Hydraulic Systems Cleaned On Time, Every Time

Categories:
  • Healthy Hydraulics
  • Construction Equipment
  • Case Study

Company
Filtertechnik have been working closely with one of the world’s leading producers of construction equipment. With locations globally, this multinational corporation is known for its quality and manufactures a diverse range of construction, mining, military and industrial equipment.

About
Their UK based plant produces a range of tracked excavators up to 80 tonnes and has produced over 60,000 machines since opening, most of which are exported across Europe and North Africa.
Before they are rolled off the production line, strict quality control procedures are in place to ensure that no manufacturing debris is left within the powerful hydraulic systems. This process involves operating the excavators’ hydraulic controls in a prescribed order and manner to enable flow through all the elements of the hydraulic circuit.

Problem
The recurring problem that the company faced was that they could not find an effective filtration system capable of removing all particulate and debris at the correct time and at the right ISO/NAS level to satisfy their stringent quality processes.
Their requirement was for a system to clean the hydraulic oil to NAS level 7 (ISO 4406 18/16/13) or better, from an initial state of NAS 12 (ISO 4406 23/21/18), in less than 12 minutes.

Solution
Filtertechnik were selected to provide a bespoke filtration system, designed to meet their specific end of line requirements. Working alongside their quality control, our expert technical team and designers were able to produce a rig not only capable of reaching their required cleanliness levels, but also doing so within their demanding timeframe and budget.

Careful attention was paid to the actual filtration set up. The rig was designed and built with multiple high capacity filters, effectively filtering the oil three times in a single pass, and a flow rate of 170 L/min to ensure cleanliness within the specified 12 minutes.

To further ensure their requirements were met, a laser particle counter was incorporated. This not only provides invaluable real-time ISO/NAS cleanliness codes to check the required cleanliness has been reached, it also sends out a signal so that the next machine can be moved in and the process repeated.

The system is currently being used on every machine produced in the plant. Trials have shown that the hydraulic oil had been cleaned from NAS 12 (ISO 4406 23/21/18) to NAS 6 (ISO 4406 17/15/12) in 10-12 minutes for all new construction equipment produced.
Subsequent to installation of the rig, problems with their excavators’ hydraulic systems, and the consequent expensive warranty claims, have been severely reduced.

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