The Citizen A32-VII sliding head lathe offers 32mm diameter machining with a rapid feed rate of 45m/min, it achieves 30 per cent higher productivity than previous machines. Capable of heavy cuts the machine is equipped with 5 axes, 6 turning tools, 4 rotary tools for cross-machining, 9 tools for back-end machining and 5 tools for front-end machining giving a total of 23 tools for flexibility. Maximum cutting length is 320mm in one chucking. 

Wogaard’s newly developed neat oil Coolant Saver is fitted to the Citizen A32 that, like many sliding head lathes, uses an expensive low viscosity oil to cool the component and the cutting tools during machining. Installed by the company’s maintenance staff the unit has been operating for a few months. 

Bob Ringham, director, says: “It is too early to calculate the exact savings, but it is certainly paying for itself. A barrel of neat coolant oil is an expensive necessity; if we can recover as much as possible from the swarf it makes good business sense and has positive implications for the environment as well.” 

While the parts conveyor on Citizen A32 takes the machined components away from the working envelope, these tend to be smooth and are easily drained, so the oil returns to the machine’s 220L sump without too much loss. However, the swarf conveyor drags the neat oil out with the chips and it is here that the Coolant Saver makes the most significant impact. 

Bob Ringham explains: “As a subcontract engineering shop we machine to customers’ specifications and the materials cut range from the easy machining brass and copper through to exotics such as Inconel and titanium. Swarf is always segregated, making the extraction of the neat oil coolant even more critical as the number of swarf bins with, say, half a litre of waste coolant would soon become overwhelming. 

“Added up over a week it is a significant amount of coolant and all the staff have commented on the reduction in the number of sump top-ups required. We would add oil to the machine around three times per week, and now we have reduced this to once per week. So, the handling of the oil is reduced along with the chances of spilling it in transit or while trying to pour it into the machine’s tank. All of which improves our housekeeping.” 

Manx Engineers has purchased two new swarf skips that were specified and supplied with a protective sleeve in the corner to house the Coolant Saver. Bob Ringham points out that the Wogaard certainly has no problem pulling the neat oil from the skip, with the operator simply turning the unit on or off as required. He concludes: “We are looking to expand the use of the Coolant Saver to the other two Citizen sliding head lathes, as we can see the immediate benefit of the investment and the installation is very straightforward.”