. Like the smaller fan the 260 mm fan offers through coolant, to wash out drilled and threaded holes, as well as pockets and slots. It operates between 5,000 and 8,000 rpm, while the largest 330 mm fan runs between 3,000 and 8,000 rpm and is ideal for clearing large areas and heavy chips.

Sales Director, Maurice Day, points out that as well as saving time and expensive compressed air during 3-axis machining, the Clean.Tec fan is proving popular with precision engineering businesses adopting 5-axis machining and raw material loading/unloading automation.

He says: "The complexity of multi-axis machining means there are often swarf traps on the component and workholding that coolant alone cannot flush out. The fan ensures the swaft is evacuated so the cutting tool does not re-machine the chips. For automated loading and unloading, often run lights out, cleanliness is vital. Unmanaged swarf will fall and obstruct the clamping of the automation system, causing production to stop.”

Every CNC machining centre in Thame’s workshop has a Clean.Tec fan loaded in the tool changer, a testament to just how useful these impressive ancillaries are.