ALC - Abanaki

For CNC machine shops, tungsten carbide tooling has always been one of the most important — and expensive — operational investments. Every day, the cost of that investment grows.

In today’s fast-paced industrial environments, operational efficiency is everything. Yet, a common and often overlooked problem—oil contamination—can quickly derail productivity, compromise part quality, and drive-up maintenance costs.

Waste oil recovery is a critical part of any industrial operation, from metalworking and machining to wastewater treatment and food processing. Oil contamination in coolants, wash water, or sump pits can lead to increased operating costs, foul odors, premature equipment failure, and even regulatory violations.

There are several things to consider when choosing a belt or tube material for your oil skimmer. Some plastics will not stand up to heat or strong chemicals. Certain metal belts will not skim coolants effectively. Smooth belts do no pick up floating emulsified oils. Specific plastic belts do not last in heated applications, while other types of plastic belts will.

Have you ever had your clean parts rejected from your customer? Parts that have been cleaned in your parts washers, yet they still have residual oils on them? This happened to one of my customers recently, and it’s not uncommon. Fortunately, there is a simple solution that will save you time, money, and embarrassment of having parts rejected.

For industrial oil skimming, there are six basic designs commonly used:

Why Coolant Goes Bad