EOW March 2014

News Technology

▲ ▲ Samples at 70°C

Chemical solution products exploit this property to deliver lubricity. In the normal “bulk” fluid in the tank of the drawing machine the additives are fully soluble in water. However at a microscopic level friction between the wire and the surface of the cone or drawing die increases the temperature rapidly above the so called “cloud point” and the inversely soluble additives separate from the water forming an oily film between the metal surface, thus reducing friction. Once the contact between the wire and cone or die stops the temperature reduces allowing (in theory) the additives to re-solubilise. Unfortunately the re-solubilisation is not complete and some of the lubricity additive can remain on the wire surface causing it to deplete faster than the other components in the fluid. This is the cause of the phenomenon of decline in performance of super fine wire solutions over time. Despite apparently maintaining the concentration at recommended levels it is often the case that lubrication performance deteriorates over time resulting in more frequent re-filling of machine tanks.

▲ ▲ Illustration of the cloud point phenomenon of conventional chemical solution products compared to Lubricool 260

Rather than accept this situation Metalube has developed a new formulation based on the very latest additive technology – technology that does not rely on inverse solubility to deliver lubricity in synthetic chemical solutions. In achieving this, the issue of preferential additive depletion is removed without compromising overall lubrication. In fact in terms of “load carrying” ability, the new additives deliver improved lubrication. Above is a graph illustrating the relative lubrication performance of a conventional chemical solution compared to Lubricool 260. As with any fluid Lubricool 260 requires regular top-up of the fluid to maintain the correct operating dilution. However, the elimination of the preferential depletion of lubricity additives results in a fluid that is easier to control and manage.

Metalube Ltd – UK Website : www.metalube.co.uk

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March 2014