Case Studies

Metal-Forming, Drawing and Stamping

Product Highlight:  IC 2801-NH

Product Type:  Non-Chlorinated Straight Oil Metal-Forming Lubricant for Moderate to Severe Operations

Customer: Manufacturer of Custom, Precision and Prototype Metal Stampings

Objective: Replace a Costly Chlorinated Lubricant with a High Performance Non-Chlorinated Oil

Description: The customer, utilizing an extremely wide range of standard and exotic metals with varying widths and thicknesses, was spending an inordinate sum of money on vapor degreasing operations which used perchloroethylene, a liquid solvent that is suspected of causing cancer in humans following extended periods of exposure. Standard wash operations were deemed ineffective at removing the highly chlorinated straight oil being utilized in their presses. It was determined that vapor degreasing was the only effective way to remove the lubricant following the stamping operations.

Due to the high cost of perchloroethylene, attempts to recycle this material were implemented. Following the custom-manufacturing of an on-site still, the perchloroethylene and various waste oils (including the highly chlorinated metal-forming lubricant and tramp oils) were boiled in a large tank, with an expectation that the waste oils would drop to the bottom and the perchloroethylene would vaporize and rise into a collector, from where it would be pumped into another tank, cooled and reused once it had returned to its liquid state. However, at 250°F, the chlorinated paraffin content of the metal-forming lubricant turns acidic, and as the acid value increases, it contaminates the perchloroethylene, rendering it useless.

Following a survey of their operations, it was determined that the implementation of a non-chlorinated straight oil engineered for this type of operation may alleviate many of their production issues, most specifically eliminating the vapor degreasing operation that was not only very expensive, but dangerous to both humans and the environment. Laboratory testing was performed by ICC to ascertain which non-chlorinated straight oil lubricants would fulfill the performance objectives of the customer. IC 2801-NH was custom-developed; a formula based on IC 2801, which is a semi-synthetic, sulfur-free, ash-free, rust-inhibited straight oil lubricant engineered for a multitude of metal-forming operations.

Both IC 2801-NH and the existing chlorinated metal-forming lubricant were sent to an independent lab for lubricant ranking testing to evaluate their individual performance characteristics. Most importantly, this testing was intended to verify if IC 2801-NH was capable of outperforming the customer’s chlorinated straight oil. The results of this testing are located below for your review:

Key:

1 inch = 25.4mm
1 pound = 4.45 N

Conclusion: Following a review of the above test data and a short-run on-site operational test to verify the independent laboratory’s findings, the customer switched to IC 2801-NH, a much less expensive and moderately higher performing, non-chlorinated straight oil lubricant engineered for moderate to severe metal-forming operations. Besides the attendant benefits of eliminating the chlorinated paraffin content found in their former metal-forming lubricant, the customer was elated to discover that IC 2801-NH may be removed with standard chemistry in conventional machines, thereby eliminating their expensive vapor degreasing operation, including the custom-manufactured and ineffectual perchloroethylene recycling apparatus. An added benefit is the medium-term corrosion protection provided by IC 2801-NH for manufactured components stored indoors for several months prior to any subsequent operations.