Performance report of Beruclean 3849 as an acidic cleaner

Below case study illustrates the effectiveness of Beruclean 3849 as a cleaning agent in the paper and molded fiber packaging industry

Customer :    A renowned Indian manufacturer of paper and molded fiber food packaging products from compostable waste. The company with an installed capacity of more than 200,000 MT, operates fully integrated facilities with strong focus on quality and sustainability.

Cleaning concern with Mould Plates

• The customer was experiencing an issue to remove hard, sticky layer of dried, burnt pulp on the aluminium mould plates.

Cleaning concern with Mould Plate Mesh

During the moulding operation, woven wire mesh moulds are dipped into the pulp sump, where suction pressure shapes the wet pulp over the wire mesh. To maintain high suction pressure and precise mould formation, it’s crucial to keep the wire mesh free of holes free from blockages.

The Maintenance team had set-up a cleaning process in two phases to clean the double layer stainless steel mesh moulds.

1. Frequent cleaning with high-pressure water spray method after every batch
2. Intense cleaning of steel mesh moulds when removing them during equipment shutdown, fortnightly.

Inspite of the dual procedure, the customer was not satisfied with cleanliness of the mesh. Observing struggles of the Maintenance team, Bechem engineers recommended a trial with  acidic industrial cleaner, Beruclean 3849.

Trial Procedure

1. A sump was prepared with varying concentrations (3 and 5%) of Beruclean 3849 cleaner using 30 liters of water at room temperature.
2. Mould plates were immersed in the cleaning solution for 30 to 45 minutes.
3. The metal plates were then rinsed with regular water.

Trial observations:

1. Mould Plates
   • Shiny clean surface of aluminum plates to the satisfaction of the Maintenance team was achieved
2. Mould Plate Mesh

• • 95% cleaning efficiency was achieved on the mould meshes

                                          Before                                                                                                                                                                                        After 

With over two decades of experience in manufacturing high quality cutting tools, the company supplied to an impressive list of customers across industry segments. The list included top brands in automotive, aerospace, medical instrument manufacturers as well as die casting and machine tool industries. Equipped with advanced machining centers and well-trained personnel, the company always maintained highest levels of satisfaction with its customers.

The company’s portfolio included standard long end mills, uneven helix mills, taper end mills, drills, routers, reamers, turning and special tools.

Additionally, excessive mist generated from the coolant during the grinding process spoiled the work environment for operators. Based on a reference, the BECHEM team contacted the coordinates at the Company’s Production Dept. The BECHEM team after understanding the machining process and the pain points of wheel loading and mist formation during the grinding process recommended a trial with Berugrind 7 HC.

Production set-up: To meet Customer requirements and ensure a steady supply, the company had installed state of the art machines that included a sizeable number of ‘multi axis CNC tool and cutter grinding’ machines. As a regular machining practice, resin bond diamond wheel was used for grinding process.

An issue that Machine operators faced repetitively was of wheel loading affecting job finish. Grinding Tungsten-Carbide generated a lot of dust that continued to stick to the grinding wheel leading to the occurrence of wheel loading. The operators ensured extra caution during the process by limiting cutting speed.

Impressed with the consistent performance of Berugrind 7 HC in grinding, the Production team did a complete changeover for complete machining process of carbide tools.

Beruclean Eco is a high-performance cleaner for de-greasing and cleaning of used industrial bearings and machinery components. Beruclean Eco is NSF H1 certified (food grade approved for incidental contact) and is biodegradable as well (OECD 301 F: 70% after 28 days). Compared to diesel which has a low flash point of 32°C, Beruclean Eco has a higher flash point of 70°C reducing the risk of accidental fire. The colourless cleaning liquid removes all types of oil and grease contaminations, waxes and typical residues within used bearing and parts. Beruclean Eco can be used for regular manual cleaning processes as well as in flood and immersion baths and ultrasonic cleaning machines.

As a bearing and parts cleaner with lower evaporation rate, Beruclean Eco is more stable than diesel thereby reducing the overall consumption rate. Irrespective of the size of bearing, Beruclean Eco has proven cleaning performance across industries including Steel, Automotive Components and Food & Pharma as well.

The Customer, a well established Indian brand in manufacturing HSS cutting tools is the largest exporter in its category and also caters to the biggest names in Indian machining and automotive industry. With a comprehensive product range of over 50,000 tools, the company offers multiple options for various machining applications.

With production of close to 50 to 60k cutting tool units manufactured every day, the customer consumed tons of MTO as a part of the cleaning process during both the raw material preparation stage as well as in the final finishing stage.

During the raw material preparation stage, the cleaner was used to remove dirt, grease and other impurities from the metal bar prior to machining operations. Similarly, the finished component was cleaned off any oil residues or grinding dust after the final operations.

The customer had set up inline cleaning systems through dipping for initial raw material preparation and intermittent cleaning requirements. Ultrasonic machines were installed for the final finishing process.

The company had continued to use MTO as the inexpensive cleaning agent in all the cleaning processes. Personnel continuously exposed to the pungent odor of MTO experienced mild headaches and nausea at end of their shifts. The Management was keen to replace MTO that impacted work environment and employee morale.

At this juncture, BECHEM’s Product team pitched in with an advanced cleaning formulation that had proven better cleaning finish, was odorless as well as bio degradable. The Customer’s Production team promptly opened up for a trial of Beruclean S 4050 and measured the performance on following parameters,

• Cleaning impact
• Operator friendliness
  • Odor
  • Skin irritation or any other affect
• Evaporation rate
  • Higher evaporation would increase consumption rate
  • Too low would leave cleaner traces on components

To compare the performance of both the products, two 300 ml beakers were filled in with MTO and Beruclean S 4050 and left in ambient conditions (30 °C) for a period of 3 days.  While there was marked loss of about 100 ml in the MTO beaker, the beaker with Beruclean S 4050 showed minimal loss of about 25 ml. During trials on one of the cleaning lines with Beruclean S 4050, it was recorded that there was a reduction of consumption by 67% compared to MTO.

At the same time, the Operators informed that Beruclean S 4050 dried off from the cutting tools within 3 minutes approximately. This evidence was recorded with temperatures hovering about 30 to 32°C at the shop floor.

There was remarkable improvement in the cleaning effect with Beruclean S 4050. Hardened grease residues, high viscous oils and stubborn dirt that used to be stuck on carbide and HSS rods with MTO had been cleaned with Beruclean S 4050.

The company personnel were pleased to work with the odorless cleaning agent that did not give them a nauseating experience unlike MTO. The operators voted completely in favor of Beruclean S 4050.

QUICK COMPARISION

The owner led firm had built a reputation as a reliable supplier of high quality components with ability to deliver within deadlines. The company manufactured precision components and catered to the requirements of automotive, marine and bearing industries. With stringent quality processes, the employees imbibed the company philosophy of delivering high quality components consistently at competitive prices. The production team were always on the lookout for initiatives to reduce manufacturing cost by improving process efficiency.

Out of the 60 machines installed, the split was equal between conventional and CNC machines. The standalone machining centres run with neat oils had capability to perform all regular machining processes such as turning, milling, tapping, drilling, grinding, thread cutting etc. Daily operations involved machining of regular steel, special alloy steel, leaded and non leaded materials.

With regular production schedules, the Production team was concerned about ways to improve tool life as it had significant impact on CPC. Right coolant management practices with suitable filtration systems had ensured that the existing coolant, ‘Product I’ performed adequately for the past 6 years.

However the Customer was keen to check if cutting fluids could impact tool life in any way. Given the circumstances, Bechem was provided an opportunity along with another prominent coolant brand to prove performances of their respective products against customer’s existing cutting fluid.

BECHEM’s ‘go to’ product for the trial was Berucut SCO 322 HC, the non water miscible coolant formulated with lubricity improvers and anti wear additives for superior machining performance and increased tool life. Developed for high speed machining, the Chlorine and heavy metal free coolant has a flash point of over 210 C and resists smoke formation even during intensive machining operations on tough metals. The ‘yellow clear fluid’ is resistant to ageing and provides good corrosion protection to machine and components.

The first trial was conducted for a period of 1 month on two similar machining centers and operations with only the coolant being the varying parameter.

With Berucut SCO 322 HC, the customer observed that the tool life almost increased by 50% compared to the existing coolant. There was marked improvement in surface finish of the component as well as cleanliness of the machines. The Customer was surprised with the results and wanted a confirmation on repeatability.

While a trial for repeatability was being scheduled, the BECHEM team proposed to increase machining speed with an intention to reduce cycle time and subsequently compare the results. At this point in time, the other prominent player in the market also pitched in with their offering, ‘Product B’. A second trial was conducted with change in machining speeds.

Tool Life Comparison Chart
Measured in no. of machined components

The result was no different from trial 1, Berucut SCO 322 HC beat both the products in tool life, machine cleanliness and component finish.

The Customer was able to experience increased tool life with Berucut SCO 322 HC by over 50% with existing coolant and over 40% with the other popular brand in the market.

With increase in tool life and reduction in CPC established, the Customer changed over from his earlier product to Berucut SCO 322 HC.

The Auto component manufacturer supplies to top Auto brands with exposure to both segments of passenger and commercial vehicles. Credited as one of the largest manufacturer of steering yokes in India, the company’s product portfolio also includes, connecting rods, automobile housing, gears as well as other precision turned components.

With close to 30 years of experience, and having imbibed the principles of ‘total quality management system’ the company had mastered complexities in manufacturing critical automotive parts. Supported by a highly aware and ‘quality conscious’ work force, the company had adopted stringent quality checks and was known for its commitment to fulfil clients’ requirements with precision.

During one of its regular exercises to identify areas for improvement, the Production team at the works noticed unclean bins in use for moving auto parts from one department to another. These bins would often contain grease and oil residues that in turn would attract dust contaminants resulting in dry sludge over time. Dirty bins meant contamination threat for finished components and possible rejection scenario from the Customer.The team realized that the existing cleaning system for bins in place was not effective despite the best efforts. As contaminants remained visible, the team had to establish a secondary manual cleaning process that was unproductive and affected the workflow.

However, unclean bins did not reflect the quality standards employed and posed a potential embarrassing situation for the Production team during Customer visits. Also, unclean bins are a major reason for corrosion of finished components

Finished auto parts are subjected to tests to ensure cleanliness at supplier’s end and also at customer’s end. Millipore test is one of the popular tests to check for impurities. Failure in this test at supplier’s end results in additional cleaning of parts. In case of failure at the customer’s end would result in rejection of the entire batch.

The existing cleaning agent wasn’t sufficient enough to obtain cleaner bins. During a regular prospecting visit, the BECHEM team learnt about the concern of unclean bins from the Production personnel. The BECHEM team understood the criticality of the issue and suggested an inspection of the existing bin cleaning process.

Cleaning machine installed at the works used jet spray to rinse off impurities from plastic bins. The cleaning process utilized DM (de-mineralized) water along with regular washing powder with cycle time of 5 minutes. The setup with tank capacity of 400-liter had in built heater that could maintain the sump temperature up to 60 °C. However, the team observed the lack of filtration system in the existing set up resulting in accumulation of excess sludge at the bottom.

Upon examining the process followed, BECHEM suggested few modifications to the existing setup including installation of pre-filtration system, repositioning of heat sensors and increasing the size of exit valves for better drainage of sludge.

Product recommendation was very critical as the bin cleaning system utilized jet spray and hot water for cleaning. A typical solvent based cleaner with low flash point could cause a potential fire incident during the process. A water based cleaner with good wetting and soaking properties was vital.

BECHEM recommended Beruclean 113 EMF, a universal water-soluble alkaline cleaning agent with low foaming properties. Equipped with special wetting additives, the high performance industrial cleaner is suitable for Aluminium, Cast Iron, Steel and non-ferrous metals as well. Although alkaline in nature, Beruclean 113 EMF is compatible with the piping or flanges from copper alloys used in cleaning systems. Also, Beruclean 113 EMF is highly recommended for spray jet cleaning.

• Better cleaning effect with only slightly higher pH of 9.2
• Even rigid dirt and contaminants were washed away with Beruclean 113 EMF
• Tank sump life extended to 30 days against 7 days
• Lesser fume generation and foaming issues reported at 60⁰C
• Increased bin cleaning throughput
• No emulsion smell

The Production Dept. was delighted with the results as Beruclean 113 EMF enhanced output, reduced opex and helped them in achieving their 5S objective. Additionally, with lesser contamination on finished parts, the company had attained higher success ratio in Millipore test.

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Apart from providing the lowest consumption and increased sump life, the Avantin range also provides excellent corrosion protection to machines and components.

Get in touch with BECHEM’s well-trained Service Engineers who work systematically to ensure that you stay focused on surpassing production targets than being bothered about coolant issues.